Celebrating A Rare Blue Moon
If you’re an astronomy buff — and a tea aficionado — you’ll want to mark Aug. 22 on your calendar.
That’s when a rare Blue Moon will grace the sky.
It’s also the only day that Adagio Teas will be selling its Bella Luna Blue tea blend.
Yes, this special loose leaf tea, which commemorates this cosmic occurrence, is only available when there is a Blue Moon.
It’s a rather magical blend that brews up blue in color. But stir in a little lemon juice to increase the pH, and it will turn vivid violet-purple in a flash. How fun is that?
The herbal tea gets its blue hue from Butterfly Pea flowers. The longer the tea steeps, the deeper the color, too, as you can see from the sample I tried.
The tea blend, which can be enjoyed hot or cold, tastes of blueberries with the floral-citrus note of lemongrass. A 1.5-ounce container is $9.
It’s the perfect sip to enjoy as you take in this particular Blue Moon (the third full moon of a season). Just note that such moons usually aren’t blue colored. Though, a blue tinge can occur if there are specific types of dust or smoke particles in the air, such as when wildfires are blazing, which, unfortunately, they are now in California.
If you miss this seasonal Blue Moon, you’ll have to wait until Aug. 19, 2024 to see the next one.
And if you miss out on Bella Luna Blue tea, you can still enjoy Adagio’s Blue Mango Iced Tea ($8 for enough to make 6 quarts) which also brews up blue, despite having fewer Butterfly Pea flowers in its mix of lemongrass, chamomile flowers, rose hips, mango, lychee, and marigold flowers.
Just place the handy pouch in a pitcher of water in the fridge overnight. The result is a tropical, fruity, herbal tea refresher.
Or enjoy the Purple Papayaberry Iced Tea ($19 for enough to make 25 quarts) that turns a dramatic amethyst-fuchsia when steeped overnight in the fridge.
Full of hibiscus flowers, apple pieces, rose hips, orange, papaya, strawberries, blueberries, blackberry, and more Butterfly Pea flowers, this is a tangier sip with a bolder fruit-basket flavor.