Here in Kauai, my latest garden treasure is butterfly pea flowers. Every morning, as soon as the sun rises, I head out to the garden to harvest the blooms that opened overnight on our trailing vines. My husband uses about five petals to steep a cup of mildly flavored hot water. I toss the same amount into my morning smoothie before blending.
These flowers are best known for turning drinks—and yes, your tongue—a vivid blue. But their appeal goes far beyond the novelty.
Butterfly pea flowers as a foodservice beverage ingredient check some pretty trendy boxes. You can build a compelling story around them:
- Natural color appeal. The flowers are naturally blue, but when mixed with anything acidic (like lemon or lime), they morph into a bold purple.
- Functional and plant-based. More than a natural “food dye,” butterfly pea flowers contain beneficial compounds like flavonoids, polyphenols and peptides. They invoke a sense of wellness with properties like antioxidant activity, anti-inflammatory support and even potential blood sugar regulation.
- Global applications. While most often used in drinks, butterfly pea flowers have long been part of Southeast Asian cooking. In Thailand and Malaysia, they’re used to color jasmine rice blue. In Indonesia, they appear in steamed rice cakes and glutinous rice desserts.
- Social media ready. The striking blue or purple hues created by butterfly pea flowers are made for Instagram, TikTok and anywhere else folks post what they eat and drink.
But what I really wonder is why butterfly pea flowers haven’t made a splash in U.S. foodservice—at any level.
About seven years ago, I read a beverage company’s trend research report. The research team surveyed restaurants around the world, searching for unique drink concepts. Not a single U.S. restaurant in their scan was using butterfly pea flowers.
Sydney, Australia, on the other hand, was on it. One café offered a Hot Butterfly Pea Tea Latte and an Iced Butterfly Pea Latte with Cream Cheese. Another served a Butterfly Mango Sprite—a layered drink with mango on the bottom and butterfly pea tea on top. Yet another operator featured a Lemon Moonshine Sparkling Juice made with sweetened blue butterfly pea tea, ice, soda water and a slice of lemon.
Here in the States, I’ll give a nod to Dirty Habit in San Francisco, which recently had a Lavender Lie Mocktail on its bar menu: Ritual alcohol-free tequila, lavender syrup, lemon, grapefruit juice, and butterfly pea flower. A rare but promising sighting.
As for sourcing? That shouldn’t be a barrier. A chef-driven concept—or a spa restaurant—could grow the flowers indoors, in a greenhouse or outdoors in warmer zones like California or Florida. But for most operators, chains in particular, powdered butterfly pea flower, liquid concentrates, syrups or bulk dried blossoms are the most practical solutions. Ask your distributor. It may already be on their radar.
I’ll just add that if you grow or source the fresh flowers, they’re beautiful, edible and delicious. The texture reminds me of spinach, with a mild, nutty flavor and a peppery finish (though not as bold as arugula). They’d make a beautiful garnish or a flavorful and colorful addition to a salad.
Jody Shee