This tea naturally turns from cobalt blue to violet with a squeeze of lemon.
Butterfly Pea tea was one of my biggest sellers in my first store. When I started Clean Nectarine, I reached out to add it to the range, and the brand had stopped making it. So I created my own, because it is a beautiful herbal tea, so enjoyable to drink, so full of antioxidants, and great for your skin. I worked with an award winning Australian tea maker on my blend of Butterfly Pea flowers, White Tea leaves and Cornflower petals.
Butterfly Pea itself, often called blue tea, is a climbing plant native to Southeast Asia, and its flowers have been brewed for centuries across Thailand, Malaysia and India. In Ayurveda it's been used as a memory and focus tonic. It is only recently finding its way into Australian cups, and you won’t find a blend like this one at the supermarket.
Why Does Butterfly Pea Tea Change Colour?
The colour change looks magical, but it is based on science. Butterfly Pea flowers are full of anthocyanins, the same plant pigments that make blueberries blue and purple cabbage purple. The flower’s signature compound, ternatin, reacts to pH, so the moment anything acidic like lemon juice hits the cup, the blue shifts to a brilliant violet. Even knowing the science, I never expected it to be so vibrant or to change so dramatically.
I Loved This Flower So Much I Once Made a Butterfly Pea Gin
This is not my first butterfly pea creation. At Sans Drinks (the non-alcoholic drinks business I created while I was serving out my non-compete period after Nourished Life), I created the Ms Sans Butterfly Pea Gin, an alcohol-free gin that changed colour when you added tonic or lemon, exactly like this tea does. I still don't drink alcohol, but if you do, I have spotted a real butterfly pea gin in bottle shops. It's called Ink Gin, and it looks ink blue.
What Are the Benefits of Butterfly Pea Tea?
Butterfly Pea is rich in antioxidants, ternatins, kaempferol and p-coumaric acid among them, and that antioxidant content is the strongest part of the research. The rest is early days. A 2021 study found Butterfly Pea extract improved skin hydration when applied topically, and 2024 research found a Butterfly Pea shampoo reduced dandruff, so most of the skin and hair findings are about the extract on your skin rather than the tea in your cup. A small 2018 study found a Butterfly Pea drink supported antioxidant levels and steadier blood sugar after a sugary drink, and there is early research on fermented Butterfly Pea drinks and gut health too.
The White Tea leaves are in the blend because, if you know me, you know I always love to double down on benefits. White tea is also really high in antioxidants, and it carries a little natural caffeine, far less than a coffee, which is a nice little boost for me without being anything like coffee. Butterfly Pea on its own is naturally caffeine-free, so the gentle caffeine in my blend is all from the white tea. My cup happens around 3pm as a little ritual, and I don't even think about coffee. For a caffeine-free option later in the day, try my guide to making the best turmeric latte.
The Clean Nectarine Butterfly Pea Tea
My blend uses the whole flowers and leaves, it's made in Australia and vegan, and it makes the best-looking yummy iced tea as well as a lovely hot cup. Naturally sweet and lightly floral, if you're wondering about taste, with a fresh twist once the lemon goes in.
A word on the packaging, because I fussed over it. The pyramid tea bags are made from Soilon, a plant-based mesh made from fermented corn starch or sugarcane, fully compostable and free from plastic, with lots of room for the whole leaves to expand as they steep. The bags are wrapped in biodegradable NatureFlex inside a reusable cardboard cylinder.
To make it: one pyramid per cup, freshly boiled water, steep for 5 to 7 minutes, and of course a little squeeze or slice of lemon to set off the colour change.
About the Author ~ Irene Falcone
Irene Falcone is a clean beauty writer and co-host of a wellness podcast. She has spent more than 15 years reading the back of beauty labels, and is a Telstra Business Women's Awards winner and a judge for the Clean + Conscious Awards.
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