Malva

Malva color change

Yesterday I picked Malva to make tea. Tastes nice and the color is yellowish at first. Then I added some lemon to make it more refreshing and surprise: it immediately turned pinkish, more resembling the malva flowers. I repeated it on a white kitchen towel, and see the difference below. I tried to grasp the kitchen chemistry behind it by strolling through Wikipedia while drinking the tea, but remained unsuccessful. Does anybody know what happens here and why the color changes? Is it any drop of pH (I can try that tomorrow) or is it something else in the lemon? 

Malva tea made of fresh flowers: before adding lemon

Malva tea made of fresh flowers: before adding lemon

The same malva tea after adding lemon.

The same malva tea after adding lemon.

Malva tea and GDP

About from an annual GDP growth rate of 5% people appear to become wasteful. I have seen it in East Germany after the 1989 reunification, when people were running to Aldi to buy fruits, while tons were rotting on the trees. I have also seen it in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore, now Malta. I came back from a walk with a few branches of Malva to make some tea at home. On the way I met a neighbor, let's call him George. He became excited when he saw my Malva branches and told me, that when he was a child, they ate the flowers with honey. "Do you want some, George?", I asked him. No thanks, I got some Coke in the fridge.