Yuzu Passion Fruit Butterfly Pea Lemonade
Watch the color change before your eyes! Capture the magic of our Butterfly Pea Lemonade tea mocktail made with our Yuzu Blue Passion Fruit Organic Herbal Tea.
Not only is this iced butterfly pea drink fun to make, but it’s also healthy, refreshing and deliciously organic. Perfect for gatherings, lazy days at the pool or just anytime you want something refreshing without caffeine or alcohol.
- Watch the color change from blue to purple and then to a pretty pink.
- Taste the natural sweetness of the organic Michigan blueberries.
- Enjoy the aromatic citrus flavor of yuzu and lemongrass
- Bring the tropics to your cup with a hint of coconut.
- Finally, enjoy the natural sweetness of passion fruit. Good to the last drop!
Have you ever heard of blue pea lemonade?
It is the latest craze. Maybe you have heard people refer to it as mood ring tea, color changing tea, magic butterfly lemonade, galaxy tea or even unicorn tea. Whatever you want to call it, you are going to love this fun blue mocktail recipe and it's just 4 simple ingredients. We can’t wait for you to try it!
What are Butterfly Pea Flowers?
Our Yuzu Blue Passion Fruit Organic Herbal Tea is made with butterfly pea flowers from the Clitoria Ternatea plant. This little blue pea flower is sometimes also referred to as butterfly pea, blue pea, Aprajita, Cordofan pea, Blue Tea Flowers, or Asian pigeonwings.
The stunning blue violet color is created when the blue flowers are soaked in water because it contains a pigment called anthocyanin. It’s nature’s natural dye. Fraser Tea does not add any additional dyes or colorings, unlike other brands. This new herbal tea is all organic and all natural.
Why Does the Tea Change Colors?
It’s all because of Food Science. The tea color changes when the pH of the solution changes. It starts out blue. Then, when you add an acidic substance, like lemon juice, it turns from purple and then to pink. It’s magic!
Allow us to get a little science nerdy for a moment. This information is very important if you want to get the best color changing results. In a study by Fossen, et. Al, “Colour and stability of pure anthocyanins influenced by pH including the alkaline region”, they assessed the color changes when different pH substances were added.
- Acidic pH between 1 to 6 turns the anthocyanins a red-pink color. Fresh lemon juice has the pH between 2 to 3.
- Neutral pH around 7 will turn the anthocyanins purple color. Safe drinking water is usually has a pH between 6.5 to 8.5.
- Alkaline pH between 8 to 14 will turn the anthocyanins a color green color. Depending on pH level of your drinking water, your color changes may be more purple or even slightly aqua green.
So, what does this mean for you?
You may get different color changing results depending on the pH of your water and additions you choose to add to your lemonade mocktail.
Yuzu Passion Fruit Butterfly Pea Lemonade Recipe
Makes 2 tall glasses
Equipment:
- Ice cube trays
- Pitcher (container) to brew tea
- tall Tom Collins glasses or mocktail glasses of choice
Ingredients:
- 6 sachets or 6 heaping teaspoons of loose-leaf Yuzu Blue Passion Fruit Organic Herbal Tea.
- 4 cups of filtered water
- 3 tablespoons of organic coconut sugar (or regular or sugar substitute of choice)
- 3 tablespoons of filtered water
- Juice of 2 medium sized fresh lemons (approximately 4 tablespoons)
- Sparkling water (optional)
- Garnish with extra lemon slice and serve with a straw (optional)
Directions:
Add Yuzu Blue Passion Fruit Organic Herbal Tea to 4 cups of filtered water and place in the refrigerator overnight to make cold brew for best results. Alternatively, you can make sun tea. Steep in the sun covered for 3 to 5 hours and then chill.
Next fill 1 to 2 ice cube trays with brewed tea and freeze overnight.
Make simple syrup. Add 3 tablespoons of sugar and 3 tablespoons of water and either microwave just until dissolved or you can do this on the stovetop. Set aside and allow to cool.
Juice 2 lemons and set aside.
Fill the glasses with the frozen Yuzu Blue Passion fruit Organic Herbal Tea ice cubes.
Add approximately 1.5 tablespoons of simple syrup on top of the tea iced cubes in each glass.
Next add your cold brewed tea on top of the ice cubes and simple syrup. Make sure to leave a little extra room to top with lemon juice and sparkling water, if desired.
Slowly and carefully add your fresh lemon juice. Watch the color change. Be sure to tag us on Instagram when you share your photos.
Top with a little sparkling water. Garnish with lemon slices and serve with a straw, if desired.
Enjoy!
Top Recipe Tips
- For best results, cold brew your Yuzu Blue Passion Fruit Organic Herbal Tea or make sun tea.
- We used filtered tap water to make the butterfly pea flower lemonade recipe.
- Make ice cubes with your brewed blue tea. When the tea ice cubes melt, they don’t water down your lemonade.
- Please note that chlorine in your drinking water will also change the pH.
- If you want to add a little sparkling water to top off your yuzu lemonade, it’s acidic (pH 3 to 4) so it will assist with the color changing magic.
- Sugar or coconut sugar when dissolved in water to create a simple syrup will have the pH of the water used. As simple syrup has a larger specific gravity compared to tea, it stays on the bottom of the glass. Then you have a 3 toned color change.
- Alternatively, you can use a sugar substitute of choice.
- If you want to exchange sugar with maple syrup, maple syrup has a pH level between 6 to 7.9. Mixed results here so it is either slightly acidic to slightly basic.
- Honey has a pH level of 3.4 to 6.1 so it is acidic.
- 7up can also be used to sweeten this blue mocktail recipe. It has the pH level of 3.2 to 3.9 - so it is acidic.
- Adults, are you feeling a little adventurous? Top off with a shot of vodka. Vodka has a pH between 6 to 7, so it is slightly acidic.
If you enjoyed this mocktail recipe, you may like to check out our organic Night Out & Mocktail Tea collection or other Tea Recipes.
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