This magical color-changing lemonade gets it’s natural color from the butterfly pea flower, changing from rich blue to vibrant magenta right before your very eyes!
Do you believe in magic?
Like most magic tricks, this one is based resoundingly in science. That doesn’t detract from the fun and amazement of it, however. Never before has lemonade been so gosh darn fun.
I call it magic butterfly lemonade or amazing color-changing lemonade, but you could also call it unicorn lemonade if you’re into that sort of thing (I think Starbucks had a secret version of this on their menu along with those ghastly unicorn frappicinnos, the difference is this version is completely natural.)
You heard me: there is nothing artificial about the color of this lemonade.
The magic in this recipe comes from a little blue flower native to Southeast Asia called the butterfly pea.
Tea made from these flowers starts out a rich, sapphire blue. Hard to believe, actually, that something that blue can come from nature (how many other truly blue foods are there? Not many.)
When the pH of the blue tea is changed, in this case with the addition of lemon juice, it transforms into a vibrant magenta.
To make this magic lemonade, you’ll need to get your hands on some dried butterfly pea flowers. These are steeped along with sugar and hot water to make a vibrant blue sugar syrup, which makes up half the final lemonade. The other half is simply lemon juice and water.
The magic color changing effect comes when these two components are mixed: the blue tea turns purple and eventually magenta the more acid is added.
But how does it work, exactly?
(Click through to find out… plus a video so you can see the magic in action!)
Well, this little blue flower contains a high concentration of a blue-violent plant pigment called anthocyanin; the color of this pigment depends on the acidity of its environment. It starts out blue, and slowly changes to purple and then magenta the more acidic its environment. (Conversely, if you added a base liquid to the tea the color would change to green and even to yellow around pH 13/14… but that doesn’t make for very good drinking). Red cabbage actually has similar compounds, and a ‘tea’ made from steeped red cabbage would make a similar magic lemonade. But who wants to drink red cabbage lemonade? Blech.
Butterfly pea tea, on the other hand, really doesn’t taste like much, slightly earthy and woody not unlike a mild green tea. Here, however, any subtle flavors it may impart are readily masked by the tart lemon juice. We’re really only using it for its color… although, apparently they’re good for you too. Rich in natural antioxidants, the butterfly pea plant is said to improve blood circulation and eye health as well as nourish skin and hair, one reason why it is so prevalent in Southeast Asia in both food and beauty products.
I love the natural gradient that forms when the lemon hits the syrup, but you’ll need to stir it before drinking (otherwise you’ll be drinking straight up sugar syrup in the bottom of the glass followed by tart unsweetened lemonade). Just stir until the entire glass is solid magenta, then enjoy!
Magic aside, I’m kind of obsessed with the natural coloring possibilities. Butterfly pea flowers are also available in powdered form as well as liquid extracts, and could be added just about anything to impart a gorgeous blue hue. Sticky rice? Pasta dough? Ice cream? My mind is going a mile a minute right about now thinking of all the blue possibilities. Needless to say, you can probably expect some more blue foods around these parts in the near future.
Whether you call it magic butterfly lemonade, amazing color-changing lemonade, or unicorn lemonade (if you’re into that sort of thing — I think Starbucks had a secret unicorn lemonade on their menu along with those ghastly unicorn frappuccinos. The difference, of course, is that this version is completely natural) I think we can all agree this is quite possibly the prettiest (and most entertaining) lemonade ever.
This is one of those recipes that is hard to describe in still pictures alone, so I put together a little video so you can experience the magic for yourself! Enjoy!
This recipe makes about 6 cups/48 ounces of lemonade, but can easily be scaled up or down for a crowd.
If you’re making a big batch for a party, I recommend keeping the two components in separate pitchers until ready to serve, and let guests pour their own to experience the magic first hand. Because, let’s face it, premixing would ruin all the fun. Adults and children alike will watch in awe as their lemonade transforms from brilliant blue to vibrant pink right before their very eyes. Abracadabra!
Butterfly Pea Lemonade
Ingredients
- 5 cups / 1200 ml filtered water, divided
- 1 cup / 200 g granulated sugar, or to taste
- ½ cup / 8 g dried butterfly pea flowers
- 1 cup / 240 g freshly squeezed lemon juice, from 8-10 lemons
Instructions
- In a saucepan, combine 3 cups filtered water with sugar. Stir in butterfly pea flowers. Bring to a simmer. Remove from heat, cover and let steep for 10 minutes. Strain through a fine mesh sieve, discarding solids. Set aside to cool.
- In a jar or glass measuring cup, combine lemon juice and remaining 2 cups of water.
- To serve, fill glasses with ice. Pour cooled butterfly pea syrup into glass, filling about half way.
- Pour lemon mixture over top, and watch the magic happen! Where the lemon meets the syrup, the color will change from blue to pink. Stir to combine the two mixtures until the color is pink throughout and enjoy!
Can you use store bought lemonade for this? Will be having a large crowd and don’t want to squeeze lemon juice!
What would happen if you added vodka for a signature cocktail for say Halloween?
I loved the idea that this tea would change color! I really tried to get the 3 separate layers but could not – but it was very fun to watch it change color. Thanks for the description and ‘recipe’ for the syrup and lemonade. It turned out delicious! :)
This is so pretty, I can’t wait to make it! One question – could the sugar be left out of the butterfly pea tea mixture and instead added directly into the lemonade? In other words, is the sugar just for overall sweetening or is it needed to activate the butterfly pea color? Thanks!
The sugar doesn’t really affect the acidity of the lemonade. I find granulated sugar almost impossible to ‘dissolve’ in cold lemonade, which is why I heated it with the butterfly pea to make a sugar syrup.
I was looking into buying some but see that you can now get it in a powder. Do you think you can use them interchangably? Or is the powder just a way to get that color without needing to steep in water (for recipes without water)? I tried googling but didn’t have any luck.
I’m also curious, I got the powder too and can’t find any info.
I’m curious too. I got the powder and can’t find any info online about how to use it specifically
Same…. It was a nice purple color, but I didn’t have any of the interesting pink effects. The other issue that I have is that I was using a purchased lemonade already made. I’m thinking that the way to go is making lemonade with simple syrup as in this recipe. I will try it.
I used brown sugar and the syrup turned green, but when I added the lemon mixture it still turned purple :))
The first time I made a pitcher of butterfly tea i used tap water and it turned green! I thought it was something with the pH so it’s nice to know I was right. However it still tasted great and did turn purple after adding lemon so it was in no way a fail
What a cool science experiment how different water affects the pH of the tea! :)
I grew the flower this year and finally had enough dried flowers to try. I used brown sugar though and it threw the color off! So beware!
Brown sugar will definitely discolor the syrup, I don’t recommend using this (even organic sugar has a tan tint to it). White sugar is best here!
Hi I tried this recipe and it didn’t separate. Just turned purple. Is there something I did wrong? I followed the instructions to a T. Pour slower?
Pouring technique definitely makes a difference. Also your ice, I used pellet ice which forms more of a barrier between the layers. Bigger ice cubes wouldn’t show as drastic separation, but the color change effect is still fun regardless!
You really need crushed or pellet ice. I tried multiple variations of pouring and ice and the pellet ice works best. Then the crushed ice. Regular ice does not provide enough of a barrier to separate it.
We grow butterfly pea plants here in South Florida. Making the tea with the fresh flowers works just as well. You might need to use more flowers for the effect, but the vines flower prolifically, so no problems. If you are growing the plants, just make sure they are “organic” and have not been sprayed with pest control chemicals.
The most beautiful lemonade ever , I just have to serve this to my guests today
You mentioned blue sticky rice. I tried color changing sushi by boiling the rice in the blue water. It made beautiful blue rice but the color was “locked” into the rice so when I put rice wine vinegar on it, the color changed very slowly – took about 10 minutes to turn purple. Kind of anticlimactic at that point LOL
Is there anyway to do this in a way that it’s not so expensive?
I’ve heard you can achieve a similar effect with red cabbage; although I haven’t tried it personally so I can’t say how it might affect flavor. Also, know that one bag of dried butterfly pea flowers goes a long way, you certainly won’t be using $5 worth of flowers in a single batch of lemonade. :)
So, is this like a half and half? Half the blue syrup, half the lemon juice? Just trying to get a sense of the correct ratio to produce a nice lemonade, too. :)
Half and half is a good place to start! You can adjust as desired for taste. :)
SOOOO cool! I love how colorful this is! What is the flavor like?
Butterfly pea doesn’t taste much like anything… if it weren’t for the color you’d think it was just plain old fashioned lemonade. :)
My dad gave me some butterfly pea tea last year! It was so cool watching it change colours! It didn’t have a lot of taste on its own though so I like the sound of making it with lemonade (we had it as tea with a splash of lemon juice).
I have never hear of butterfly pea flowers, but after seeing this, I am ordering some. This is so SO beautiful.
What a pretty drink! This sounds yummy!
Who needs Starbucks when you can make your own magic!
Really loved the amazing photographs! This inspired me to make my own lemonade! Ordering the Butterfly Pea Flower Tea from Amazon right now!
Thank you for sharing Lindsay and Taylor! xoxo
Definitely the most beautiful lemonade ever and unreal that it’s all natural! The ombre unicorn look is gorgeous!
This has to be one of the most beautiful drinks I’ve ever seen!
Paige
WHAT! And I love the video :)
I love this! Even more, I love the scientific explanation.
I just ordered dried butterfly pea flowers and am trying to decide what to do with them. This lemonade looks gorgeous!! And obviously awesome that those beautiful colors are natural.