Starbucks is always serving wacky new drinks, such as the Unicorn Frappuccino and the Zombie Frappuccino. Now, Starbucks locations in certain places in Asia have a new drink: a Butterfly Pea Lemonade Cold Brew. Unfortunately (but unsurprisingly), in addition to it's not being available in the US, this new drink is limited edition. Starbucks began selling the Butterfly Pea Lemonade Cold Brew drink on February 20th in 11 markets in Asia. The star of this drink is the color changing butterfly pea flower tea.
What to Know About This New Drink
The new Starbucks drink has three layers, starting with the tea, then lemonade, and then a final layer of cold brew coffee. Butterfly pea flower tea is trending in Southeast Asia, according to Starbucks. The tea has a blue color, which changes to a violet when mixed with the lemonade, which really seems to be the point of ordering the drink.
What's Butterfly Pea Flower Tea?
Although currently trending, butterfly pea flower tea has actually been used for centuries in southeast Asia. It comes from the Clitoria ternatea plant and is made from dried blue pea flowers and lemongrass. The tea is said to taste earthy, and similar to green tea, but obviously it's much prettier.The reason for the color change is the sensitive pH balance. Even a small acidity change can affect the color.
Health Benefits
The health benefits of this tea include the ability to reduce internal inflammation and protect the skin from premature aging. It's also full of antioxidants and has been used traditionally to treat general pain, inflammation, eye issues, some cancers, and brain health.
Although Starbucks' drink is only available in Asia, you can buy butterfly pea flower tea on Amazon. I'm also pretty sure I had a cocktail in Pittsburgh that included this awesome ingredient, because it changed color when lemon juice was added to it. So don't think it's out of reach just because American Starbucks aren't blessing us with their concoction.