This Butterfly Pea Latte is so beautiful and delicious! Oat milk, a quick vanilla simple syrup and frothy butterfly pea powder make a sweet, caffeine free drink with a completely natural blue color. If you’ve never had a blue latte, now’s the time to try one.
The blue comes from butterfly pea powder, which is made from dried butterfly pea flowers. The flower (Clitoria ternatea), often called Asian pigeonwings, blue tea or fairy tea, is believed to have originated in Southeast Asia, and its deep blue petals are also commonly used as a natural dye.
Butterfly pea tea also has color changing properties. Mix it with something acidic, like lemon or lime juice, and it turns a pretty purple, which makes it fun to serve in a mocktail too.
Quick Look
- 🕒 Prep Time: 5 minutes
- 🌡️ Cook Time: 5 minutes
- ⏳ Total Time: 10 minutes
- 🍽️ Servings: 2 lattes
- ⚡ Calories: 230kcal per latte
- 🌶️ Flavor Profile: Mild, earthy floral tea over creamy oat milk with a light vanilla sweetness
- ✋ Difficulty: Easy, just a saucepan and a frother
Quick Answer
Simmer ¼ cup cane sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla and ¼ cup water for about 5 minutes into a light golden syrup and let it cool. Froth 2 tablespoons of butterfly pea powder with ½ cup warm water until foamy. Pour 1 cup of oat milk over ice in each of two glasses, stir in 1 to 2 tablespoons of the syrup, then pour half of the blue butterfly pea mixture over each and serve right away.
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Why This Recipe Works
Click to see the technique science
- Powder instead of steeped flowers. Butterfly pea powder dissolves completely, so a small amount gives an intense blue and a foamy top that steeped tea can’t match.
- Warm water first. Frothing the powder in a little warm water before it meets the milk dissolves every speck and builds the foam.
- A cooked vanilla syrup. Simmering the sugar until light golden adds a gentle caramel note, and liquid syrup mixes into cold oat milk where granulated sugar would sink.
- Oat milk for body. Its natural creaminess and mild sweetness carry the delicate floral flavor without covering it.
- Pouring the blue last. The lighter, foamy pea mixture floats on the denser sweetened milk, which is what creates those layers.
- The blue is natural. It comes from anthocyanins, the same plant pigments in blueberries, which is also why acid shifts it to purple.
- Serve it immediately. The layers and foam are at their prettiest the moment you pour.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- That color. A naturally blue drink with no food coloring is a showstopper at any tea party.
- Caffeine free. Butterfly pea is an herbal tea, so this makes a lovely evening or before bedtime treat.
- Ready in 10 minutes with simple ingredients.
- Hot or iced. Both ways are delicious and keep that pretty blue color.
- Dairy free with oat milk, and easy to make vegan.
- A long tradition. Butterfly pea flower has been used for centuries in traditional Ayurvedic practice as a calming tea. Learn more in my guide to butterfly pea flower tea benefits.
Key Ingredients
Once you have the butterfly pea powder, this latte comes together with simple ingredients. Quantities are in the recipe card below.
- Butterfly Blue Pea Powder. Made from dried butterfly pea flowers; it gives the blue color and a mild, slightly sweet floral flavor.
- Vanilla Extract. Simmered into the simple syrup. You can even make your own vanilla extract in the Instant Pot.
- Cane Sugar. Cooked with water into a light golden vanilla simple syrup.
- Oat Milk. Creamy and mildly sweet; it carries the tea flavor and holds the layers.
- Water and Ice. Water for the syrup and for frothing the powder, and enough ice to fill two glasses.
- Equipment: a small saucepan and a Frother.
See the recipe card below for exact quantities and full instructions.
Variations & Substitutions
- Hot butterfly pea latte: make the syrup the same way, warm the oat milk in the microwave for about 1 minute to around 195°F, then pour it into clear mugs with 1 tablespoon of the syrup and the butterfly pea mixture. Stir and serve.
- Change the sweetener: use more or less syrup to taste, or swap in honey, maple syrup or agave.
- Change the milk: almond, coconut or regular dairy milk all work.
- Make it purple: a squeeze of lemon or lime turns it violet, the same trick behind my color changing tea and lavender lemonade.
- Garnish: a drizzle of maple syrup or honey, or a few crushed dried flowers on top for color.
- More blue: the same powder colors my blue smoothie bowl.
How to Make a Butterfly Pea Latte
- Combine the cane sugar, vanilla extract and ¼ cup of water in a small saucepan over medium heat. Once it bubbles gently, simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until it turns a light golden color.
- Remove the syrup from the heat, pour it into a small cup or jar, and set it aside to cool.
- Warm the remaining ½ cup of water in the microwave for a few seconds and combine it with the butterfly pea powder in a glass jar. Using a milk frother, froth until fully combined and very foamy. Set aside.
- Fill two glasses with ice and pour one cup of oat milk into each.
- Pour 1 to 2 tablespoons of the vanilla simple syrup into each glass and give each drink a quick stir.
- Pour half of the butterfly pea mixture into each glass. Serve the lattes immediately.
Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Use warm, not boiling, water for the powder; it dissolves smoothly and froths best.
- Adjust the sweetness to taste. Start with 1 tablespoon of syrup; you can always stir in more.
- No frother? Shake the powder and warm water hard in a sealed mason jar until foamy.
- Let the syrup cool before adding it to iced drinks so it doesn’t melt the ice.
- Pour slowly over the back of a spoon for the cleanest blue layer.
- Leftover syrup keeps in a covered jar in the refrigerator for your next latte.
Serving Ideas & Suggestions
Serve it in clear glasses so everyone sees the layers, with a slice of afternoon tea cake or alongside a tray from my afternoon tea ideas. For a colorful drink bar, pour it next to hibiscus green tea, blueberry mint iced tea and lavender tea.
More lattes to try: the oat milk matcha latte, the iced blueberry matcha latte, homemade matcha iced lattes, a dirty chai, the caramel brulee latte and an iced chai with pumpkin cold foam. Brush up on the benefits of matcha and how to make Earl Grey tea, or browse all my tea beverages.
If you enjoy the art of tea, enjoy these Afternoon Tea finds in the Amazon Store.
Butterfly Pea Latte FAQs
Mild and earthy with a light floral, slightly sweet flavor, a lot like a gentle herbal tea. The vanilla syrup and creamy oat milk make it taste like a soft vanilla latte.
No. Butterfly pea flower is an herbal tea and naturally caffeine free, so it makes a great drink in the evening or before bedtime.
Its blue comes from natural plant pigments called anthocyanins, which react to acid. Add lemon or lime juice and the drink turns purple.
Yes. Make the syrup the same way, warm the oat milk for about 1 minute in the microwave to around 195°F, then pour it into mugs with 1 tablespoon of syrup and the butterfly pea mixture. Stir and serve.
Shake the butterfly pea powder and warm water in a sealed mason jar until it’s foamy. It works very well.
Yes. Steep a small handful of dried flowers in the hot water for about 5 minutes, strain, and use the tea in place of the frothed powder. The color will be a little lighter and it won’t foam as much.
Butterfly Pea Latte
Equipment
- 1 Frother
- 1 Sauce Pan
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons blue butterfly pea powder
- ¾ cups water divided
- ¼ cup cane sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups oat milk
- Enough ice to fill 2 cups
Instructions
- Combine the cane sugar, vanilla extract, and ¼ cup of water in a small saucepan and place the saucepan on the stovetop over medium heat. Once the mixture begins to bubble gently, allow it to simmer for about 5 minutes or until it reaches a light golden color, stirring frequently. Remove the syrup from the heat, pour it into a small cup or jar, and set it aside to cool.
- Warm the remaining ½ cup of water in the microwave for a few seconds and combine it with the butterfly pea powder in a glass cup or jar. Using a milk frother, froth the mixture until it is fully combined and very foamy. Set aside.
- Pour one cup of oat milk into each of the ice-filled glasses.
- Pour 1-2 tablespoons of vanilla simple syrup into each glass and give each drink a quick stir.
- Pour half of the butterfly pea mixture into each glass. Serve the lattes immediately.
