Do you enjoy a bit of whimsy in your life? We certainly do, so when we first stumbled upon this herb we just had take it for a spin. Now we're looking forward to sharing it with you all. This is not the latest "fad"...used for centuries in Southeast Asia as a caffeine-free herbal beverage, Butterfly Pea Flowers are making quite a splash because they have some pretty mesmerising qualities!
Once water is added to the flowers, the infusion turns a beautiful deep blue colour. Then squeeze in some lemon and the blue changes to a luminous, rich purple. There is absolutely nothing artificial here, only a little magic and some sorcery :-) ok, it's actually just chemistry: the liquid changes colour according to the pH of whatever it's mixed with.
Like green tea, Butterfly Pea Flower tea is full of potent antioxidants, and has even been studied for its ability to help protect the skin against premature aging (it fights against glycation, which is protein damage caused by an influx of sugar molecules). The Balinese call it “Bunga telang.” It comes from the Indonesian words meaning having clear vision. Traditional herbalists on Bali use the roots to cure eye ailments and the flowers to cure eye infections like conjunctivitis, or “pink eye.”
There have been additional studies showing the tea’s ability to help fight against internal inflammation. Traditionally, the Butterfly Pea plant and tea made from it have been used to treat general pain, reduce inflammation, help with common eye issues like conjunctivitis, fight against certain types of cancers, induce brain health.
Some published studies have shown other healing properties of the butterfly pea plant:
- Lowers blood pressure
- Anti-anxiety
- Anti-asthmatic
- Pain relieving
It’s like a full-stop natural drugstore in one gorgeous little plant - but we like to take health claims with a pinch of salt so for the moment enjoy this visually beautiful tea for its whimsically gorgeous appearance and refreshing, clean taste. The only problem we has was settling for a name...we're still divided between Blue Velvet and Purple Rain ;-)