The electric-blue tea that turns purple when you squeeze in lemon. Beyond its color theater, it is a concentrated anthocyanin infusion studied for the brain and the blood vessels.
Butterfly pea is an Instagram-era discovery for most Black drinkers, valued first for the dramatic color in mocktails and lemonades. But the anthocyanin profile is the same family of pigments in the blueberries and purple sweet potatoes the elders prized — color as medicine.
The intense blue comes from ternatins, a family of polyacylated anthocyanins among the most stable in nature. Anthocyanins are potent antioxidants that protect the vascular endothelium and the retina, and small human and animal studies link butterfly pea to improved antioxidant status and modest blood-sugar control through alpha-amylase and alpha-glucosidase inhibition. Anthocyanins also cross into the brain and are associated with better memory and a calming effect. The same delphinidin-class pigments protect the microvasculature — relevant to a community with high rates of diabetic eye and vascular damage.
Steep a tablespoon of dried flowers or 5-10 whole blossoms in hot water (200°F) for 5 minutes until the water turns deep blue. Add lemon or lime and watch it shift to purple — a pH reaction, not a trick. Naturally caffeine-free.
Free, no account needed to ask.