--- title: "Anchan (Blue Butterfly Pea Tea): What It Is and How to Brew It" description: "Blue Thai tea anchan is butterfly pea flowers, not tea leaf: taste, brewing, the lime colour trick, an honest look at health claims and what to bring home instead." canonical_url: https://leafspirit.store/knowledge/anchan image: https://leafspirit.store/images/d/9/d/5/2/d9d527040a61d1f5e14bf8691c7b060aaf7e50a3-anchan-blue-butterfly-pea-tea.webp lang: en last_updated: 2026-08-11 site: Leaf & Spirit - Chinese tea house in Phuket, Thailand --- # Anchan (Blue Butterfly Pea Tea): What It Is and How to Brew It Anchan is the dried flower of the butterfly pea plant, brewed across Thailand into a bright blue infusion. It is not related to the tea bush: zero caffeine, almost no taste. The colour is the whole show, and a squeeze of lime turns blue to purple. Written from behind the counter of a Phuket tea house. ## What is anchan and why is it blue? Butterfly pea (Clitoria ternatea) is a legume vine with large blue flowers; Thais call it dok anchan. The flowers are picked, dried and brewed, and the same infusion dyes rice, desserts and lemonades. The blue comes from anthocyanins, the same pigments as in blueberries and red cabbage. Vendors and guidebooks call it "blue tea". Botanically it is a herbal infusion, like chamomile or hibiscus: the words [Thai tea](https://leafspirit.store/knowledge/thai-tea.md) cover several very different drinks, from orange [cha yen](https://leafspirit.store/knowledge/cha-yen.md) with condensed milk to the mountain oolongs of [Mae Salong](https://leafspirit.store/knowledge/mae-salong.md). ## What does it taste like and how do you brew it? The taste is modest: grass, fresh peas, a faint sweetness. People drink anchan for the colour and the chill, not for the aroma. It brews more simply than any tea: five to seven flowers per mug, boiling water, five minutes. Squeeze in a little lime: the acid shifts the anthocyanins and the infusion slides from blue to purple-pink before your eyes. The same principle as litmus paper. With honey and ice it becomes nam anchan, "anchan water" in Thai, sold at every market in the country. ## Health claims: what do we actually know? Market signs credit anchan with everything from sharper eyesight to eternal youth. The reality is calmer: anthocyanins have been studied for years, but human studies of anchan itself are few and small. As an ordinary herbal infusion in ordinary amounts it is considered safe; it carries no caffeine, so an evening cup is no problem. Our view of herbs is simple: they are ingredients, not medicine. Anchan is no exception. ## Is anchan worth bringing home from Thailand? As a souvenir it does well: light, cheap by tea-shelf standards, and the colour trick works in any kitchen. A bag of flowers weighs next to nothing, so there is still suitcase room for tea you will drink daily. If you want flowers in your cup, the [blend builder](https://leafspirit.store/blend.md) offers rose, chrysanthemum and jasmine, and for zero caffeine there is the ready-made [floral fruit blend](https://leafspirit.store/catalog/tea/caffeine-free-floral-fruit-blend.md). For actual tea leaf, carry home [real Thai mountain oolong](https://leafspirit.store/knowledge/tea-souvenirs-from-thailand.md) from Mae Salong. ## FAQ ### Is anchan actually tea? No. Tea comes from the leaf of Camellia sinensis; anchan is the dried flower of the butterfly pea, a legume. It is a caffeine-free herbal infusion, like chamomile. "Blue Thai tea" describes the colour of the cup, not any kinship with the tea bush. ### Why does blue tea change colour? The anthocyanins in butterfly pea flowers act as a natural acidity indicator: in neutral water the infusion stays blue, lime or lemon turns it purple-pink. Ordinary chemistry, not a mark of quality or fakery. ### What can replace anchan in a caffeine-free cup? Matum, a [Thai infusion of bael fruit](https://leafspirit.store/knowledge/matum.md) tasting of dried apricot and baked apple. From our shelf, the [caffeine-free floral fruit blend](https://leafspirit.store/catalog/tea/caffeine-free-floral-fruit-blend.md) or a [custom blend](https://leafspirit.store/blend.md) built on it. ## Found in these teas - [Caffeine-Free Floral & Fruit Blend](https://leafspirit.store/catalog/tea/caffeine-free-floral-fruit-blend.md) - from 450 THB - [Rose Black Tea](https://leafspirit.store/catalog/tea/rose-black-tea.md) - from 280 THB - [GABA Oolong Amber Smoke](https://leafspirit.store/catalog/tea/gaba-oolong-amber-smoke.md) - from 650 THB - [Lychee Black Tea](https://leafspirit.store/catalog/tea/lychee-black-tea.md) - from 280 THB *Updated 2026-08-11 · Reviewed by tea master Ms. Judy (Wang Mengyu)* Notes on traditional properties are part of Chinese tea culture and are not medical advice. --- Contact: WhatsApp https://wa.me/66829896048 · LINE https://lin.ee/NAgjG2p · info@leafspirit.store · 101 Cherng Talay Road, Choeng Thale, Thalang, Phuket, Thailand · Open daily 10:00-18:30 (Phuket time). AI agent site guide: https://leafspirit.store/llms.txt · Machine-readable price list: https://leafspirit.store/prices.md