Been wanting to write about this since last year, why didn't I? Good questions!
I started to grow Butterfly Pea when one day, a friend of mine gave me some seeds and told me, "Plant this, you gonna love it!", and I did, well she was right, I loved it! Until today for almost 2 years, it had blossomed, and grown even more, none stop.
At first, I just like the colour of the flower, but I know they are edible greens and there are many usage and benefits of Butterfly Pea Flowers in general. The colour of the flower can be used to make a lot of BLUE Foods and Drinks.
I also found out there are Butterfly Pea Flowers in WHITE colour! The same friend found some seeds and gave it to me, but I have not planted it yet, I shall wait until March when it is more of raining season, to prevent it from dying out of the heat.
There are times it produced too much flower I will try to give them to as many family and friends as I can, educating them the benefits of it and spread the Love!
Foods:
Sometimes I ate it raw and it's crunchy like lettuce. The fresh/raw flowers are also eaten as vegetables or garnish in garden salads. Others you can use it to cook Blue Rice (traditional Kelantan Nasi Kerabu), make Blue Jelly or Famous Nyonya kuih (desserts) like Pulut Tai Tai (Blue Glutinous Rice Cake), Kuih Salat, Kuih Lapis (Steamed Layered Cake) to name a few...
I didn't have any photos in my library, so here are some images from others to show how they actually look like.
Drinks:
How I make my butterfly pea tea is by adding hot water to a handful of flowers (fresh or dried), cover for few minutes, the water will turn to blue. The tea is earthy taste, similar to green tea or Chinese tea, so you can add in lemon juice and sugar or honey for taste. Served hot or over ice.
I try to drink regularly to see if I can benefit from it, will keep you guys updated!
Fun facts: Due to the pH level, the colour blue will change if added acidity such as lemon juice, so don't be surprised it your drink turn to purple.
Though it's not common to see or buy them in the market, and like herbs, they can be grown and sun-dried for long keeping. I have a whole can of dried Butterfly Pea flowers store in a cold dry place ready to be used.
Now let's talk a bit about Why you should have this drink daily.
Health Benefits:
According to a study published in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology, butterfly pea is highly valued in Ayurvedic medicine and has been used for centuries as a memory enhancer, nootropic, antistress, anxiolytic, antidepressant, anticonvulsant, tranquillizing and sedative agent.
Antioxidants.
Butterfly Pea Tea contains plenty of potent antioxidants. The potent antioxidants help your body lower risk of infections and are great for your heart health. Studied also show its ability to fight premature signs of ageing, glycation, which is protein damage caused by excess sugar in the body.
Anti-inflammatory.
Studies from the International Research Journal Of Pharmacy says, the tea is strong enough to fight with all its abilities against internal inflammation. The flowers contain flavonoids, which increase collagen origination, accelerating skin elasticity. It is also good for your hair as it contains anthocyanin, which increases blood flow in the scalp, strengthening hair follicles.
Anti-diabetic:
Drinking of this tea will inhibit the intake of glucose and lower the blood sugar which is prone to diabetics.
Anxiolyhic:
According to studies, blue tea can relieve stress and lower symptoms of anxiety disorder.
Contains Cyclotides:
Cyclotides are peptides that help fight the onslaught of free radicals. If free radicals are left unchecked, they could bring tumors and cancer cells into the body.
Also help with other issues, such as:
Improve eye issues, helps fight against cancers, enhance the performance of the brain and memory at large, and provides enough support to the immune system.
I might miss out a lot of information, feel free to add in anytime!
Have yourself a cup of butterfly pea drink to have fun with the colour changing and to stay healthy!
All health information credit to below links:
https://www.fashionlady.in/surprisingly-amazing-benefits-of-butterfly-pea-tea/121906
https://www.majesticherbs.com/clitoria-ternatea-blue-butterfly-pea-flowers-benefits/
https://articles.mercola.com/teas/butterfly-pea-tea.aspx
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Those are gorgeous!
I can imagine using the petals in my homemade soaps!
Oh @goldendawne, that would be so beautiful!!
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Thank you!
mmmm... It looks delicious!
Haha... Yes!!
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The flower is so pretty! I have to see if I can find it here!
Yes, please do, let me know if you found it ya!
Team Bunga Telang :D
Was sharing my garden’s blue pea flower photos from on IG in the last few years until I jelak. Would have shared it here if I discovered this platform much earlier. >.<
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You still can share it again, just write a post about it!
Thanks for stopping by too!
Ok, later.
By the way, do you pick fresh ones and dry them in the sun or let them dry up naturally on the vine? Was told the latter can be stored longer than the former.
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I prefer not to dry up on the vine because some will turn into seeds (they look like french beans), so some I pick fresh, some after one to two days I will pick and dry all under the sun.
I always wonder if we could eat the beans...
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I heard people from the Philippines would eat the young pods as vegetables. But I don't eat them, I keep them... :)
Hello i love the color of this flowers so pretty i didn't know they have so many benefits.
I didn't know they have so many either until I went to do some research on it. They are amazing!
I love butterfly pea flowers! You can use them anywhere and that acidity thing and changing color is amazing! Thank you for sharing and reminding me to use them again :)
You are most welcome, I hope you are able to find them again.
I've never seen Butterfly Pea flowers before @joelai. I'll have to see if I can find some seeds and grow them as well. Both for their beauty which your photographs show so well, and their healing properties.
Your vines look so healthy and abundant and I love the idea of serving deep blue almost purple tea to friends ~ And watching for the expressions on their faces. ♥︎♥︎⚖️♥︎♥︎
Do let me know if you found any there. Btw, which country are you in right now, if I may ask?
I found out some of my friends cannot accept odd colour in their food, especially blue! It seems strange to them... hahaha...
As a follower of @followforupvotes this post has been randomly selected and upvoted! Enjoy your upvote and have a great day!
Thank you!
I have actually bought this from the market to make tea
But growing it sounds like a terrific idea
Hmmmmm
Something to explore
Thank you for inspiring :D
Thank you for stopping by too!
I hope you manage to grow them, they are really easy to grow and doesn't need much to take care of.
Awesome photos and information! The butterfly peas sure give the foods and drinks a very interesting color!
Thank you for stopping by @rwedegis, they really are amazing!
Hi joelai,
Visit curiesteem.com or join the Curie Discord community to learn more.
Wow!! Thank you @curie for the support and upvote! Really appreciated and so happy to be selected!!
Gorgeous flower! Thank you very much for sharing. I'm definitely looking for this in the spring for my garden. 👍🏻👍🏻
Thank you for stopping too, I hope you found it and plant in your garden!
Nice, I think I had bought some of these in an edible flower box that my daughter had wanted to get! I hadn't thought about making tea from it though, it is a great of weird coloured tea!
That's nice. Some people can not accept the colour and refused to try it.
Is a friend ready to share all of her goodies with you? She sure is a keeper!!!
I love how vibrant the color of this flower is, the color alone is bound to make me keep taking it over and over again. It's amazing how it can be easily incorporated into different meals, it sure makes meals more appetizing and definitely delicious. Is it fragrant?
I will definitely love to have that flower around, I don't think I have seen it before... But maybe I will be on the lookout for it now. Oh, and its color changing ability is sure to fascinate me!!
The flower actually doesn't give any fragrance, so adding honey or lemon will definitely give some taste to it. I hope you can find it in your country.
Oh, that's awesome! And then, I wait to see some color-changing magic after adding the lemon. Lol! I sure do hope to find it but if i don't, i will maybe try looking for a way to get it online...
Thank you for showing so much interest in it, I really hope you can find it!!
As a proponent of healthy food and "eating your colors" I am so interested in these blue flowers. How thrilling that they bloom profusely. Free health!
I am in KL too and will be on the lookout. I'm pretty sure I have seen the blue rice. Thank you so much for this great tip and wonderful photos. I really appreciate it!
Thank you for stopping by and commented. I'm sure you have if you even went for Nyonya food in KL.
We do not have a lot of natural blue food. With this flower the possibilities are endless and all natural color. I love the blue tint on the rice and now I'm thinking of blue ice cream.
I love blue ice cream too!!!
Thank you @watersnake101 for stopping by and commented!!
WHat? blue rice! That's gorgeous. We have a similar plant here in venezuela. I'll have to research now because all those foods and desserts look amazing and with so many health benefits it is a pity noone pays attention to that flower here.
Yes, do try to find out if your country has this, it's really beneficial!
What a beautiful and informative post. I really like it, now that I know such flowers can be used for food and drinks... it is not only beautiful but yummy and useful as well! XD XD
Congratulations for your curie vote, Joe :).
I feel blessed to be able to share this with everyone.
Thank you very much @scrawly, very excited being voted by curie for the first time!
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So pretty! I love that it is such a healthy way to add a beautiful pop of color to food. I have never tried them before, but I'll have to be on the lookout to see if I can get any here.
I would say it's quite matching with Vegan foods as well.
This flower is amazing. especially its use for food and drinks.
I've been wanting to plant flowers that have many benefits for a long time, but unfortunately I don't have a garden to plant this.
Thank you for the comment @anggreklestari.
I actually planted in a pot because I don't have land too. It is very easy to grow, just remember to always trim it so it doesn't become too bushy. I hope you are able to find it in your country!