Every MoodWell cup is a chemistry experiment. Here's what's actually happening when your coffee shifts color.
What Are Anthocyanins?
Anthocyanins are flavonoid pigments found in many plants — blueberries, red cabbage, and butterfly pea flower among them. They're also powerful antioxidants. In butterfly pea flower, the primary anthocyanin is ternatins, which are unusually pH-sensitive.
The pH Scale and Color
Water is neutral at pH 7. Alkaline water (pH 8–9) makes butterfly pea flower intensely blue. As you add acidic ingredients, the pH drops:
- pH 6–7: Blue-violet
- pH 5–6: Violet to purple
- pH 3–5: Pink to red
Coffee sits around pH 5. That's why adding coffee to blue butterfly pea flower water creates the vivid violet, teal, or lavender shift you see in MoodWell's Shift Collection.
Why Do Different Products Shift to Different Colors?
The mushroom extracts and supporting ingredients in HUSTLE, RESTORE, and CALM each slightly alter the final pH of the drink, producing different shift colors. It's formulation science — the ratios are dialed in to produce consistently beautiful results.
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