BLUE TEA from SMALL GARDEN SPACES and Your D.I.Y Trellis

Have you heard about blue tea? 

Blue tea comes from the flowers of Clitoria Ternate plant also known as Butterfly Pea. The blue color is retained even after drying of the flowers and can change to dark violet when mixed with lemon, lime or calamansi. 

What's in the Blue Tea?

The growing demand for blue tea came as a result of studies indicating its beneficial effects to health when taken on a regular basis. This includes the prevention of memory loss, cancer and inflammation, lowering blood pressure and promotion of good skin and digestion among others.

Just seeing the blue color of the tea already creates a feeling of peace and slows you down from the usual hurried pace - a classic example of the psychological effects of cool colors affecting and changing  one's mood for the day. Blue tea can give a feeling of relaxation after a hard day’s work and can bring you to a good night's sleep.

How to Make Blue Tea

You can make Blue tea out of the blue flowers in two ways.

FRESH FLOWERS. Boil a cup of water and drop 4-5 pieces of fresh flowers until the water turns blue. Remove the flowers or sift and pour into a tea cup. 

DRIED FLOWERS. Place fresh flowers on a clean drying container with holes at the bottom. Thoroughly  dry under the sun. Put dry flowers in a cloth pouch and store in a bottle. Do not cover to avoid molds formation. Boil a cup of water and drop 4-5 pieces of dried flowers until water turns blue. Sift and pour into a tea cup.

Use a white or transparent container to fully appreciate the blue color of the tea. 

Unlike brown tea which oftentimes have a bitter taste, blue tea tastes almost like water with the scent of green grass that can be soothing and relaxing as you sniff the steam.

How to Grow Clitoria Ternate or Butterfly Pea and Its Other Uses

This vine grows in tropical countries like the Philippines. It thrives well in sunny areas either through seed germination or mature stem cuttings and requires minimal watering once stable on the ground. It can also be grown in a huge pot and will need more frequent watering when the roots have started to fill  most parts of the pot.

The stems of the Blue Ternate vine are small and they curl around very tightly to any nearby branch, pole or plant they can cling to, turning from green to cream as they mature. They are soft but sturdy, strong enough to be braided from the base as they grow taller.

Its pointed, oval leaves measure about an inch in length or width at the most. These make it an easily manageable vine even for small garden spaces.

The flowers start to bloom once the vine reaches about three feet tall and then year-round onwards. Some varieties have single petal while others have double or multiple petals. They come in white, violet and blue colors, the latter being the most common and source of blue tea. 

The blue flowers can also add color to fresh vegetable salad and tastes well with lettuce, baby leaves of Alagaw Tree (Premna Odorata Blanco), parmesan cheese and vinaigrette dressing. On special occasions when you want some variety, dropping a few petals on boiling rice can turn its color from white to blue. Those who are into botanical watercolor painting may find the petals a good source of shades of blue.

How to Make a DIY Trellis for Your Vine in Limited Garden Spaces

The Blue Ternate vine are fast growers and can be very prolific when planted on the  ground. Growth can be controlled to your desired height and foliage when planted in a pot with a trellis that will be easy to reach when picking the flowers and trimming the leaves and stems. 

This trellis is ideal for those with small yards and limited garden spaces like condominium units with a sunlit balcony or porch. It can also withstand rotting longer than wood and will allow the branches to flow downwards from the trellis which will look very beautiful during flowering season.

To make the trellis, you will need: Blue Ternate seedlings germinated in a huge pot of at least 14-16 inches in diameter, 4 PVC pipes about 6 feet long painted with your preferred color, old stainless steel hangers, iron wire mesh measuring 1x2 feet or bigger depending on the size of your pot and garden space, old necklace or chokers with round plastic or wooden buttons.

This Do-It-Yourself trellis can be done in simple steps at minimal cost using scrap materials.

🔹 Bury one end of the PVC pipes into the pot of germinated Blue Ternate.
🔹 Using a soldering iron, bore 2 holes on each side of the PVC pipes about 2 inches from the brim of the pot. Create a hole in the pot that corresponds to this height.
🔹 Insert an iron wire through the 2 PVC pipe and secure by tying both ends around the hole of the pot. Do the same for the other pair of PVC pipes.
🔹 Create 2 holes on the top end of the PVC pipe. 
🔹 Cut the straight part of the hanger and insert on the holes to serve as support for the mesh wire.
🔹 Place the wire mesh on top and secure with garden wire.
🔹 Put the buttons of the chokers on the ends of the wire mesh as protection against accidental piercing. Seal with epoxy or or any water-proof sealant.

As it has been said, there is nothing permanent in this world but change. Try blue tea straight from your own little garden for a change.

Keep safe and healthy always,

Apple Bleza-Morales

About the Author:

Apple is passionately interested in community greening and beautification, organic and ornamental gardening, environment protection and preservation as well as related arts and crafts. She shares her professional, personal and travel experiences to spread knowledge and information in these areas which may not be accessible to all who are similarly interested and aims to inspire others to develop and create new ideas from her blogs.

Apple holds a Master's degree in Industrial Relations from the University of the Philippines. She held leadership roles in Human Resources during her employment with the private sector, developing and implementing HR and Organizational systems that help employees to grow their careers and employers to achieve a mutually beneficial engagement.

Photos by:  Maybelle B. Morales