Find inspiration and steps to create a butterfly charcuterie board and discover the magic and metamorphosis of butterfly pea flower tea.
Happy Tuesday!
Welcome to the August edition of Tea on Tuesdays,
a celebration of all things tea on the third Tuesday of the month.
Pam and I are excited to welcome back
Shannon at Belle Bleu Interiors,
as a special guest joining us for tea today.
We’re glad you’re here too, pour yourself a cuppa and join us!
You can find Pam and Shannon’s invitation to tea at the bottom of this post.
This post contains affiliate links. For more information see my disclosure policy. As an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. If you purchase anything through an affiliate link, I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Join me for tea on the porch with the butterflies!
With the summer heat, we’re sipping iced tea today,
so my Portmeirion Botanic Garden Teapot
is serving as a vase for hydrangeas.
I’m always on the lookout for the Monarchs to begin to arrive in mid-August.
This super generation of Monarchs stop over here in North Carolina
before they begin their 3000-mile migration to Mexico.
Fun fact: These monarchs are different from their parents, grandparents, and even great grandparents,
living 8 times longer and travelling 10 times farther!
Super Monarchs are partway through their adult life cycle with their reproduction on hold
so they can complete the long journey, travelling up to 50 miles each day,
catching free rides on thermal air currents, sometimes flying a mile high.
I’m sharing a little metamorphosis of the tea variety,
with Butterfly Pea Flower Tea!
TeeLux Butterfly Pea Flower Tea is tea with magical properties!
Butterfly pea flowers are one of many plants that fall into the category of a pH indicator
as the color changes from blue to purple, then pink, when any form of acidity,
such as lemon juice, is added.
Butterfly Pea Flower Tea is a caffeine-free herbal tea that doesn’t have much flavor by itself.
To me, it tastes like a cross between chamomile and very mild green tea.
It’s often used all-natural food dye that can be added to cakes and desserts,
tea blends, beverages and cocktails.
To brew Butterfly Pea Flower Tea:
Add 5 – 6 Butterfly Pea Flowers to 8 oz of boiling water and let steep for 5-6 minutes,
to produce a beautiful blue color.
The tea will change to a purplish/pink with the addition or lemon, or in this case, lemonade.
La Rochere Butterfly Glasses are ideal to sip
Butterfly Pea Flower Tea Lemonade with butterfly ice cubes made from
Help yourself to some charcuterie of the butterfly variety!
I started with a round wood board I had,
previously used for a Thanksgiving Turkey Dessert Board.
I made a wax paper template of the butterfly wings as a guide.
Grapes were skewered to form the body of the butterfly with bamboo knot skewers
serving as the butterfly antennae.
For my charcuterie board I used a charcuterie trio of cured meats. . .
Genoa Salami, Capocollo and Soppressata
and an assortment of cheese. . . Cheddar, Swiss, Colby Jack and Pepper Jack.
I added strawberries, blueberries and blackberries to the board,
along with my hubby’s favorite and addictive
Blue Diamond Smokehouse Almonds.
A mini scalloped flower cookie cutter adds decorative floral details,
topped with blueberry centers.
Butterfly Pepperidge Farm Golden Butter Crackers were added,
along with Raincoast Crisps which are a favorite.
French Macarons from the freezer section of the supermarket provide an easy sweet treat . . .
just thaw and serve.
With Wallace butterfly cocktail forks on Lenox Butterfly Meadow Cloud plates
to enjoy our butterfly charcuterie.
Details:
Portmeirion Botanic Garden Tea Set
Quilted coverlet, HomeGoods, many years ago
Butterfly Pillow / Pottery Barn, many years ago
Butterfly Glasses, La Rochere / HomeGoods, many years ago
Wallace Butterfly Cocktail Forks / Tuesday Morning, many years ago
Plates / Lenox Butterfly Meadow Cloud, HomeGoods, many years ago
Round Wood Tray / World Market, several years ago, similar HERE
🦋 🦋 🦋
Flutter over to visit Pam and Shannon for more tea inspiration:
Pam at Everyday Living
Shannon at Belle Bleu Interiors
The winner of a copy of Tea & Sweets and teacup from my
Tea on Tuesday Anniversary Giveaway is
Sheryl R!
Thanks to all who entered. ☕
Thank you for your visit, sharing with:
Between Naps on the Porch
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Good morning, Mary. I always look forward to the Monarchs as they usually pass our way in October. Butterfly Pea Flower Tea is new to me. I love that it changes color with the addition of lemon. It looks so pretty in your La Rochere Butterfly glasses. The Botanic Garden Teapot is perfect with its monarch lid. Is this a new addition? The butterfly charcuterie board is a clever idea and it looks delicious. Its presentation is stunning, almost too lovely to eat.
Congratulations to Sheryl R. It is always a great pleasure to share tea with you on our monthly Tea On Tuesdays. Enjoy the lower humidity and cooler temps. Happy Tuesday 🦋🩵🦋
Mary, perfect setting to welcome the Monarch butterflies. It’s amazing how they can travel so far, reminding me that fall is on its way. Your butterfly charcuterie looks so delicious!! Thank you for including the steps to put this together. I’m having friends over and with your directions I think I may have a butterfly tea party! Botanic garden is my everyday china and I still love it!
Thank you! Enjoy the cooler weather!
Oh my goodness, Mary! Your serving board, tea and overall theme are fantastic! Your tea is like the hydrangeas with their color change, wow! I’m working on changing my soil to become more acidic for blues. Your hydrangeas look so healthy still! I think I may have seen a fleeting passing of a monarch in the neighborhood, but none in my garden yet.
Congrats to Sheryl R. As readers of your blog, we’re all winners!
Oh my, how fun! I did not know about this tea and the ability to change the color. The colors are beautiful too. Thinking this would be fun for an Alice in Wonderland theme too.
Good Morning Mary,
This Butterfly Pea Flower tea is quite fun! A tea party for children would love this! Yet, how elegant it is served at your tea time.
Your Botanic Garden Teapot filled with hydrangeas is a show-stopper. 💙
Thank you for the information about the Monarchs. I learned something new today!
Your butterfly charcuterie board is quite lovely. You always amaze me with your creativity.
Congratulations to Sheryl R! She is the lucky one!
Happy Tuesday! Thanks for the delightful tea time.
Mary, what a gorgeous setting to welcome the monarchs! I enjoyed reading about them, and I am amazed that they can travel 50 miles a day! Your hydrangeas in the Botanic Garden teapot make such a pretty centerpiece. I have long adored that pattern and have been tempted to start a collection. Your tea selection looks so pretty in your butterfly glasses. Also, I am swooning over the Wallace butterfly flatware. You always have so many pretties! Your charcuterie is both beautiful and delicious looking. You always have the best entertaining ideas. I have so enjoyed my visit for tea, sweet friend! I hope you have a most wonderful day!
I so enjoyed my tea with the butterflies Mary! The butterfly charcuterie board is fabulous, so clever and creative! That is amazing about the Monarchs and how far they migrate, so incredible! The Butterfly Pea Flower Tea is crazy cool how it changes colors, so pretty too! So many cute butterfly things are flitting around your table~ Thank you for the lovely tea party!
Jenna
I was just reading about the butterfly pea tea in a novel by Shayla Cherry titled Big Island Gardens!
Mary thanks for the info on migrating butterflies. Here in Florida, we have RESIDENT and MIGRATORY monarch butterfly populations:
“Florida’s warm climate and year-round availability of host plants, like tropical milkweed, allow many monarchs to stay in the state year-round and breed continuously. Monarchs can sense chemicals from the milkweed and break their migration to mate and lay eggs. ”
“Monarchs also migrate to Florida in the spring and leave in the fall, passing through the state on their way east of the Appalachian Mountains. Many gather at St. Marks Wildlife Refuge on the Gulf Coast, where there’s an October festival to celebrate them. As you have noted, Monarchs can travel up to 3,000 miles between food sources and roosting areas, and Amelia Island State Park’s dune swales and forested wetlands are an important stopover for them.”
Having said that I love the special touches for your iced tea party. The color changing tea, the butterfly charcuterie board, the ice butterfly mold and the forks are perfect for your porch setting.
Thanks for sharing your Tea on Tuesday with us.
I just hosted our bookclub and the book we read was Lessons In Chemistry. I made a cocktail using Butterfly tea and at the last moment I performed my magical experiment as I added lemonade to the tea. I had never used this tea before and it certainly made for a fun evening. Your lovely tea party and hydrangeas are added inspiration for another way to use Butterfly Pea Tea
Mary, you are always surprising us with something new. The butterfly pea flower tea is new to me. How cool is that!
Love love your hydrangea tea pot with fresh hydrangeas and so neat it has a monarch on the lid. Great info about their migration habits. They are amazing.
Your charcuterie board is clever and creative. Pinning.
Have a great week.
Oh how I’d love to sit with you on your porch and sip some of that beautiful tea and have some nibbles from your gorgeous butterfly charcuterie tray. Those butterfly forks are just darling, Mary, and I love the changing of color in the tea. I need to remember to get some of those smokehouse almonds as they are so good! I hope some monarchs show up here soon. Thank you for the teatime beauty. 💙
Mary, You did it again! Your butterfly charcuterie board is a feast for the eyes and tummy. The butterfly teapot, pillow and forks are beautiful! Your coverlet is a beauty too! Enjoy your evening. Clara❤️
You are a bright spot in my inbox. It is a joy to visit.
What a sweet comment Pamela, you made my day! ♥
Mary, such a lovely post full of pretty blooms, monarchs and a lovely tea to enjoy. Your butterfly charcuterie is fabulous. How wonderful is that Butterfly Pea Flower tea. Love the color change. Even the ice cubes are butterflies.
I am looking forward to seeing your welcome fall tablescape.
Mary, you have COMPLETELY outdone yourself with this beautiful tea party! I love the information about the monarchs, and the charcuterie tray is absolutely AH-mazing. This might be my very favorite post of yours, and that is saying A LOT!!!! I want to make that tea!!!! YUM! Thanks for hosting these tea parties every month. I do enjoy them!
Mary, I love this post! The butterfly charcuterie board is amazing! What a clever idea. Thanks for sharing.