Butterfly Pea Flower Extract: Forms, Color and Where to Buy

Butterfly pea flower extract is a natural blue food coloring made from the petals of Clitoria ternatea, a climbing vine common across Thailand and Southeast Asia. It comes as dried whole flowers, a fine powder or a liquid concentrate. Its deep blue turns purple or pink when you add something acidic, such as lime juice. It has little flavor of its own, so cooks use it mainly for color, not taste. You can find it in Asian grocery stores, tea shops and online, sometimes labeled as "Thai blue tea" or by its Thai name, dok anchan.

What is butterfly pea flower extract?

Butterfly pea flower extract is the colored liquid or dried concentrate you get when you soak or process butterfly pea flowers in water. The fresh flower is easy to recognize. It has five petals in a vivid cobalt or indigo blue, a pale yellow-white center and a curved shape that looks a little like a small open shell. In Thailand the vine often grows on fences and garden walls, and the flowers are picked for drinks and desserts.

The blue comes from anthocyanins. These are the same family of plant pigments that color blueberries, red cabbage and purple grapes. Anthocyanins react strongly to acidity, which is why the extract can change color in the glass.

What does it taste and smell like?

Butterfly pea flower extract tastes mild and earthy, with a light grassy or woody note that some people compare to a weak green tea. The aroma is faint and slightly vegetal, not floral or perfumed. Because the flavor is so gentle, it seldom changes how a dish tastes. That makes it useful for coloring rice, desserts and drinks that get their main flavor from coconut, pandan, sugar or citrus.

What forms of butterfly pea flower extract can you buy?

You can buy butterfly pea flower extract in four main forms: dried whole flowers, butterfly pea flower extract powder, liquid extract or concentrate, and tea bags. Fresh flowers also work, but outside tropical regions they are hard to find.

Form	What it looks like	Best for	Limitations
Dried whole flowers	Crinkled, papery dark-blue petals, often with a small green base	Brewing Thai blue tea, making your own colored water for rice or desserts	You must steep and strain them. Color strength varies between batches.
Powder	Fine blue to blue-violet powder	Baking, smoothies, doughs, frostings, mixing straight into batters	It can clump in cold liquids. Some products are blended with fillers.
Liquid extract or concentrate	Dark blue liquid, usually in a dropper bottle	Drinks, cocktails, icings, quick adjustments drop by drop	It costs more per use and may contain preservatives or sugar.
Tea bags	Bags of cut dried flowers, sometimes mixed with lemongrass or other herbs	Quick cups of blue tea	They are hard to measure for cooking, and blends add other flavors.
Fresh flowers	Soft, bright blue petals with a yellow-white center	Traditional Thai cooking, garnishes, battered and fried flowers	They spoil within days and are rarely sold outside Southeast Asia.

Butterfly pea flower extract powder: ground petals vs. concentrated extract

Butterfly pea flower extract powder comes in two types. The first is ground dried petals. It looks slightly coarse or speckled, and it may leave fine particles in drinks. The second is dried extract, made by brewing the flowers and drying the liquid into a powder. It usually dissolves more smoothly and gives a stronger color from a smaller amount. Check the ingredient list on the label. A pure product lists only butterfly pea flower or Clitoria ternatea. A blended product may also list maltodextrin, sugar or other carriers. These are not harmful, but they dilute the color.

What color does butterfly pea flower extract make, and why does it change?

Butterfly pea flower extract makes a deep blue in plain water. Acid shifts it toward purple, magenta and pink, and alkaline ingredients shift it toward teal or green. The color depends on the acidity, or pH, of whatever the extract is mixed with. This is the effect that makes Thai blue drinks so striking.

Condition	Typical ingredient	Butterfly pea flower extract color
Strongly acidic	Lime or lemon juice, tamarind water	Pink to magenta
Mildly acidic	A small squeeze of citrus	Violet to purple
Roughly neutral	Plain water, coconut milk, plain rice	Blue
Alkaline	Baking soda, some mineral-heavy water	Teal to greenish

How strong and how stable is the color?

How strong the color looks depends on how much extract you use and what it is mixed with. A light hand gives sky blue, and a larger amount gives a dark navy. Coconut milk or cream softens the color to a pastel blue or lavender. The pigment is also sensitive to long cooking, strong light and time. Baked goods and long-simmered dishes often turn duller or grayish-blue, and a drink left in sunlight may fade. For the brightest color, add the extract near the end of cooking or use it in dishes that are steamed or served cold.

Making green and other colors

Mixing blue butterfly pea extract with a yellow ingredient can give a natural green, the same way mixing paints does. Thai cooks more often get green from pandan leaves, which also add a sweet, grassy, vanilla-like aroma. Butterfly pea gives color only, so it cannot replace that pandan flavor.

How is butterfly pea flower extract used in Thai food?

In Thai cooking, butterfly pea flower extract colors drinks, rice and sweets. It is valued for its looks and its gentle flavor. Common examples include:

Nam dok anchan (butterfly pea drink): a sweetened blue tea, often served over ice with lime. It turns purple as the lime is stirred in.
Blue sticky rice: glutinous rice soaked or steamed with the extract. It is sometimes served with mango and coconut cream for a two-tone take on mango sticky rice.
Layered and steamed desserts: such as khanom chan, a soft, chewy layered dessert where blue layers can sit next to green pandan or white coconut layers.
Fried flowers: fresh blossoms dipped in light batter and fried until crisp, eaten as a snack or garnish.

How to make butterfly pea flower extract at home

You can make a simple butterfly pea flower extract at home from dried flowers and hot water:

Put a small handful of dried butterfly pea flowers in a heatproof cup or jar.
Pour hot water over the flowers, just off the boil.
Steep for a few minutes, until the water turns an even deep blue.
Strain out the flowers. Press them gently to release the last of the color.
Taste and look. Add more flowers for a darker blue, or more water for a paler shade.
Use the extract right away, or chill it in a covered container and use it soon, since homemade extract has no preservatives.

To show off the color change, serve the blue drink with a small jug of lime juice on the side. Let guests pour it in and watch the color shift.

Substitutes and their limitations

Butterfly pea flower extract can be replaced, but each substitute behaves differently:

Blue spirulina (phycocyanin): gives a bright, steady blue, but it does not change color with acid. It also fades with heat and can have a faint ocean-like note.
Red cabbage water: reacts to acidity in a similar way, but it has a noticeable cabbage smell and taste, so it does not suit sweet drinks or desserts.
Synthetic blue food coloring: gives a strong, steady color, but it is not a natural food coloring and does not change color with acid.

Where can you find butterfly pea flower extract near me?

If you are searching for "butterfly pea flower extract near me," start with Asian and Southeast Asian grocery stores, tea shops, specialty spice shops and well-stocked health food stores. Online retailers usually have the widest range of forms. Product names vary, so it helps to know what to look for.

Names to look for on labels

Butterfly pea flower, butterfly pea tea or blue tea
Thai blue tea or anchan (from the Thai dok anchan)
Clitoria ternatea, the botanical name
Blue pea flower or blue matcha. Some powders are sold under the "blue matcha" name even though they contain no tea.

How to choose a good product

Look for food-grade labeling. Choose products clearly meant for eating or drinking, not for crafts or cosmetics.
Read the ingredient list. Pure products list only the flower. Blends may include sugar, carriers or other herbs that change flavor and color strength.
Check the color of dried flowers. Good dried flowers look deep blue. Pale, brownish or dusty-looking petals usually give weaker color.
Match the form to your use. Use powder or liquid for baking and quick drinks, and dried flowers for tea and coloring rice.

How to store butterfly pea flower extract

Store dried flowers and butterfly pea flower extract powder in an airtight container, away from light, heat and moisture, because light and humidity dull the pigment. Keep liquid extracts as the label directs. Many are refrigerated after opening. If a powder hardens into clumps or the flowers lose their deep blue, the color they give will be weaker.