Read these blue butterfly pea flower tea health benefits and add the caffeine less tea in your diet to reap its benefits.
Coffee and regular tea have ruled over the beverage bastion for thousands of years. It is in recent years that the potential health hazards of too much caffeine consumption have been revealed. Our health-conscious world has started to identify and adopt healthier beverages from across the world. One such beverage that has caught the health-conscious generation’s attention is blue tea, which has been popular in Asian countries for ages. Retailers sold it under the name oolong or black dragon tea. The tea has an earthy, floral flavor. Read the article about blue butterfly pea flower tea health benefits and include the tea in your diet to reap the benefits.
Blue Butterfly Pea Flower Tea Health Benefits
1. Good for Brain
Blue butterfly pea flower, known scientifically as Clitoria ternatea, is commonly found in southeast Asian countries and is a herbal tea made from blue butterfly pea flowers. The tea has an amazing blue color and hence its name. It is a popular drink in Vietnam, Taiwan, and Thailand, where it is served with lemon and honey. The Indian medicine system of Ayurveda advocates it for boosting brain and nervous system function.
2. Better than Other Beverages
This tea has more antioxidants than green tea. It has a significant advantage over other beverages like coffee and regular tea as it does not contain caffeine.
3. Good for Skin
It is high in antioxidants which prevent aging and keeps you looking younger. It boosts collagen production in your skin, making your skin more elastic and wrinkle-free. Antioxidants also protect you from developing chronic diseases as they fight the damage caused by free radicals.
4. Boosts Immunity
They help increase immunity and help fight infections like the common cold. Anthocyanins in it help improves blood circulation in your head, thus keeping your hair and scalp healthy.
5. Uplifts Mental Health
Flavonoids are present in the tea that have anti-inflammatory properties. It uplifts mood, has a calming effect, and acts as a stress reliever. Furthermore, it enhances mental clarity and energizes your body, boosts brain function and memory by increasing the neurotransmitter acetylcholine.
6. Improves Eyesight
The tea contains proanthocyanidin, which improves eyesight by increasing blood flow to the eye capillaries and helps treat glaucoma, blurred vision, and eye fatigue.
7. Aids Weight Loss
It has catechins that help burn fat, lower cholesterol levels, and aid weight loss by increasing metabolism. Also, it functions as a diuretic and helps detoxify your body, prevents the build-up of plaque in your arteries, promotes blood circulation, and improves cardiovascular health.
8. Prevents Diseases
This contains potent polyphenols that help regulate sugar levels in your body and prevent the development of diabetes, boosts liver function, and prevent fatty liver disease. It is both an antipyretic and an analgesic and can be used instead of paracetamol. It has anti-cancer, anti-tumor, anti-microbial, and anticonvulsant properties.
Blue Butterfly Pea Flower Tea
You can easily make this tea by steeping the dried flowers in water and enjoy it hot or cold. It is available as tea bags too, and simply steeping the tea bag in hot water is enough to enjoy both the color and its benefits. If you’re using the dried flowers, brew them in hot water in an earthen pot to retain their medicinal benefits. If you add lemon to the tea, its color might change from blue to a beautiful deep purple.
- 1 cup hot water
- One heaped teaspoon of blue tea leaves or ten dried flowers
Method
Pour the hot water into a glass and add the dried flowers or tea leaves. Let it steep for 15 minutes. Once the water turns a stunning blue, strain the tea, and it is ready for consumption. To enhance flavor and medicinal benefits, you can add cinnamon, ginger, lemon juice, honey, or lemongrass to it. Add crushed ice to your blue tea to enjoy it cold.
You can also use fresh blue butterfly pea flowers to make your tea. Remove the stigma from the flowers and add the petals of about 15 flowers to a big cup of hot water. Let the petals steep for 10 minutes and then strain and drink. You can consume this twice a day, an hour before or after a meal, preferably before breakfast or after lunch.
Side effects
- Blue tea is generally considered safe for consumption. However, it contains tannins that interfere with the absorption of iron from food in your body. Hence, it is advisable to drink it an hour before or after a meal.
- It is advisable to brew it in earthen pots than in metal vessels to prevent the loss of its medicinal benefits.
- Excess consumption may cause nausea and diarrhea.
- Pregnant and breastfeeding women are cautioned to consult their doctor about consuming the beverage.