Butterfly Pea Flower

The tea featured in this cocktail is made from butterfly peaflower (Clitoria ternatea if you’re fancy), which is a flower that originates from Southeast Asia. It has many uses in traditional medicine, but it is also widely used as a natural dye. However, it has recently skyrocketed in popularity in cooking and cocktails due to its colour-changing abilities.

This magical effect is because the pigment in butterfly pea flower is pH-sensitive. The term p-H stands for “potential hydrogen” and measures the concentration of hydrogen ions in a solution. This is measured on a scale of 1-14. On this scale, 7 represents a neutral pH (pure water), 1-6 represents acidic solutions (lemon juice, vinegar, stomach acid etc.), and 8-14 represents basic or alkaline solutions (baking soda, eggs, bleach, etc.). Now, what does all this scientific talk mean for butterfly pea flower? When butterfly pea flower is brewed in water, the tea will be a brilliant indigo colour. However, if you add something acidic like lemon juice, the tea will turn purple or pink, and if you add something basic like baking soda, it will turn green. This makes it the perfect showstopping addition to cocktails. In fact, there are many products on the market with butterfly pea flower specifically for your bar like Empress gin. While these can be a nice addition to your bar cart or a wonderful gift, it’s easy to infuse your cocktails with butterfly pea flower at home. Just add the dried flowers to spirits and allow them to infuse for at least an hour; add the dried flowers to homemade syrups while they simmer; or, like we did here, steep the dried flowers and use the tea for some stunning mocktails. These methods should impart the flower’s striking indigo colour and colour-changing properties.

Florals for dinner? Groundbreaking

Flowers tend to smell great (unless it's a corpse flower), but they also taste great, and make for an atypical ingredient in your usual dishes. However, knowing what to pair their flavours with may take a bit of getting used to. The flavour is usually a combination something vegetal and green, with a flavour related to how the flower smells. This is due to taste and smell being related to one another - any who have tried to taste something with a really bad head cold or blocked nose can attest to this. Floral flavours tend to be a bit more subtle, but chances are you already have some floral ingredients in your panty. Some liquors like Gin and elderflower liqueur, and herbal teas like chamomile and jasmine all have floral elements. You can also buy different syrups made from flower petals to give a stack of pancakes or a cocktail an interesting yet delicious finish: Rose syrup is wonderful on crepes.

Some great pairings with flowers include:

• Rose and cardamom
• Lavender and lemon
• Dandelion and feat cheese
• Nasturtium and orange
• Hibiscus and apple
• Vanilla flower and cinnamon

How to make it

Make the syrup

First, bring some water to a boil in a small saucepan, then add your sugar and lavender. While this is happening, make some butterfly pea (soak the flowers in boiled water).

Turn the heat down, and let the syrup simmer for ten minutes. After ten minutes, set the syrup aside and allow it to cool completely. Once cool, strain out the solids.

Make the cocktail

Add the butterfly pea flower tea, syrup, and lemon juice toa shaker with ice. Shake this until well chilled, then strain it  into a chilled coupe. Garnish with a lemon, and enjoy!