Hearing the word “tea” gives you an image of a black or brown cup loaded with caffeine which may be served chilled or steaming. However, the tea we are going to talk about today is neither black or brown, but surprisingly, an electric blue!
It is called Blue Ternate tea or otherwise known as Butterfly pea tea. It can change colors, is usually blue and has no caffeine. Blue tea originally originated in South Asia where it was extracted from Clitoria ternatea plant, also called the butterfly-blue pea, blue-pea, or Asian pigeonwings. It is known for its amazing health benefits and is often referred to as liquid medicine. It is also popular for being caffeine-free for people trying to cut back on it.
What is even more fascinating than its electric blue color is its ability to shift colors with pH. Adding lemon gives it a gorgeous purple color while hibiscus leaves will leave you with a red tea. To enjoy it, you can simply buy blue butterfly pea tea bags from groceries/online stores, steep it and voila – you got a blue tea!
Alright, that’s probably oversimplified, but nevertheless – let’s get started! But before that, if you are interested to make your life even healthier. check out the Best Digestive Drinks for Gut Health and Pique Tea Reviewed – How Healthy It Really is?
What is Blue ternate tea?
It’s a Blue tea that comes from a Blue ternate plant. It is also called Butterfly pea, Blue pea, or Asian pigeonwings. Despite its recent popularity, this plant originated from South East Asia, and this tea recipe has been around for centuries. It has been part of the culture in Vietnam, Malaysia, Bali and Thailand. This herbal drink is popular because of its health benefits. And since it is edible too, it has been used as a garnish to salads. Like green tea, this Blue ternate is rich in antioxidants.
The Clitoria ternetea plant’s petals were thought to resemble female genitals, earning it the name Clitoria from the word “clitoris”. The plant is from the Fabaceae pea family. The extract from this plant has been used in making cosmetics, dyes and beverages for centuries. People add mint, lemongrass, lemon, hibiscus, cinnamon, ginger, or passion fruit to further spark up its unique taste. It is served as a refreshing beverage in spas or just for normal refreshment.
Blue Ternate tea is not just only pleasing to the eyes, but it is also a healthy drink, with health benefits including immunity-elevating properties, improved brain function, and weight loss. Scroll down and read more about its health Benefits and tea recipes and start enjoying them. It can be as simple as purchasing blue butterfly pea tea bags and steep it just like regular tea!
Health Benefits
While blue tea’s gorgeous color is enough for you to want to drink up on it, numerous latest studies have shown a plethora of health benefits associated with consuming this pea flower tea.
Effective for Weight Loss
Due to the increasing awareness of obesity-related health problems, more and more people are looking to lose weight. Drinking teas for weight loss has been a trend, and blue ternate tea is just one of the new weight loss teas that just might be the most effective
How it works is that it contains a compound called epigallocatechin gallate that speeds up the calorie-burning process and boosts your metabolism. This compound also helps to protect against the fatty liver disease. Fatty liver disease is usually what causes weight gain, focusing on the lower belly. Blue ternate tea not only prevents weight gain due to fatty liver disease, but it also generally increases calorie consumption by the body.
Studies have shown that blue tea has more ECGC than any other tea, which makes it more effective for treating obesity than other varieties. Antioxidants are also found in it, which have diuretic properties. They help shed water weight that has been caused by a diet high in sodium or refines carbohydrates. By reducing water retention, the weight automatically goes down and the ever-annoying bloating is also taken care of!
All Natural Paracetamol
A fever is a very common thing and everyone usually has paracetamol lying around. But what if you don’t? or what if you are tired of medication and want to shift to some natural remedies for this fever and pain relief? Well, clitoria ternatea tea has you covered!
A phytomedicine journal’s findings revealed that butterfly pea flower have antipyretic benefits similar to Paracetamol. Therefore, it can work as a pain-reliever or a fever-reducer. It causes vasodilation of the blood vessels. During a fever, your body needs to cool down by letting heat out.
When blood runs through the dilated vessels close to the skin, more heat is lost through the skin and the body naturally cools down. It is shown that about 200-400mg of blue ternate tea extract could lower a fever for up to 5 hours!
Effective for Diabetes
Diabetes takes millions of lives every year. It is a shame how it is still incurable. While many drugs exist to lower the effects of diabetes, clitoria ternatea tea is a natural remedy. According to numerous studies, It shows anti-diabetic properties similar to glibenclamide, an anti-diabetic drug
In people who consumed a cup of tea a day, blood glucose levels appeared to be more normal. There were smaller spikes right after meals and the overall glucose level also stayed lower. This is because blue ternate tea benefits the body by preventing excessive glucose uptake from food by the body. The unwanted glucose stays in the undigested food and hence, glucose levels in the blood remain unelevated.
According to the Journal of Applied Pharmaceutical Science, blue ternate tea extract when given to rats reduced the amount of glucose in their blood and also prevented them from gaining a lot of weight.
Good for the Heart
Blue ternate tea is great for keeping your heart healthy and pumping!
Let us first look into the reasons for heart disease. One of the major reasons is an excess of cholesterol in the blood. this cholesterol may deposit inside your arteries, causing slight or complete blockage. This causes an increased blood pressure, heart problems and eventually a heart attack. Blue ternate tea works by reducing cholesterol levels in the blood owing to the high level of antioxidants found in it.
It also reduces the risk of developing Hyperlipidemia, which is an abnormal amount of lipids or fats in the blood. It does so by controlling the amounts of these harmful substances.
Anti-Aging
Blue pea flower tea contains antioxidants. These antioxidants are responsible for a lot of magical things in your body. One of these is fighting off free radicals to give you a smooth glowing skin. These anti oxidants will prevent scarring, blemishing, wrinkling and a lot of other things which are a culprit at making your skin look old.
Blue tea also contains a compound called Anthocyanin. This compound is a magic potion for your hair. It is usually what is put in all those expensive hair treatment products because it strengthens hair follicles nd prevents hair loss. If you want a strong scalp, opt for blue tea with its amazing hair-specific benefits!
Can work as an Anti-depressant
With the world transforming into a fast-paced race, it is natural to feel overwhelmed sometimes. One may find it hard to calm their nerves after a long stressful day at work or college. Unless medically diagnosed, anti-depressants and stress-relieving medication are not an option.
What is a great option to calm your nerves is blue ternate tea! According to many studies, clitoria ternetea tea has been seen to have many positive benefits for the Central Nervous system. It has worked in relaxing the muscles and relieving tension. Known to elevate moods, it may be all you need to have the relaxed sleep that your body aches for.
Improves Eye Health
With eye ailments effecting half the population, a natural remedy is a must! Overworking eyes on a computer screen or on a book is unavoidable for some people. To relax the eyes and prevent further deterioration of their health, blue pea flower tea is amazing!
As mentioned before, it is filled to the brim with anti oxidants, many of which promote eye health. One of these anti oxidants is called proanthocyanidin. It works by dilating the capillaries carrying blood to the eyes. When more blood reaches the eyes, more oxygen and nutrients are provided to them, improving their health
Prevents Male Pattern Baldness
Male pattern baldness is a horror for most men. It is caused by a process called glycation in which the proteins of hair follicles are damaged, rendering them unable to produce hair. Blue tea has components that prevents this process. Blue tea also contains flavonoids which are beneficial for the production of collagen.
Collagen is responsible for skin elasticity and strengthening hair and skin cells. When collagen production is stimulated, the hair not only falls out less, but also appears shinier and healthier than before.
Promotes Brain Health
With all the antioxidants found it in, blue tea is known to be extremely beneficial for brain health. It has a positive impact on the central nervous system. It also calms the nerves and relaxes. Owing to the lessened stress, brain health is improved.
Moreover, some studies have pointed to blue tea effectively increasing memory in rats. This suggests that blue tea has a positive effect on not only cognitive abilities, but also memory storage. Blue tea contained Acetylcholine, a compound needed for effective communication between neurons. This compound finds itself in scarcity with age. Among clitoria ternatea’s many medicinal uses, one is increasing this compound to prevent memory loss.
Possesses Anti Inflammatory Properties
Owing to the high amount of anti oxidants, Blue tea has anti inflammatory properties. It is very effective for the treatment of both internal and external inflammations.
This helps it to control a number of chronic diseases. it provides relief from pain and swelling and may be especially helpful in diseases where inflammation is the root cause for pain. One such disease is rheumatoid arthritis where inflamed joints cause intense pain. Clitoria Ternatea’s medicinal benefits may help with that!
Side Effects of Blue Ternate Tea
We have been going on and on about blue butterfly pea flower tea’s astonishing health benefits. You may think that this all sounds too good to be true. As humans, naturally our first instinct is “But, what’s the catch?”. In this case, there is none! Yes, you heard it right, no side effects!
According to research, butterfly pea flower tea has shown no side effects. It is completely safe and extremely beneficial! However, excess of anything is bad. Drinking too much of this tea may lead to nausea and vomiting. Moreover, we suggest that pregnant and lactating women consult their doctors before adding this magical tea to their diet.
For anyone taking regular medication, it is suggested for you to consult your doctor too. you never know which compounds may react and cause problems for you!
Where to Buy Butterfly Pea Tea?
Are you convinced yet to make a cup?
You may wonder where to buy butterfly pea tea. You can simply start to buy blue butterfly pea tea bags from your grocery store or your favorite online store and steep it for a couple of minutes. This is for people who don’t have time to make it themselves. Don’t worry though, blue butterfly pea tea bags work great too!
How to make Blue Tea – Recipes
If you’re wondering how to make this delicious blue tea, we have listed the 3 best recipes to enjoy this drink. You can serve it hot or cold and can add any other flavoring like lemongrass or ginger to it!
Hot Blue Ternate Tea
Ingredients:
- a cup of hot water
- 1 teaspoon of dried butterfly pea flowers or tea leaves
Instructions:
- Pour the hot water into a glass or a mug.
- Add the dried flowers and let it steep for around 15 minutes.
- Strain your tea when most of the tea leaves appear dull and your water has taken on a beautiful blue color.
Then voila! Your hot butterfly flower tea is ready to be enjoyed. You can spice things up by adding cinnamon, ginger, honey, or lemongrass to it. Different additions may cause it to take on a different color.
Blue Ternate Tea Lemonade
Ingredients:
- A cup of hot water
- 2-3 tsp. Blue ternate dried flowers/tea
- Crushed ice
- Lemon juice from half a lemon
- Honey or sugar
Instructions:
- Pour hot water into a glass or a mug.
- Put in the dried butterfly pea flowers and let the mixture sit for 15 minutes
- Strain your tea when it turns a blue color
- Stir and add the lemon juice (The tea will change color to a bright green)
- Wait for the mixture to cool
- Add honey or sugar to taste
- Pour it over your crushed ice and serve chilled
You can now enjoy your purple lemonade! It is cool and refreshing, and trust me this is going to be your next favorite summer drink! You can also impress your friends by the changing color trick.
Blue Ternate Tea Latte
Ingredients:
- 1-2 cups of Hot water
- 1/4 cup of Blue ternate dried flowers
- 1/4 cup of Whole milk or non-dairy milk
- 1 tsp. of Sugar or Honey
Instructions:
- Add two cups of hot water to a tea pot
- Add the dried leaves and let it steep for 5-15 minutes (depending on how strong you like your tea)
- Once turned into blue (not too dark blue, avoid steeping longer than usual as it will taste bitter), pour the hot water into your cup or mug.
- Steam your milk.
- Pour your milk into the cup of blue tea
- Add honey or sugar (to taste)
Enjoy your blue ternate tea latte! It is not only absolutely gorgeous, but also extremely healthy, and soothing.
Conclusion
This butterfly flower tea, also called blue ternate or clitoria ternatea tea, can be the next big beverage craze. From its amazing health benefits to its Instagram-worthy appearance, what’s not to like!
It has the potential of reaching a much wider audience than what it currently has. Who wouldn’t want a healthy tea, right? for this reason, we have listed everything you needed to know about blue tea. There’s no reason not to drink this. Consider adding this to your list of Best Tea Recipes! Go and make yourself a delicious cup! If you need to sweeten your tea in a healthy fashion, read: Allulose – [Health Benefits, Risks, Comparisons and more]
Source:
The antioxidant activity of Clitoria ternatea flower petal extracts and eye gel