Blue Butterfly Lemonade Recipe

Blue Butterfly Lemonade recipe — The Instagram influencer of the drink world — all about that color-changing magic. Made with none. Originally from Thailand.

I'm the drink equivalent of a mood ring with a science degree. One minute I'm deep ocean blue, the next I'm blushing purple-pink from a splash of lemon. I live for the gasps when people watch me transform, and yes, I absolutely know I'm extra.

Butterfly pea flowers have been used as a natural food coloring in Southeast Asian cuisine for centuries, particularly in Malaysian and Thai desserts. The flowers contain anthocyanins, the same compounds that make blueberries blue and cause the dramatic color change when acid is added.

Traditional Thai blue rice and desserts used butterfly pea flowers long before Instagram existed. The Western lemonade mashup happened when craft bartenders discovered this color-changing magic in the 2010s and couldn't resist the theatrical possibilities.

Ingredients

• 6 oz butterfly pea flower tea (cooled to room temperature)
• 2 oz fresh lemon juice (for the color-changing magic)
• 1 oz simple syrup (adjust to taste)
• 1 cup ice
• 4 oz sparkling water (optional for fizz)

Instructions

1. Brew butterfly pea flower tea with hot water for 5 minutes, then let cool.
2. Fill highball glass with ice and pour in the blue tea.
3. Add simple syrup and stir gently.
4. Slowly pour lemon juice over the back of a spoon to watch the color transformation.
5. Top with sparkling water if desired and garnish with lemon wheel and dried butterfly pea flowers.

Category: mocktail | Difficulty: easy | Base spirit: none | ABV:

Origin: Thailand