Pea tea is a caffeine-free herbal tea made from the dried flowers of the butterfly pea plant (Clitoria ternatea), a tropical vine native to Southeast Asia. It’s best known for its striking blue color, which comes from a high concentration of plant pigments called anthocyanins. The tea has a mild, earthy flavor on its own and is popular both as a wellness drink and as a natural food coloring in cocktails, lattes, and desserts.
Why the Tea Turns Blue (and Purple)
The most distinctive thing about butterfly pea flower tea is its color. Steeping the dried flowers in hot water produces a vivid indigo-blue liquid within minutes. That color comes from the same family of antioxidant pigments found in blueberries and red cabbage, but in much higher concentrations, which is why the hue is so intense.
The real party trick: adding something acidic, like lemon or lime juice, shifts the tea from blue to purple or even pink. This pH-sensitive color change has made it a favorite ingredient in bars and cafés, where bartenders use it to create drinks that transform in front of the customer. The color shift is purely chemical and doesn’t affect the taste in any meaningful way beyond whatever citrus you’ve added.
What It Tastes Like
On its own, butterfly pea flower tea has a very subtle, slightly earthy and woody flavor. Some people compare it to a mild green tea without the bitterness. It’s not sweet, floral, or strong, which is partly why it works so well as a base for other flavors. Most people add honey, coconut syrup, mint, or a squeeze of lime to give it more character. Served cold with lime and a sweetener, it makes a refreshing summer drink that looks more dramatic than it tastes.
How to Brew It
Brewing pea tea is straightforward. Use about five to seven dried flowers (or a teaspoon of loose petals) per cup of hot water. Steep for three to five minutes. A shorter steep gives a lighter blue, while a longer one deepens the color. The flowers can be steeped a second time, though the color will be less vivid. You can drink it hot, but it’s equally popular iced. The tea is naturally calorie-free when prepared plain.
Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory Properties
Butterfly pea flowers are rich in flavonoids, a broad class of plant compounds with antioxidant effects. These compounds help neutralize unstable molecules in the body that contribute to cell damage over time. A review published in the Indonesia Journal of Biomedical Science identified several potential benefits from the plant’s flavonoid content, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and blood-sugar-supporting properties.
Much of the research so far has been done in lab settings or animal models rather than large human trials, so the strength of these effects in people who simply drink the tea isn’t fully established. That said, the anthocyanins in butterfly pea flowers are the same type of compounds linked to cardiovascular and cognitive benefits in studies on blueberries and other deeply pigmented foods.
Potential Skin Benefits
Some of the more specific research on butterfly pea has focused on skin health. Animal studies have found that butterfly pea flower extract helped protect against collagen breakdown caused by UV exposure. In one study, a topical cream containing the extract limited the increase of an enzyme that breaks down collagen in UV-exposed skin. Another found that a gel made from the flowers boosted the expression of a gene involved in collagen production. These are early-stage findings and involved concentrated extracts applied directly to skin rather than tea consumed as a drink, but they suggest the plant’s compounds have real biological activity worth watching.
Safety and Who Should Be Cautious
For most adults, butterfly pea flower tea is considered safe when consumed in normal amounts. It’s caffeine-free and has a long history of culinary use across Thailand, Malaysia, and other parts of Southeast Asia, where it’s been used in cooking and traditional remedies for generations.
Pregnant and breastfeeding women are generally advised to avoid it, since there isn’t enough human research to confirm safety during pregnancy. Some traditional medicine systems have historically used parts of the butterfly pea plant (particularly the roots) to stimulate uterine contractions, which is reason enough for caution. People taking blood-thinning medications or those scheduled for surgery should also be aware that some plant compounds in the flowers may have mild anticoagulant effects.
Common Ways People Use It
- Plain hot or iced tea: The simplest preparation, often with honey or lemon.
- Color-changing lemonade: Blue tea poured over lemonade turns purple on contact, making it a hit with kids and at parties.
- Cocktail and mocktail base: Bartenders use it as a natural coloring agent in gin drinks and spritzers.
- Rice and baked goods: In Southeast Asian cooking, the flowers are used to tint sticky rice, dumplings, and cakes a natural blue.
- Lattes: Mixed with steamed milk and a sweetener, the tea creates a pastel blue latte popular at specialty coffee shops.
You can buy butterfly pea flowers as whole dried flowers, loose petals, tea bags, or powder. The dried flowers tend to keep their color and potency for about a year when stored in a cool, dry place away from direct light.