A pretty blue herbal tea latte made with butterfly pea flowers. Add a splash of milky goodness to get a gorgeous creamy swirl. See how easy it is to make!
Iced Butterfly Pea Flower Tea Latte
- The blue color comes naturally from the purplish blue petals of the butterfly pea flower.
- It’s an herbal tea and caffeine-free.
- Also known as a blue tea.
- You can make tea with the flowers and you can also make a tea latte by adding a little milk and sugar.
RELATED: How to Make Butterfly Pea Flower Tea
Looks Great, Tastes Not So Great
I don’t love the taste of this drink but EVERYONE loves the way it looks, so here we are.
Imagine going for a walk in the woods and you pick up some twigs and dry leaves. Then let’s pretend you boil that in hot water. That’s what butterfly pea flower tastes like.
Adding lemonade or lemons to butterfly pea flower tea make it taste better and it’s how I drink it. The brightness from the lemons work well to mask the muskiness from the tea.
RELATED: Butterfly Pea Flower Bubble Tea
Loose Butterfly Pea Flowers vs Tea Bags
Loose butterfly pea flowers are whole, dried flowers. Butterfly pea flowers tea bags are flowers that have been crushed into small bits.
Loose, whole butterfly pea flowers are better quality than tea bags but for recipes or drinks where you’re adding milk and sugar, tea bags are easier to use than loose flowers.
RELATED: Butterfly Pea Flower Cold Foam
Butterfly Pea Flower Latte Ingredients
- Butterfly pea flower tea bags
- Filtered water
- Vanilla extract
- Sweetened condensed milk
- Half & half
- Ice
How to Make Butterfly Pea Flower Tea Latte
1. MAKE BUTTERFLY PEA FLOWER TEA
Steep tea bags in hot water and watch the water turn a dark blue. Take out tea bags and set aside to cool.
2. MAKE VANILLA SWEET CREAM
Combine half & half, sweetened condensed milk, and vanilla extract.
3. ASSEMBLE DRINK
Fill cup with ice and pour in the cooled down blue tea. Next, slowly pour in the vanilla sweet cream and watch it create pretty swirls.
Tea Sommelier’s Tip: To get the pretty swirls, don’t replace the half & half with milk. Milk is too liquid-y so it’ll just go straight to the bottom without creating pretty swirls.
BUTTERFLY PEA FLOWER TEA LATTE TIPS
- The half & half with sweetened condensed milk and vanilla extract can be made ahead of time and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
- The butterfly pea flower tea can also be made ahead of time and kept in the refrigerator for about 4 days.
- If using loose butterfly pea flowers, use 2 teaspoons of butterfly pea flower tea instead of 2 tea bags.
QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE
No, there’s no caffeine at all.
It looks so good but it definitely does not taste as good as it looks. The only way I like having this tea is with lemons or lemonade.
Replace the 2 tea bags with 2 teaspoons of dried flowers.
I’ve made it using both the whole flowers and tea bags and it really tastes pretty much the same, so I’m picking the easier to use option — tea bags.
You can, but you won’t get the pretty swirls like you can with half & half.
Related
- 5 Easy Steps to Make Butterfly Pea Flower Tea Properly
- Butterfly Pea Flower Matcha Lemonade
- Iced Milk Tea
- Quick & Easy Iced Tea
- Easy Sweet Tea
Butterfly Pea Flower Tea Latte
INGREDIENTS
- 2 cups ice
- 2 cups water
- 1/3 cup half & half
- 2 butterfly pea flower tea bags
- 1 tablespoon sweetened condensed milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
INSTRUCTIONS
- Boil water.If using an electric kettle with temperature setting, set it to 180°F. Use filtered water if possible.
- Put tea bags into teapot and add hot water and steep for 5 minutes.Let cool.
- Combine half & half, sweetened condensed milk, and vanilla extract.Stir to mix and set aside.
- Pour cooled butterfly pea flower tea into 2 cups filled with ice.
- Slowly pour in vanilla sweet cream into each cup.The sweet cream will swirl around then settle to the bottom, leaving a pretty gradient.
OMG!
“Imagine going for a walk in the woods and you pick up some twigs and dry leaves. Then let’s pretend you boil that in hot water. That’s what butterfly pea flower tastes like. ”
I can’t stop laughing. Thank you so much.
Cheers,
Laura
You are amazing! I have never heard of a tea sommelier but my goodness you are good at it! Can’t wait to read up on all things tea and try some of your recipes. Thank you! <3
“Imagine going for a walk in the woods and you pick up some twigs and dry leaves. Then let’s pretend you boil that in hot water. That’s what butterfly pea flower tastes like.” That’s exactly what it tastes like! LOL! An acquired taste for sure but I do like the mental imagery of brewing a fantastical frothy woodsy drink 🙂
Looks beautiful and thank you for being honest about the flavour 😀 I have looked everywhere and no one mentions the taste!
I LOVE THIS SITE IT HEPS A LOT
Hi Jee,
I was wondering where you get this glass cup and pitcher? they are so nice!
Thank you!
angela
Hi Angela, I got the cup from CB2 (Marta Old Fashioned cups) and the pitcher from Amazon (https://amzn.to/32Ky4bx).
Hi Jee !
I saw this post on Pinterest, after a research on the butterfly pea flower !
So I bought this dried flower and I just made the infusion!
O
M
G
it’s so concentrated in color it’s beautiful!
I’ll make your drink but vegan version.
THANK you for the great idea.
Its just wow !
Hi Laura, happy to hear it!!
Why didnt you mention that when you add lemon or any other acid to the tea it MAGICALLY changes from deep blue to a gorgeous magenta color ? That’s the best part of the whole blue tea making process ! For parties I make the tea ahead of time and separately make a lemon syrup (just boil lemon juice with sugar to taste, I use 1 c. lemon juice w 1 c. sugar. Boil until its thickened a bit). Then once guests arrive, I serve them tea in a pretty glass cup and add a few teaspoons of the lemon syrup. Instead of the blue to milky blue swirls you get deep blue to bright purple/pink swirls ! Talk about Instagram ready ! Another option is to use a nice sweet fruity vinegar, like a 25 Star balsamic (a strawberry white balsamic unlike any vinegar you have had before, so tangy and fruity I add it to drinks and even to ice cream ! I buy mine at BARRONS , but you can also order online from other sellers). I just wanted to share this with your readers, as it’s a fun drink to experiment with, especially loved by my kids !
Hi Annet, I have a separate post just on the how it turns color! https://www.ohhowcivilized.com/butterfly-pea-flower-tea/