BLUE LATTE: FLOWER POWdER drink for better sleep

Blue latte has taken over Instagram and lifestyle blogs, and it goes by quite a few names: moon milk, evening latte, anti-coffee, mermaid latte, or even coastal grandma latte. Whatever you call it, one thing makes it very different from your regular morning latte: there's no coffee or matcha in it.

In fact, the only thing that makes it a latte is the milk. The blue color comes from butterfly pea flower powder, which is sometimes called blue matcha even though it isn't matcha at all.

And while coffee is what you reach for when you want to wake up, this pretty blue drink has become popular as an evening ritual — something to sip when you're officially done with the day and ready to slow down.

I've been looking for a new evening ritual to try, and this seemed like a pretty good candidate. It takes about five minutes to make, looks ridiculously pretty, and you only need three basic ingredients.

THE SECRET BEHIND THE BLUE

The only genuinely exotic ingredient here is butterfly pea flower powder. The butterfly pea is a flowering plant native to Asia and has traditionally been used in teas and herbal preparations there.

The powder looks a little like matcha, but that's pretty much where the resemblance ends. Mix it with milk and you get this beautiful, almost unreal blue color.

These days you can find butterfly pea flower powder pretty easily in the U.S., including online and in stores that carry teas and wellness products. And yes, it is very much a coastal grandma drink. I mean, look at it.

HOW TO MAKE BLUE LATTE

You only need three ingredients:

• 1 cup of milk or your favorite non-dairy alternative

• 1 tsp butterfly pea flower powder

• 1 tsp honey or maple syrup

You can also add:

• ½ tsp cinnamon or nutmeg

• 1 tsp ashwagandha, if you already use it and it works for you

Cinnamon makes the drink feel a little warmer and cozier, while ashwagandha is a popular ingredient in many stress-support and relaxation products.

TWO WAYS TO MAKE IT

Option 1 — the easy way: Add everything straight to the milk and blend it in an Aeroccino, milk frother or cappuccino maker until it's warm and foamy.

Option 2 — the prettier way: Mix the butterfly pea powder with a little hot water first, then pour in your frothed milk. And that's basically it.

You can play around with the recipe too — add warming spices, turn it into an iced blue latte. Instagram has already produced approximately a million variations, so there's plenty of inspiration out there. But personally, I'm keeping mine simple: warm milk, butterfly pea flower, a little honey, and absolutely no more phone for today. Blue latte - no blue light.