Butterfly Pea Flower

Butterfly Pea Flower

Butterfly pea is the flower that turns your tea electric blue, then hot pink the second you add lemon. It’s been offered at altars and brewed for centuries in India and Southeast Asia, and in Ayurveda it’s prized as a flower for the mind. Its botanical name is Clitoria ternatea, because 18th-century botanists took one look at the bloom and saw the female anatomy. Prudish Victorians tried to rename it. It didn’t work.

Find it in:

Ovulation Phase Tea

Ovulation Phase Tea

$21.00
  • Botanical nameClitoria ternatea
  • Plant familyFabaceae (pea & bean family)
  • Also calledAparajita, blue pea, dok anchan, bunga telang
  • Part usedDried flower
  • TasteSoft, earthy, gently woody, a little like a mild green tea
  • CaffeineNone
Plant wisdom

Traditional Uses & Folklore

Ayurveda: Aparajita, "the unconquerable"

In India the plant is called Aparajita, which means "the one who cannot be defeated." In Ayurvedic tradition it's honored as a medhya herb, a plant that nourishes the mind. It has been used for clarity, memory, and a calm, steady spirit. In parts of India it is also one of the plants known as Shankhpushpi, a name given to several classic herbs for the intellect. Traditional healers have also used the root, seeds, and leaves in remedies, though those parts aren't what we drink as tea.

An offering of devotion

The blue and white blossoms are offered in Hindu puja, or daily worship, as a gesture of purity and protection. They are especially associated with Lord Shiva and with the goddess Durga. In Bengal, an Aparajita offering is part of the rites on the final day of Durga Puja. Here is a flower that has been carried to the altar with love for generations.

Southeast Asia: the blue in the kitchen

In Thailand, dok anchan is brewed into nam dok anchan, a cooling drink with lime and honey sold by street vendors across the country. In Malaysia and Singapore, bunga telang gives its signature blue to nasi kerabu, a herbed rice dish from Kelantan. It also tints pulut tai tai, a Peranakan sticky-rice kuih served with coconut jam. Across the region the flower is food, color, and celebration all at once.

The science

What Modern Research Is Exploring

Science is starting to catch up with tradition, though most of the work so far is in labs and animal studies rather than in people. Here's what researchers are looking at:

  • Antioxidants. Butterfly pea is rich in anthocyanins and flavonoids, the protective pigments that give so many deeply colored plants their reputation.
  • Mind and mood. Lab and animal studies have looked at the plant's traditional role as a medhya (mind-nourishing) herb. Human research is still limited.
  • Blood sugar. One small study in healthy adults found that drinking butterfly pea tea alongside a sugary drink was linked to a gentler blood-sugar response.

We share this to show where the conversation is going, not to make promises. Herbalism is slow medicine, built on ritual, consistency, and how a plant feels in your own body.

From Tea Lady

Why Butterfly Pea Is in Our Ovulation Phase Tea

Ovulation is the full-moon point of your cycle: bright, outward-facing, and expressive. We wanted a cup that looked the way that feels. Butterfly pea gives Ovulation Phase Tea its sky-blue glow. Damiana, orange peel, lemon balm, and cinnamon bring the warmth and sparkle. And its long history as a flower of clarity and devotion felt right for this luminous time of the month. You'll also find it in our Cycle Syncing Tea Set.

Sip mindfully

Safety & Who Should Check First

Butterfly pea flower is widely enjoyed as a food and drink in Southeast Asia and is generally considered gentle in tea-sized amounts. Because human research is limited, please check with your healthcare provider before drinking it if you:

  • are pregnant, trying to conceive, or breastfeeding
  • take medication for blood sugar or blood pressure
  • have a surgery coming up (pause herbal teas about two weeks before)
  • have known allergies to plants in the pea and bean family

Butterfly pea is a natural pigment and can temporarily tint your tongue, teeth, or a white mug. It washes away, but you might not want to sip it right before a big meeting.

References

Sources & Further Reading

  1. Mukherjee PK, Kumar V, Kumar NS, Heinrich M. "The Ayurvedic medicine Clitoria ternatea: From traditional use to scientific assessment." Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 2008; 120(3): 291–301.
  2. Oguis GK, Gilding EK, Jackson MA, Craik DJ. "Butterfly Pea (Clitoria ternatea), a Cyclotide-Bearing Plant With Applications in Agriculture and Medicine." Frontiers in Plant Science, 2019; 10: 645.
  3. Chusak C, Thilavech T, Henry CJ, Adisakwattana S. "Acute effect of Clitoria ternatea flower beverage on glycemic response and antioxidant capacity in healthy subjects: a randomized crossover trial." BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2018; 18: 6.
  4. The Herb Society of America, South Texas Unit. "Butterfly Pea." herbsociety-stu.org