Butterfly pea flowers are used to make summer refreshments by young people. Photo: MAI HUE
The butterfly pea flowers "trend”
Luong Thi Thuy Vy, a third year student at University of Law, Hue University, is working as an amateur barista at a coffee shop on Truong Chinh Street. With the passion for creation with lemon tea, which is a popular cooling drink, the girl born in 2000 desires to turn the lemon tea into a more unique and new drink.
Thuy Vy said: "The trend of butterfly pea flowers is currently quite "hot" in Hue, I came up with the idea of mixing lemon tea with butterfly pea flowers. Its aim is to bring new colors and flavors to a familiar drink.”
When “standing” alone, the butterfly pea flowers water has a typical cobalt blue color. When being mixed with lemon tea, this color quickly turns into purple-blue. "Because of the original blue color, and the cool, fresh taste and the faint scent of butterfly pea flowers, I named this drinking Blue Eyes,” Thuy Vy explained.
Summer drinks are full of color and flavor. Photo: Provided by the character
Butterfly pea flowers are creeping in and creating a new wave in mind among young people in the Ancient Capital, from tea, cakes, and sticky rice to toppings that milk tea devotees are always eagerly awaiting.
Le Thi Kim Luan, the owner of a dried butterfly pea flower shop, said: “A lot of young people have been coming to butterfly pea flowers to unleash their creativity, especially with summer drinks. On peak occasions, I collected 3 to 4 kilograms of fresh butterfly pea flowers, but it was still not enough to meet the needs of making tea or jelly with eye-catching colors.”
Ha My, a young person who has started a business on artistic jelly, said that butterfly pea flowers jelly was very popular among young people because of its fanciful color and distinctive aroma.
"Butterfly pea flowers jelly can be eaten immediately or served as a topping of milk tea, and yogurt... as it is multifunctional and new, it becomes my best seller this summer," Ha My said.
An invitation to childhood
While Hue girls are engrossed in conquering the blue and purple colors with the butterfly pea flowers "trend", the young man Nguyen Van Tuan finds himself ‘train tickets’ of drinks to return to his childhood.
He shared: “We have summer cooling drinks with tomatoes, aloe vera, lotus seeds, corn silk, and mulberries, etc. These are all local products and associated with the childhood of many Hue people.”
Returning to childhood with corn silk water and lotus seeds. Photo: Provided by the character
For example, the corn silk water and lotus seeds; the idea of this cool drink has come from a glass of corn silk tea and the lotus seeds sweet soup that Nguyen Van Tuan had enjoyed many times in his childhood. In the glass with the typical light yellow color of corn silk water, there are simmered lotus seeds with delicious taste.
Taking a sip of this drink, one would feel the aroma of the field, the coolness of the prairie being blended in. The sweetness of this drink is fresh, clear and extremely pure, dispelling the fatigue and sultriness of the summer.
Nguyen Van Tuan revealed: "The tip is that in addition to lotus seeds and corn silk, I mix sugarcane juice to boost the taste, sweetness and freshness of this drink."
Besides, aloe vera and tomatoes drink is also an interesting choice; as sugared tomatoes and aloe vera cooked with rock sugar are the summer gifts loved by children in the past. Nguyen Van Tuan's desire is to create drinks that combine the tradition and the modernity. That's the bridge so that the glittering childhood memories are not lost; it's also how he, a young person, transforms the summer drinks to have deeper impression.
Putting his heart into the refreshments, the Hue young man also mixes the specialty of Dau da (Baccaurea) from Truoi and Kim Long to make an unique tea, which he jokingly calls the "grandpa's tea mixed with grandma's Dau da. As this drink is added with the salty taste of salted apricot, and the fragrant, sour and sweet taste of Dau da (greatly loved by women), as well as the acrid and fragrant of jasmine tea.
“Currently, I have tested and satisfied with this cooling drink, but I have not released it yet. This new drink is planned to be released when the pandemic is controlled," Nguyen Van Tuan said.
Nguyen Van Tuan's plan is also Luong Thi Thuy Vy's desire, as the 21-year-old barista has also successfully tested the butterfly pea flowers milk tea.
Thuy Vy shared: “Thus, the most important thing right now is that we both keep healthy and continue to test new drinks, the cooling drinks for the sweltering summer heat of Hue, but we don't forget the main goal is to keep fit, and nourish beautiful skin".
By MAI HUE