A hot mug of this colourful butterfly pea latte will warm you up on a cold winter day and put a big smile on your face. It's pretty and delicious, ready in just a few minutes!
All it takes to make this blue latte are two simple ingredients: plant-based coconut milk and dried butterfly pea flowers. That's it!
Can't find the flowers? Don't worry! You can also make this latte with ground butterfly pea powder. We'll show you how to use one or the other in the recipe below.
Butterfly pea is a vivid deep blue flower found in South and Southeast Asia. Also called blue pea or Asian pigeonwings, it's praised for its health benefits in traditional Ayurvedic medicine.
The flowers are incredibly high in blue pigments, called anthocyanins, also powerful antioxidants. They promote healthy skin and hair and regulate blood sugar levels.
Thai and Malay cuisines use butterfly pea flowers to brew soothing blue tea and as a natural food colourant for rice dishes and desserts. But these wonderful flowers are so versatile you can use them in many other recipes.
Your local Asian food store should stock dried butterfly pea flowers, but you can easily find them online if they don't.
As mentioned above, butterfly pea also comes as a powder made from the ground dried flowers.
It's a fine blue-violet powder, also called "blue matcha" as it tastes grassy and earthy like matcha — but it's not as bitter. We already used the powder in our butterfly pea smoothie, and we loved the results!
As for this latte, follow our directions on how to steep the butterfly pea flowers or dissolve the powder. And then serve the latte hot and topped with some frothy foam. Delicious!
And if you're looking for more latte recipes, we think you'll like these ideas:
Give them a go!
Ingredients
| Option 1 | |
| Dried Butterfly Pea Flowers | 4 tbsp |
| Option 2 | |
| Butterfly Pea Powder | 1 tsp |
| Others | |
| Coconut Milk Drink (or any plant-based milk) | 500 mL |
Step 1
Depending on what you already have or what's easier to find, you can prepare the latte with either dried butterfly pea flowers or powder.
Pour coconut milk drink into a small pot, tip in the flowers or powder, and stir well.
Bring the milk to a gentle boil and let it simmer for 2-3 minutes or until the butterfly pea flowers have released their colourful blue pigments, or the powder has dissolved.
Step 2
If you used the flowers, filter the hot blue milk with a sieve and discard the flowers.
Then, divide the latte among serving mugs.
Step 3
Enjoy this colourful butterfly pea latte as is, or top it with some frothy foam for extra delight.
To do it, pour a bit of hot latte into a jar and foam it using a hand frother.
Alternatively, you can close the lid and vigorously shake the jar for a minute or until the milk turns foamy.
We recommend holding the jar with a kitchen towel while you do this as it may be hot.
Step 4
Finally, pour the foam over the blue milk and serve the butterfly pea latte hot.
Enjoy it with a stack of fluffy sourdough pancakes or soft mochi waffles for a delicious brunch or sweet breakfast.
And if you liked this blue latte, we think you'll also love this swirled butterfly pea smoothie!
Tips
You can flavour the milk with a few drops of vanilla essence or a pinch of cinnamon.