Layered Butterfly Pea Lemonade

Name: Layered Butterfly Pea Lemonade
Prep time: 23 min
Cook time: 8 min
Total time: 31 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Thai
Ingredients: ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar; ½ cup (120 ml) water; 2 tbsp (5 g) dried butterfly pea flowers, whole, loosely packed; 2 cups (480 ml) water, freshly boiled; ¾ cup (180 ml) fresh lemon juice, from about 4 medium lemons, strained of seeds and pulp; ½ cup (120 ml) cooled simple syrup, from the batch above, cooled completely; 1¼ cups (300 ml) cold water, cold; 4 cups (500 g) ice cubes, standard cubes, not crushed; 1 medium (100 g) medium lemon, cut into 4 thin wheels, each slit to the center (optional)

From the MyKitchenBank Kitchen

A Thai-inspired color-changing mocktail: tart, lightly sweet lemonade topped with a floating layer of deep indigo butterfly pea tea. Stir and watch the blue bloom into violet and magenta as the lemon's acidity hits the flowers.

Prep: 23 min
Cook: 8 min
Wait: 1 hr 10 min
Total: 1 hr 41 min
Makes: 4 tall drinks (about 12 oz / 350 ml each)

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Ingredients

4 servings

For the simple syrup
½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
½ cup (120 ml) water
For the butterfly pea tea
2 tbsp (5 g) dried butterfly pea flowers, whole, loosely packed
2 cups (480 ml) water, freshly boiled
For the lemonade
¾ cup (180 ml) fresh lemon juice, from about 4 medium lemons, strained of seeds and pulp
½ cup (120 ml) cooled simple syrup, from the batch above, cooled completely
1¼ cups (300 ml) cold water, cold
To assemble
4 cups (500 g) ice cubes, standard cubes, not crushed
1 medium (100 g) medium lemon, cut into 4 thin wheels, each slit to the center (optional)

Equipment (8)

Small saucepan (1-quart / 1 liter)
Medium saucepan or kettle for boiling water
Fine-mesh strainer
2 heatproof pitchers or jars (at least 1 quart / 1 liter each)
Citrus juicer or reamer
4 tall glasses (12 oz / 350 ml)
Measuring cups and spoons
Long bar spoon or regular tablespoon

Steps

Before you start

Plan on about 1 hour 40 minutes in total, most of it chilling the tea so it doesn't melt the ice.
Use dried whole butterfly pea flowers (sold at Asian grocers or online) for the deepest blue.
Chill 4 tall glasses (12 oz / 350 ml) in the freezer while the tea cools if you have room.
Use fresh lemons. Bottled juice tastes flat and changes the color less vividly.

1
Make the simple syrup
- In a small saucepan, combine the sugar and ½ cup (120 ml) water.
- Set over medium heat and stir occasionally for about 3 minutes, until every sugar crystal has dissolved and the liquid looks perfectly clear.
- Do not let it boil hard.
- Remove from the heat and pour into a heatproof jar to cool while you make the tea.
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Ready when: Syrup is clear with no visible sugar grains when you tilt the pan.
Tip: Stop heating as soon as it clears. Boiling it down makes the syrup too thick and the lemonade too sweet.
2
Steep the flowers
- Bring 2 cups (480 ml) water to a full boil in a kettle or medium saucepan.
- Put the dried butterfly pea flowers in a heatproof pitcher and pour the boiling water over them.
- Stir once and let steep for 10 minutes, uncovered.
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Ready when: The liquid is a deep, inky indigo blue and the flowers look pale.
Tip: Steeping longer than 15 minutes won't make it bluer, but it can add a grassy, slightly bitter taste.
3
Strain and chill the tea
- Pour the tea through a fine-mesh strainer into a clean pitcher or jar, pressing lightly on the flowers, then discard them.
- Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, until fully cold.
- The syrup will cool to room temperature in this time.
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Ready when: The tea is cold to the touch all the way through, about 40°F (4°C).
Tip: Juice the lemons in the next step while the tea chills to save time.
4
Juice the lemons
- Roll 4 medium lemons firmly on the counter for 10 seconds each, halve them, and squeeze until you have ¾ cup (180 ml) juice.
- Strain out seeds and most of the pulp.
- Set the remaining garnish lemon aside.
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Ready when: Measured juice reaches the ¾ cup (180 ml) line.
Tip: Pulp in the lemonade clouds the layers, so strain well.
5
Mix the lemonade base
- In a second pitcher, stir together the lemon juice, ½ cup (120 ml) cooled simple syrup, and 1¼ cups (300 ml) cold water.
- Taste it: it should be bright and tart but pleasantly sweet.
- Add a little more syrup if you like it sweeter, remembering that the ice will dilute it.
- Refrigerate until the glasses are ready.
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Ready when: The lemonade tastes balanced, with no syrup pooled at the bottom.
Tip: Make sure the syrup is cool. Warm syrup melts the ice and ruins the layers.
6
Fill the glasses with ice
- Divide the ice cubes among 4 tall glasses (about 1 cup / 125 g each), filling them about three-quarters full.
- Use full-sized cubes, since crushed ice clouds the layers.
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Ready when: Each glass is about three-quarters full of ice, leaving room for liquid.
7
Pour the lemonade
- Pour about ⅔ cup (150 ml) of the lemonade base into each glass, over the ice.
- The glass should be about two-thirds full of liquid, with space left for the tea layer.
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Ready when: Lemonade reaches roughly two-thirds up the glass.
Tip: Pour the lemonade first. It is denser than the tea, which lets the tea float on top.
8
Float the tea layer
- Hold a spoon, back side up, just above the lemonade surface in one glass, touching the inside of the glass.
- Slowly pour about ⅓ cup (90 ml) of the cold tea over the spoon's back so it spreads gently across the top.
- Repeat with the other glasses.
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Ready when: A distinct indigo layer sits above the pale yellow lemonade, with a thin violet line between them.
Tip: Pour slowly. A fast stream punches through the lemonade and mixes the colors early.
9
Garnish and serve
- Perch a lemon wheel on the rim of each glass.
- Serve right away with a straw or spoon and invite everyone to stir.
- As the acidic lemonade mixes with the tea, the drink shifts from blue to violet to bright magenta.
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Ready when: After stirring, the drink turns an even purple-pink.
Tip: Serve within 10 minutes. The layers blur and the ice dilutes the flavor as it sits.

Good to know

Tips

Always add the tea last. Acid is what changes the color, and keeping the two liquids separate preserves the blue layer.
For the sharpest layers, make sure both liquids are very cold and the ice is full-sized cubes.
For a dramatic table-side effect, serve the lemonade in glasses and pour the tea from a small pitcher in front of guests.
Adjust sweetness to your lemons. Very tart lemons may need 1–2 extra tablespoons of syrup.

Make ahead

Make the simple syrup up to 2 weeks ahead and the butterfly pea tea up to 3 days ahead; store both covered in the refrigerator. The lemonade base can be mixed up to 2 days ahead. Assemble the glasses only when ready to serve.

Storage & reheating

Assembled drinks should be served immediately. Store the tea and lemonade base separately in covered containers in the refrigerator for up to 3 days (tea) and 2 days (lemonade). Leftover simple syrup keeps in the fridge for 2 weeks. Not recommended for freezing as a finished drink, but tea or lemonade can be frozen into ice cubes for up to 2 months; serve over fresh ice with no reheating needed.

Substitutions

granulated sugar → honey or agave. Use ½ cup (120 ml) honey dissolved in ½ cup (120 ml) warm water in place of the simple syrup. The flavor will be slightly floral.
dried butterfly pea flowers → butterfly pea flower tea bags or powder. Use 3 tea bags in place of the flowers, or ½ tsp powder whisked into the hot water, then strain well.
fresh lemon juice → fresh lime juice. Gives a sharper, more Thai-style flavor; the color shift to purple is the same.
cold water → chilled sparkling water. Add it just before pouring for a fizzy version; pour gently to keep the layers.