Butterfly Lavender ** Recipe

Steep butterfly pea tea

Bring 500 ml water to a full boil. Place 2 tbs dried butterfly pea flowers in a heatproof container or teapot and pour the 500 ml boiling water over them. Cover and steep for 8–10 minutes until the liquid is a deep blue. Taste after 8 minutes and steep up to 10 minutes for stronger color and flavor.

Strain the tea through a fine mesh sieve into a heatproof measuring cup or bowl. Discard the spent flowers. Set the tea aside to cool until just warm (5–10 minutes) or place in the refrigerator to chill briefly if you prefer cold assembly immediately.

Make lavender syrup

In a small saucepan combine 0.5 cups granulated sugar and 120 ml water. Add 1 tbs dried culinary lavender. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Once the mixture simmers, reduce heat to low and let it steep for 4 minutes (do not boil aggressively to preserve lavender aroma).

Remove the saucepan from heat and let the syrup steep an additional 8 minutes off the heat for a stronger lavender infusion. Strain the syrup through a fine mesh sieve to remove the lavender buds, pressing gently to extract liquid. Transfer syrup to a jar and let cool to room temperature (or refrigerate to cool faster). Reserve about 3 tbs lavender syrup per serving (use 6 tbs total for 2 servings); adjust to taste.

Prepare milk base

Measure 1.5 cups whole milk into a pitcher. Stir in 1 tsp vanilla extract. If you prefer a lighter mouthfeel or a dairy-free option, substitute with unsweetened oat milk or almond milk in the same volume.

Taste the cooled butterfly pea tea. If you want a color-shifting element, reserve 1 tbs fresh lemon juice per total batch (1 tbs in this recipe). The lemon will change the blue tea toward purple; hold the lemon until assembly so guests can see the effect if desired.

Assemble the drink

Fill two serving glasses with about 1 cup (roughly 1 cup each divided) of ice. Divide the strained butterfly pea tea between the glasses (about 160–200 ml tea per glass, depending on ice). Add 3 tbs lavender syrup to each glass. Pour 3/4 cup (about 180 ml) of the milk mixture over the tea and syrup in each glass. Stir gently to combine; the lavender syrup will sweeten and the milk will cloud the blue tea into a delicate pastel hue.

If you want the color-change effect, add 1/2 tbs fresh lemon juice to each glass now and watch the blue shift toward violet/pink. Taste and adjust sweetness: add up to 1 tbs more lavender syrup per glass if you prefer sweeter.

Finish and garnish

Top each glass with a small sprig of dried lavender as a garnish. Serve immediately with a straw. Store any leftover syrup refrigerated for up to 2 weeks; leftover tea can be refrigerated for 24–48 hours.