Iced Butterfly Pea Flower Tea Latte

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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!

  • Butterfly pea flower tea can be made hot or iced.
  • Adding milk to tea makes it a tea latte.
  • Loose butterfly pea flowers or tea bags can be used.
Blue tea in cup with half & half

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Iced Butterfly Pea Flower Tea Latte

  • The blue color comes naturally from the purplish blue petals of the butterfly pea flower. It’s also known as blue tea.
  • It’s an herbal tea and caffeine-free.
  • 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 Ingredients

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

Is there caffeine?

No, there’s no caffeine at all.

Is this drink really not that great?

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.

I’m using dried butterfly pea flowers. How much do I use?

Replace the 2 tea bags with 2 teaspoons of dried flowers.

Why are you using tea bags for this recipe instead of loose tea?

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. 

Can I use regular milk instead of half & half?

You can, but you won’t get the pretty swirls like you can with half & half.

Butterfly Pea Flower Tea Latte

Author: Jee Choe
Gorgeous iced blue tea latte made with butterfly pea flowers.
4.7 from 76 votes
Prep Time 3 minutes
Steep Time 5 minutes
Total Time 8 minutes
Course Drinks
Yield2 servings

INGREDIENTS
 

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.

NUTRITION

Calories: 90 | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 18mg | Sodium: 53mg | Potassium: 90mg | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 169IU | Calcium: 85mg

11 thoughts on “Iced Butterfly Pea Flower Tea Latte”

  1. 5 stars
    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

    Reply
  2. 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

    Reply
  3. 5 stars
    “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 🙂

    Reply
  4. 5 stars
    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 !

    Reply
  5. 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 !

    Reply

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