Some blue iced tea and flavoured sparkling water create a light, refreshing and vividly coloured iced tea. Adding in some iced cubes with fruits frozen in add in a rainbow of colour and keep it cool. Staying properly hydrated , especially as the weather heats up, is important for our bodies inside and out and trying out different herbal teas can be a healthy way to mix it up.
Butterfly pea tea is made from a Southeast Asian flower where traditional herbalists use it for healthy eye sight and hair, boosting memory and maintaining a strong immune system. It is caffeine-free, can be drunk hot or cold and has a subtle, pleasant flavour. The dried flowers are becoming more mainstream but they are not widely available yet except for online. The tea can also be naturally used to colour lighter foods like chia pudding, rice and smoothies.
- 6 cups boiling water
- 1 litre sparkling grapefruit flavoured water (any kind of citrus will turn the tea a bit purplish)
- 2 tablespoons Butterfly Pea flowers
- Optional: 2-3 dozen ice cubes with fruit frozen inside*
- Optional: slices of lime for the rims of cups
- *Place two pieces of different coloured fruit pieces into ice cube molds then cover with water and freeze.
- Steep the flowers in the hot water for 3-5 minutes, the longer they are steeped the darker the colour will be (I did the full 5 minutes). Strain the flowers out and place the tea in the fridge to cool for an hour or so.
- Combine the cooled tea with the sparkling grapefruit water (and the ice cubes if using).
