Molecular Mixology: Colour changing cocktails

Impress your friends with this simple showstopper!

Here's what you need to give this a try at home:

• Lemon Juice https://amzn.to/3UVYEcM

• Butterfly pea tea extract (also known as Blue Matcha) https://amzn.to/3UVtBxL

• Sparkling Water https://amzn.to/3TxyFHG

• Gin (any) https://amzn.to/3wK4svH

Recipe:

1. Pour some gin into a cocktail glass and add Butterfly pea tea powder (also known as Blue Matcha). Mix until it is completely dissolved, to produce a blue/purple hue.

2. Fill glasses with ice and pour in a third of the butterfly pea mixture.

3. Add the lemon juice to the cocktail glass. As the gin mixes with the lemon in the glass, the colour will change from the blue/purple shade to pink!

If Dry January has converted you for good then there is a non-alcoholic version that’s just as impressive!

1. Add the Butterfly pea tea powder to sparkling water and mix until it is completely dissolved.

2. Fill glasses with ice and pour in a third of the butterfly pea mixture.

3. Add lemon juice and see the look on your friends faces as the colour changes from blue/purple to pink!

The science:Butterfly pea tea contains anthocyanin. Anthocyanins are water soluble pigments which are responsible for the deep blue/purple hues in plants, fruits and vegetables.

Anthocyanin is a natural pH indicator - something that indicates the acidity or alkalinity of solutions. The acid in lemons reacts, to change the colour in the cocktail.

by Sarah Dawn Maria Green

Sign up to our Patreon community for a daily blog during British Science Week (8-17 March)! First 20 sign-ups get a free trial with access to exclusive content including DIY science experiments videos!

Sources:

EatingWell. (n.d.). Magical Color-Changing Margaritas. Available at: https://www.eatingwell.com/recipe/263757/magical-color-changing-margaritas/

‌American Chemical Society. (n.d.). A Color-Changing Liquid. Available at: https://www.acs.org/education/outreach/activities/color-changing-liquid.html#:~:text=Blueberry%20juice%E2%80%94along%20with%20many