The Original Color Changing Galaxy Lemonade recipe, that looks like a galaxy in your glass! All the color and splendor of a galaxy in a simple lemonade!
Dried butterfly pea flowers, lemons, club soda and sugar are all you need to make this magical Color Changing Galaxy Lemonade! A simple butterfly pea lemonade summer drink with a dash of magic that both kids and adults will love.
- Why I love this recipe
- What is Color Changing Lemonade?
- What are butterfly pea flowers?
- The science behind this color changing chemical reaction
- Ingredients to make color changing lemonade
- How to make color changing galaxy lemonade
- Tips to get the galaxy effect in the drink
- How to make this galaxy lemonade ahead of time
- Galaxy lemonade recipe video
I first made this color changing lemonade in 2016! I re-did the recipe in 2017 to share my original color changing galaxy lemonade recipe, and included ALL the tips on how to make this truly MAGICAL summer drink look as if a galaxy were trapped in your glass!
Since then, a lot of people have recreated this color changing lemonade, but I do believe that this original is the best out there! Here’s why.
Why I love this recipe
- This is the original Galaxy Lemonade recipe, which uses naturally color changing butterfly pea flowers to make lemonade.
- Because of the method I use to make this drink, it really does look like a sparkly galaxy in a glass! It’s not just a color changing lemonade, but it looks like a magical, whimsical galaxy lemonade. I show you how to do it all and why it’s different from other color changing butterfly pea lemonade recipes out there.
- I explain the science behind the color change, so you can share this neat little trick with kids and adults alike.
- I even share more tips on how to make this magical lemonade in different ways, depending on how you’ll be serving this drink.
- This is the PERFECT summer drink that will wow both kids AND adults! And it’s a fantastic drink to make WITH your kids in the summer during their holidays! I mean, what kid doesn’t appreciate a little dose of magic! 😀
- If you like galaxy-themed recipes and drinks, then you’re going to LOVE this galaxy lemonade!
What is Color Changing Lemonade?
Summer is all about lemonade and limeade for me! I ALWAYS have a bag of lemon and lime in my fridge, and that doubles in amount in the summer. Even if it’s not summer, I love to make apple lemonade and ginger limeade, especially during the holidays.
But there’s nothing quite as refreshing as an icy cold lemonade in the heat and humidity of summer. This particular lemonade has just a touch more magic in it!
This color changing lemonade is made with a dark blue ice that is made by freezing butterfly pea flower tea in ice cube trays. This “magic” blue ice as I call it, changes from a dark blue color to purple, and finally to a bright pink color when mixed with lemon. How cool is that?
In fact ANY kind of acidic food will turn the blue tea into purple and pink. That is what’s magical about this amazing color changing lemonade!
With the addition of crushed ice, the color changing lemonade is transformed into a sparkly galaxy lemonade, with deep blue, purple, and bright pink colors.
What are butterfly pea flowers?
The secret ingredient for this magical galaxy lemonade here is butterfly pea flower tea made with butterfly pea flowers (blue pea flowers). This tea is made into ice cubes for this lemonade.
I grew up calling these “katurodu mal” (කටුරොඩු මල්) in Sri Lanka, and they were not only a medicinal tea, but also a popular science experiment in school. We’d often make butterfly pea tea concentrate and use it for acid/base/indicator science experiments.
In this galaxy lemonade, the presence of an acid (i.e. low pH), changes the color of butterfly pea tea ice from a deep blue to purple and pink, creating gorgeous, colorful swirls and a galaxy-like effect. The citric acid in lemonade is the obvious and easy choice to trigger this color change (if you prefer limeade instead, may I suggest my ginger limeade recipe?)
You can also purchase butterfly pea tea in several ways.
Where to buy butterfly pea tea
- You can find dried butterfly pea flowers (blue pea flowers) on Amazon, here and here and on EBAY and in specialty stores as well.
- If you like herbal teas, look for herbal tea that has butterfly pea flowers as an ingredient.
- Another option is to use powdered butterfly pea flowers or butterfly pea flower powder as well. These mostly dissolve into hot water, so there is no steeping. You can add as much or as little as you like to get the color you want.
The science behind this color changing chemical reaction
All the “blue fruits” and “blue vegetables” such as blueberry, blackberry, black raspberry, eggplant, purple cauliflower, red cabbage, and blue pea flowers (butterfly pea/blue pea flower) etc. contain a water-soluble pigment called Anthocyanin. This is responsible for the purple – blue hues in these fruits and vegetables.
Butterfly pea flowers are the only flowers that can be used to extract a natural blue color that’s soluble in water (the flower itself is dark purple/blue).
Anthocyanin actually changes its color depending on the pH level of the solvent it’s in, and therefore is a natural pH indicator. So it can change from orange to pink to purple to yellow depending on whether it’s in an acidic or basic solution.
I used these butterfly pea flower tea as a pH/color indicator to test common solutions in science class in middle school, and this was how I was introduced to this magical ingredient! 🙂 It turns yellow(ish) when baking soda (basic – high pH) is added, and a beautiful purple/pink when lemon or vinegar (acidic – low pH) is added.
It’s due to the acidity (citric acid) in lemon that the blue crushed ice turns beautiful shades of pink/purple!
How about red cabbage?
Red cabbage / purple cabbage juice can also be used as an indicator. But there are a few problems that you will encounter with this.
The cabbage juice is naturally purple or pink, because there is some acidity in the vegetable. To make it blue you will need to add something “basic” such as baking soda. This isn’t ideal.
Cabbage juice has a very distinct taste and smell. I don’t think anyone would like that flavor or smell in their lemonade!
Using homemade lemon syrup vs fresh lemon juice vs lemonade concentrate
Lemonade is usually made by dissolving sugar into lemon juice and then topping it with water and ice. Since this galaxy lemonade requires more ice, this method will make a very diluted lemonade.
That is why I make my own lemon syrup. This lemon syrup is sweet and super tart, so you can add a lot of ice and adjust the flavor by adding as much lemon syrup as you like!
I also love keeping a bottle of lemon syrup (or lime syrup) in my fridge for when I want to make a cocktail or mocktail. I use this lemon syrup for this galaxy lemonade, because the concentrated lemon flavor of the syrup is perfect for this crushed ice drink.
Believe me, this lemon syrup is a million times better than lemon concentrate you can buy at the store because the lemon flavor is super fresh in this drink.
Since this galaxy lemonade is made with crushed regular ice and butterfly pea ice, concentrated lemon syrup will ensure that you have a lovely lemon flavor as the ice dissolves in the drink!
Ingredients to make color changing lemonade
Lemon syrup
- Lemon juice
- Sugar
Magic ice
- Butterfly pea tea
- Hot water
Galaxy lemonade assembly
- Regular crushed ice
How to make color changing galaxy lemonade
First, make the lemon syrup.
Add ⅔ of the lemon juice and the sugar in a saucepan and heat to dissolve the sugar.
Let it simmer for about 10 minutes. At the end, add the remaining lemon juice and let the syrup cool to room temperature, or chill in the fridge.
Making the crushed magic blue ice
Steep the butterfly pea flower tea in boiling hot water. Add double the amount of the recommended tea because you want the ice to be a very dark color. Let it steep for at least 15 minutes.
Strain the tea and pour it into ice cube trays. Let the tea freeze overnight.
You can crush the ice in two different ways,
- Place the ice in a food processor or blender and roughly process to get crushed ice.
- Place the ice in a freezer bag or a lewis bag, and crush using an ice mallet.
Keep the crushed ice in the fridge until the drink is going to be made.
For best results, also crush some regular ice. This will make the galaxy effect even better!
Assembling the color changing lemonade
Once you’ve made the lemon concentrate syrup and the crushed butterfly pea ice, then you’re ready to make some kick-ass galaxy lemonade!
First, add some crushed regular ice into a glass. Then top it with a similar amount of crushed blue ice.
Next, it’s time for the magic to happen! Pour the chilled lemon syrup over the ice and watch the blue ice turn to purple and pink! This step is best done in front of your guests (or anyone else you’d like to impress!) of course.
Next, add some soda or water to dilute the lemon syrup a little.
Finally, top it with a little extra blue crushed ice, and stir the drink for a gorgeous galaxy effect.
Tips to get the galaxy effect in the drink
Crushed ice is key for the galaxy effect!
Making sure that you have the regular crushed ice and magic blue ice will ensure that the drink will have the swirling galaxy effect as the lemon syrup changes the color of the ice.
The crushed butterfly pea flower ice should ideally be different sizes too. The larger pieces of blue ice will float within the drink creating the blue-purple-pink swirls inside the lemonade.
Topping the drink with more blue ice on top, will create the ombre look from blue to purple to pink in the glass.
Without the layered crushed ice, the drink will just turn into pink or purple, with floating blue ice, without any color swirls.
There’s a very simple idea behind this Color Changing Galaxy Lemonade, but it’s all about the theatrics of the end product. And it all starts and ends with the magic ice cubes! 🙂
These ice cubes help make the magical butterfly pea lemonade drink look and taste spectacular!
How to make this galaxy lemonade ahead of time
It’s harder to get this effect in your drinks when you want to make a large batch for a crowd. So here’s a simple way to make this drink ahead of time, and still get a pretty cool galaxy effect!
Making a lemonade slushie is the best way to make this drink ahead of time.
Place the regular ice in a blender and add the lemon syrup. Process until you have a lemon slushie that is strong on the lemon flavor!
Keep this lemon slushie in the freezer until you’re ready to use it. The high sugar content will prevent the slush from completely freezing.
To serve
In glasses, add the lemonade slushie leaving room for the crushed blue ice. Add the crushed blue ice on top as you serve these to guests and watch them mix their lemonade slushies to create beautiful color changing galaxy lemonades!
Can I use butterfly pea flower tea to make magical color changing cocktails?
I got you covered!
Here are my magical color changing cocktails! Four amazing drinks that use butterfly pea / blue pea flowers to create amazing galaxy cocktails.
I’ve also shared how to make color changing alcohol by infusing butterfly pea flowers to make color changing gin, vodka, or tequila for some incredible cocktails!
- Vodka and soda for a Color Changing Galaxy Lemonade Vodka Spritzer
- Tequila + grapefruit syrup for a gorgeous Galaxy Palermo
- Tonic water for a glow in the dark Galaxy Lemonade Slushie version!
- Ginger beer and vodka for a Magical Mule (aka Galaxy Mule).
- Add some fresh fruits or herbs such as raspberries, strawberries, and mint.
With each drink, don’t forget to top it with a little more magic ice and serve. Wow your guests, kids (not with the cocktails of course!), friends, and family with this beautiful color changing galaxy lemonade.
If you use tonic water instead of soda water, this lemonade slushie will glow in the dark too, provided you have a black light. How cool is that? :
Frequently asked questions
Making lemonade slushie and serving the slushie with crushed magic ice will give you a galaxy like effect! Having a large batch of lemonade slushie in the freezer, or making it fresh in your blender with crushed ice and lemon syrup will make it easier to serve this to a crowd!
See my post section here for more details.
You can absolutely serve this drink the regular way too! Pour lemonade into glasses and top it with the color changing butterfly pea flower ice cubes, or crushed ice.
Will there be a color change then?
Yes! This will definitely be a color changing lemonade!
Will it still be galaxy colored?
Absolutely, but you will probably get more of a pink color than a purple, with the floating blue ice (that will melt quickly if it’s crushed).
Will it LOOK like a galaxy?
Probably not. It’ll look more like a pinkish lemonade with floating blue ice.
Of course you can! I love adding vodka or gin. But my favorite is tequila and a little salt (no surprise there!)
Unfortunately no. Regular food coloring will not create the color changing chemical reaction. This butterfly pea flower tea is absolutely required for the color change.
This is nothing but a simple lemonade slushie, albeit a little more involved than a regular one, but serve this up at your next BBQ, cookout, party or get together, and your guests are likely to never forget it! 🙂
More recipes like this
Color Changing Shimmery Phoenix Cocktail
Color Changing Butterfly Pea Infused Alcohol
How to make Shimmery Liqueur (Viniq)
I’ve also shared a no churn galaxy ice cream recipe! It’s all natural, with no food coloring and it’s easy and fun to make. It’s complete with a galaxy chocolate magic shell coating (making it perfect for parties!) and you can see how it’s made step-by-step!
Galaxy lemonade recipe video
Looking for more recipes?Sign up for my free recipe newsletter to get new recipes in your inbox each week! Find me sharing more inspiration on Pinterest and Instagram.
Magical Galaxy Lemonade (Color Changing Lemonade Recipe)
Ingredients:
Magic Ice Cubes
- 25-30 dried blue pea flowers (or about 4 – 5 tea bags)
- 3 cups boiling water
Lemon Syrup (this will yield about 2 – 2¼ cups of syrup)
- 1¼ cup lemon juice about 8+ lemons. Will vary depending on the size of the lemons you use.
- 1½ cups white sugar 300 g. This is quite tart, which is how I like it. Use 2 cups / 400 g for a sweeter syrup
- ½ cup lemon juice about 3+ lemons. Will vary depending on the size of the lemons you use.
Color Changing Lemonade (Galaxy Lemonade) 8 servings
- 4 cups crushed regular ice or more as needed
- 4 cups Crushed butterfly pea magic ice as needed
- 2 cups lemon syrup about ¼ – ⅓ cup per drink
- 4 cups Club soda to top
- 8 fl oz vodka tequila or gin (for the adults, of course)
Instructions:
Magic Ice Cubes
- Steep the dried blue pea flowers in boiling water for about 20 – 30 minutes, until the water turns very deep blue in color (the darker the color, the better).25-30 dried blue pea flowers, 3 cups boiling water
- Strain the tea, and pour it into ice cube trays. Freeze until completely frozen (overnight).
- Once frozen, crush the ice in an ice crushing blender. Or place the ice in a lewis bag or freezer bag and crush it using an ice crushing mallet.It is important to only roughly crush the ice. Some big pieces of ice will be needed to create the galaxy effect in the drink.
- Keep in the freezer until needed.
Lemon Syrup
- Mix the first measure of lemon juice and sugar in a saucepan and heat over medium heat. Stir to dissolve. Bring the syrup to a simmer, and simmer for about 10 minutes until slightly thickened.1¼ cup lemon juice, 1½ cups white sugar
- Once the syrup has simmered and is thickened, add the second measure of lemon juice and let the syrup cool completely.½ cup lemon juice
- Store the syrup in a bottle and keep it in the fridge to chill. This lemon syrup is very strong. I like to use ¼ cup of the syrup for ¾ – 1 cup of water, but adjust it to your liking.
Color Changing Lemonade (Galaxy Lemonade)
- Fill ¼ of a tall glass (about 11 fl oz glass) with regular crushed ice. Fill another ¼ with the crushed magic ice.4 cups crushed regular ice, 4 cups Crushed butterfly pea magic ice
- Pour about ¼ – ⅓ cup of the lemon syrup into the glass and top it with club soda (or lemon lime soda). OPTIONAL – add alcohol for a cocktail version.2 cups lemon syrup, 4 cups Club soda, 8 fl oz vodka
- Add some extra crushed magic ice on top, and serve with stirring sticks and straws.4 cups Crushed butterfly pea magic ice
Video:
Tips & Tricks
Nutrition Information:
“This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.”
Beth says
I am excited to try this. Can you use the pebble style ice (aka Sonic ice or Chick Fil A ice)
Dini says
Hi Beth
You can use any type of ice for this drink!
With smoother ice, the galaxy “look” is a little less, but the color layers will be visible before the ice melts! The crushed ice does give a better “galaxy” look, but the ice melts faster, making the color gradient disappear faster.
I hope that helps.
Jan says
I am so excited to try this! Can it be made with butterfly pea powder instead of whole flowers? Thank you!
Dini says
Hi Jan!
Absolutely you can use butterfly pea powder instead!
I hope that helps
nurul says
hi. this is an amazing find! would you mind sharing the size of you glass used? i would like to make this in a big batch. just need to do some calculation first.
Dini says
Hi Nurul
These glasses are 10 oz glasses. But I do also add quite a bit of ice in the glasses as well.
Jan Schmidt says
how far in advance can you make each part? Will it last in the fridge for a couple weeks? A Few days?
Dini says
Hi Jan
The individual components can be made in advance! The lemon Syrup is good for at least 1 week in the fridge or longer in the freezer.
The blue ice has to be stored in the freezer, so you can keep it there for as long as you keep ice. Just need to make sure it doesn’t pick up freezer smells.
I hope that helps!
Jan Schmidt says
Wow!! Thanks so much for your quick reply. I’m so anxious to give this a try when my kids come from far and near to watch the eclipse
Itzel says
What dose the drink look like if its melts (I may leave my drink outside)
Dini says
Hi Itzel
As the ice melts, the drink will become just one color – Between purple and pink, depending on how much lemon syrup is in the drink.
I hope that helps
Itzel says
So it will not have that galaxy affect than, right?
Dini says
Hi Itzel
As per the post, the galaxy effect is created by the ice separating and controlling the chemical reaction between the indicator and acid.
Once the ice is melted the indicator (butterfly pea flower tea) and the acid (lemon) is all mixed in and will be one color.
There is no way to keep the colors separated in liquid, without crushed ice in between.
Hope that helps
Mary says
Does the blue ice make it taste like tea? I am not a fan of tea and can always taste it when added to things
Dini says
Hi Mary
Butterfly pea is not regular tea, but is a flower. So it won’t have the same taste as regular tea-based products.
I personally don’t taste anything different because the lemon is the overwhelming flavor in the lemonade.
I hope that helps.
Andrea says
I am trying to make the slushie and am having trouble making the galaxy effect. When I add the ice to the top it doesn’t do anything. Even if I stir it in. What am I doing wrong?
Dini says
Hi Andrea,
Could you give me a little more detail on the difficulty you’re experiencing?
When you add which ice on top? The butterfly pea ice or the regular ice?
The color change happens when you add the lemon, otherwise the butterfly pea tea ice will not change color.
Having fairly larger pieces of magic ice gives the drink the blue and purple variations.
I hope that helps!
Andrea says
Thanks for responding! I was trying to make the slushie and am confused on how to get it to work. If you put the ice on top of the slushie it does not mix. I’m what am I missing?
Andrea says
How do you make the slush galaxy effect?
Dini says
Hi Andrea
If you’re making this as a slushie (blending lemon Syrup with regular ice), then to get a galaxy effect you can layer the lemonade slushie with crushed magic ice in a few layers. This will give the best galaxy effect. It won’t be the same as in the photos, as it’s not made the same way. However it will be the closest.
When crushing the magic ice, make sure the pieces a little bigger so that the blue will be visible before the ice melts away.
When you stir the slushie with the magic ice layers it should change color.
To make it look shimmery you can add pearl luster dust to the drink (only about 1/8 tsp per drink). But I didn’t do that in my recipe.
Hope that helps!
Andrea says
Ok, thank you! I will give this a try and if it doesn’t work for me, I’ll stick with the regular lemonade. Do you have experience with making the regular ice with lemonade instead?
Dini says
Hi Andrea
I mostly drink regular lemonade 🙂
It’s just lemon juice with sugar and water and then served with ice.
There’s no color change but it’s still delicious!
You can also mix lemon and water and make ice as well or even freeze lemonade into ice cubes too. This will prevent the lemonade from watering down too much as the ice melts. It depends on what you’re looking for when making lemonade!
I hope that helps
Andrea says
Thank you so much! This is very helpful.
Kim says
Loved the recipe and concept. I ordered butterfly tea bags from Amazon.ca – “Ceylon Flavors” brand and using 3 bags for 3 cups water made cubes that were a dark purple not blue resulting in purple lemonade with no pretty blue ice on top. What brand tea bags did you use and I will buy them.
I really enjoy your recipes and posts.
Dini says
Hi Kim
Some teas can be a little acidic, so it would explain why the brewed tea is already a dark purple color.
I do like dried butterfly pea flowers (dried, whole flowers) because they are not mixed with anything else and tend to give the bluest hue.
I have had some issues with creating the blue hue with butterfly pea tea, and with the flowers infused with alcohol as I did in my post here, because tea and alcohol are just mildly acidic. As mentioned in the color changing alcohol post, I combat this by adding the tiniest pinch of baking soda into the liquid. Only the smallest amount to help neutralize the mild acidity. Keep in mind that a little bit goes a long way to neutralize the acidity and bring the blue color back! And if you add only just the smallest amount, it has no effect on the final taste 🙂
I hope that helps!
Kim says
The baking soda worked well. Thanks!
Cheaney Ritchey says
So amazing. But tots of sugar.
Dua says
Loved it. My 9 year daughter successfully made it
Jillene Luce says
I’m so excited to find this amazing beautiful page! I can’t wait to try your recipe with my grandson. I ordered Butterfly Pea Powder online and eagerly awaiting it’s arrival, even though it’s January
Alqyn Ahmed Rashyd says
This is a lovely yet fabulous recipe!
Hashi V. says
Omg Dini first of all fellow Sri Lankan transplanted to North Carolina via California. Remember this experiment in 7th grade and we had the Katarolu mala growing wild back home and used to be one of my favorite flowers, so reading about it took me back. Having a Halloween party for my girls and one more family (social distancing and all) and was looking for a fun drink that girls would like and not be grossed out. I think this would be awesome and I will call it a witches brew. Thank you for the great idea.