Looking for a refreshing and delicious way to start your day? Try this vegan butterfly pea flower latte! Not only is it a great alternative to coffee, but it's perfect for unwinding later on in the day too. So why not treat yourself and give it a try?
When combined with creamy cashew milk and sweetened naturally with maple syrup, this special tea will become an instant favorite, as comforting as a hug! Ready your mugs, friends—this latte is too good not to try!
I'm thrilled to introduce the Blue Butterfly Pea Flower Latte, a plant-based delight made with four simple ingredients. This latte is an easy way to add the brilliance of both flavor and color to your day. This fragrant flower has been used in traditional Southeast Asian dishes for centuries because of its soothing properties.
This Vegan Butterfly pea flower tea latte is my favorite way to start the day. It’s a beautiful bright blue and has a lovely floral yet earthy taste that you can't get from any other tea. I first saw this drink on Instagram and I had been wanting to make it ever since!
This vegan Butterfly Pea Flower Latte is perfect for when you are looking for something soothing or if you want to relax before bed. This easy-to-make latte gets its creaminess from plant-based milk and its lovely blue hue from butterfly pea flowers - no artificial coloring in the blue milk!
Another drink to try is this Pandan Latte.
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What is butterfly pea flower?
The butterfly pea flower plant, known as clitoria ternatea and also known as Asian pigeon wing, has been cultivated for a long time in the tropical equatorial region of Southeast Asia. Its flowers are a stunning blue color, and the petals have flecks of white and yellow.
The butterfly pea flower powder is derived from dried butterfly pea flowers. It is entirely plant-based, vegan, caffeine-free, and free of artificial coloring.
What are the health benefits of butterfly pea flower?
Butterfly pea flowers are said to have been used as an analgesic and to aid insomnia, as well as for beauty purposes. The blue color of the flowers comes from anthocyanins, which are water-soluble compounds that occur naturally in some black, blue, purple, and red plants.
The flowers also contain antioxidants. Antioxidants protect against the damaging effects of free radicals, protecting against aging prematurely.
In Southeast Asian countries such as Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam, butterfly pea flowers are used for natural food coloring in rice dishes and in teas.
When the flowers are added to hot water, the water will turn an incredible shade of blue or violet. When mixed with lemon or lime, which have acidity, the liquid turns a beautiful shade of pink.
Ingredients
These are the four ingredients you need to make this soothing latte recipe. The fifth ingredient, rose petals or rose buds, is optional.
- Cashew milk, almond milk, coconut milk, or oat milk - use the plant milk of your choice.
- Blue butterfly pea flower powder - also known as blue matcha, which is dried and crushed butterfly pea flower petals that are ground into a fine powder. The benefit of using the powder is that you don't have to brew it first.
- Maple syrup to add sweetness (start with one teaspoon).
- Vanilla extract for additional flavor.
- Culinary dried rose petals or dried rose buds- optional, for the prettiest garnish.
Equipment
Here is what you will need to make this Butterfly Pea Latte, which is an herbal tea with plant-based milk:
- medium saucepan
- whisk
- milk frother - I love this battery-operated milk frother.
How to make a butterfly pea flower latte
It only takes about ten minutes to make this warm and cozy drink. Here are the steps to make this caffeine-free latte:
Place butterfly pea flower powder in a small bowl. Add hot water and whisk until it the powder dissolves. Set aside.
In a medium saucepan, heat cashew milk or the plant-based milk of your choice on medium heat until starting to steam, stirring occasionally
Whisk in butterfly pea flower mixture with maple syrup and vanilla extract.
Take off the heat, and aerate with milk frother for 30 seconds if desired.
Pour into a cup and garnish with rose petals if desired. Enjoy!
TIP: Keep an eye on your saucepan because the mixture can suddenly foam up when overheated and overflowing.
How does it taste?
This dairy-free creamy blue latte with dried blue pea flowers is soothing, and the taste reminds me of the flavor of green tea. It is lovely and mild, delicate, and floral, with a slightly earthy and woody flavor.
Substitutions
Maple syrup - use coconut sugar or brown sugar.
Blue butterfly pea flower powder - use dried butterfly pea flowers instead to make an herbal tea. Use one tablespoon of dried flowers with a cup of hot water to make hot tea. Let steep for 5 minutes. Add your favorite sweetener and lemon juice or lime juice for flavor, and to see the color-changing properties. Note, this will change the color of the drink due to the acidity.
Variations
Rose simple syrup instead of maple syrup for even more of that lovely delicate floral flavor, start with a teaspoon and adjust to taste.
Lavender simple syrup instead of maple syrup.
You can make cold drinks as well. If you want an iced blue latte, add ice, and maybe a squeeze of lemon for extra flavor.
If you have an espresso machine, add freshly brewed espresso to this latte for a caffeinated beverage.
Expert tip
Mix the butterfly pea flower powder with 1 to 2 tablespoons of hot water before adding it to the hot milk.
More drink recipes
Recipe pairings
If you make this recipe, please take a moment to ★★★★★ star-rate it and leave a comment below. Follow me on Instagram and Facebook, and share your creation with me! Tag me @resplendentkitchen and hashtag #resplendentkitchenrecipes.
Recipe
Vegan Butterfly Pea Flower Latte
Ingredients
- 8 oz cashew milk or other plant-based milk like almond milk or oat milk
- ½ teaspoon blue butterfly pea flower powder
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup or rose simple syrup (start with one teaspoon) or lavender simple syrup
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon organic dried rose petals optional, or dried organic rose buds
- 1 tablespoon hot water
Instructions
- Place butterfly pea powder in a small bowl. Add hot water and whisk until it the powder dissolves. Set aside.
- Heat cashew milk on medium heat until starting to steam.
- Whisk in butterfly pea flower mixture with maple syrup and vanilla extract.
- Take off the heat, and aerate with milk frother for 30 seconds if desired. Pour into cup and garnish with rose petals if desired. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Resplendent Kitchen offers nutritional information for recipes contained on this site as a courtesy. Although resplendentkitchen.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information from online calculators, these figures are estimates.
Suchita
Beautiful photography! I am a regular chai drinker but you have just tempted me to try something new.
Emily
I'm glad to hear it, thank you!
công thức nấu ăn
Amazing drink recipe for weekend!
Emily
Thanks very much!
Alexandra
LOOOVE IT! wish I would have found this recipe sooner 🙂 so aesthetic and tastes delicious!
Emily
Thank you for your review, Alexandra, I'm so glad to hear that you love the recipe!
Pattie
Looks so dreamy! Question: I was given "whole" butterfly pea flowers. Is there a way to use it instead of the powder?
Emily
Hi Pattie, Thank you for your review and question! You can make an herbal tea with the butterfly pea flowers you were given; add lemon or simple syrup to taste; otherwise the flavor is earthy and woody. To make herbal tea, steep the 1 to 2 teaspoons of butterfly pea flowers in filtered hot water for 5 minutes and then remove the flowers. You can drink this tea by itself (add sliced lemon or lemon juice to make the drink purple) or add it to cold lemon water for a refreshing beverage; just use less water to make the tea. You can make iced herbal tea as well, sweeten it with simple syrup or another liquid sweetener like agave syrup or maple syrup.
Lucy
Wow, how beautiful does this look! I've never heard of butterfly pea flower powder before, thank you for introducing me to it. I avoid caffeine altogether so can't wait to try this, it sounds like such a great alternative!
Emily
Thank you so much for the review Lucy. I'm so glad to introduce you to butterfly pea flower powder, I hope you give it a try!
Nancy
This is SO pretty! I could drink this all day!
Emily
Thank you so much, Nancy! It's a favorite!
Erica
Yum! So delicious.
Emily
Thank you so much!
Cynthia
I love this latte! I’m not a coffee drinker so this is a perfect morning drink. I usually drink matcha lattes. I tried mixing both. Delicious too.
Emily
Thank you for your review and kind words, Cynthia. I'm delighted to hear that mixing matcha with this latte worked out nicely as well - it sounds like an amazing combination! Thank you for taking the time to leave us this review!