You know the song “Things that Make You Go ‘Hmmm’ “? This is a tea that makes you go “hmmm.” Its combination of flavors is really unique, in a way that I’m about 90% sure I like.
This tea combines Kenyan purple tea and green Jasmine tea together. I’m not sure what made a person do this. Probably it was a lazy Thursday and the brewer said, “why not?”
Purple tea is known for its antioxidant properties. It’s grown in Kenya; the high UV levels there cause chemical reactions in the tea leaves. It tends toward the green end of the spectrum, in its alleged health benefits, low caffeine, and delicate flavor. The purple tea adds a delicate, sweet flavor to this tea.
Jasmine green tea is a more vegetal and flowery flavor. You probably know Jasmine from going to Chinese restaurants and getting it served to you as the default when you ask for tea.
When combined with the purple, you get a yet-sweeter Jasmine. It’s like Jasmine with vanilla added. It’s really cool, and I’m glad I have some. It’s a smart, refined, sweet blend.
I started with “Hmmm,” and then settled on “Mmmm.”
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Purple
Where to Buy: Simple Loose Leaf
Description
This tea is currently not on the website but click below for more information about this company!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Purple Youth from The Whistling Kettle. . . .
Purple Mountain Tea from The Whistling Kettle (or “Purple Youth” as its labeled on my sample) is a cup I’ve revisited recently.
The Whistling Kettle describes this tea as…Purple tea combined with a variety of herbs that provide a healthy dose of anti-oxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds. Well rounded herbal notes with a floral-spice finish.
As much as I adore my black teas I need to change it up every once and a while. Plus, I have been incorporating more and more anti-inflammatory teas and tisanes into my tea-sipping-rotation as of late.
This Purple Tea seemed to check all the lists.
The product description page on their website breaks down all of the potential benefits to each and every ingredient they added to this loose leaf blend. I find all of that fascinating because I love learning about plant/herb based healthy and healing properties.
Of course, I’m not making any claims here…I’m just sharing with you what I find interesting about this offering and how they relate to what I’m trying to do to improve my intake, personally.
I’ve been on a Nettle Leaf kick the last couple of weeks and the more I learn about it the more I feel like I need to continue to use it or consume daily.
The flavor of this cup is mild, mellow, soothing, slightly herbal but not medicinal, and an easy drink.
If you want to include more herbs into your life but have been turned off by some other herbal offerings…this tea/tisane just might be for you! I know I enjoyed it and will look for it again, soon!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Purple
Where to Buy: The Whistling Kettle
Description
We’ve designed this mostly herbal blend around purple tea as an all day, every day sipper. You’ll get loads of antioxidants from purple tea but also the benefits from numerous other herbs that help with skin complexion, hair and nail health and overall mental focus. Hydrate the healthy way!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Power Up with Purple Tea from Kenya. . . .
Just when you think you’ve tried every kind of tea you can think of, you stumble across something new. Not black tea or green tea but, Purple Tea? I had to give it a try.
This batch of tea had enormous, voluminous leaves that puffed up the sample bag. The leaves were long and dark, tightly curled, and exceptionally elegant.
Though the leaves were beautiful, they weren’t purple in color, but instead looked like traditional black tea. Would the brewed leaves be any different?
Black teas brew up dark sienna brown, rooibos teas are reddish amber, and green and white teas brew up golden or melon green. Does this Purple Tea actually turn the water purple?
Not exactly, though I will say that the brewed tea is a notable cooler color than most brews. The Purple Tea brews up a muddy, blue-green. It’s far from traditional grape juice purple, as far as the tea color wheel is concerned, brewing up blue-green still pretty unusual.
With all this thought about the beautiful appearance of the leaves and the brew, we finally get to the taste. This Purple Tea tasted surprisingly light and juicy, like green grapes and white wine. There was also a flash of black currant tartness at the back of each sip that reminds you that this has a flavor palette beyond a typical green tea or an oolong. As the tea cooled, I noticed more of a muscatel, earthy, grape flavor that helped flesh out the forward, bright fruit notes.
Purple tea is grown near the equator in a sunny environment with lots of ultraviolet rays. To survive, this tea is high in antioxidants, like blueberries and pomegranates. When you want to expand your palette and get a health-boost, brew up some Purple Tea and feel the purple power!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Purple tea
Where to Buy: Kenya Purple Tea
Description: Recent studies on Kenyan purple tea indicate that this new tea has high levels of anthocyanins which are known to have powerful antioxidant properties.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Kenyan Purple Tea from Kenya Purple Tea
Eventho Purple Tea is becoming more popular these days here are Sororitea Sisters we still have a short list of Purple Teas represented and we are very pleased to add Kenyan Purple Tea from Kenya Purple Tea to that list.
On Kenya Purple Tea’s ABOUT US Page it states: Necessity is the mother of invention. Kenyan tea growers have been plagued by the ever-falling prices of black tea which has been traditionally grown in Kenya since 1903. In the recent years, the global market for black tea has been saturated. At the end of 2014, prices were down to near-historic lows and that is when Kenyan tea growers said ‘Tosha Tosha’ which means Enough is Enough in the local Swahili. A good number of Kenyan tea growers are now switching to grow a newly discovered tea, the Kenya purple tea. It turns out that apart from its delightful purple color and being a great thirst quencher, this type of tea has greater health benefits than either green tea or black tea.
This info was enough to make me want to learn more, try more, and seek out more Purple Teas out there! With the Purple Teas I have tried so far I agree that they certain do help quench your thirst and Kenyan Purple Tea from Kenya Purple Tea falls in that category. The flavor is somewhere in between a black tea and a green tea. Personally, I think the flavor favors green tea more but I can see nods to both sides.
Kenyan Purple Tea from Kenya Purple Tea has a very pale infusion color but that doesn’t mean the flavor is faded! It’s quite delicious! Again, Kenyan Purple Tea from Kenya Purple Tea, has a more green taste, but I really like that about this offering!
Kenya Purple Tea also offers the first of its kind BOTTLED Iced Purple Tea which I think is a wonderful idea especially from a marketing stand point in the USA. I look forward to seeing Purple Tea get even bigger over the next several years and wish the growers of Kenya the very best!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Purple Tea
Where to Buy: Kenya Purple Tea
Description:
Recent studies on Kenyan purple tea indicate that this new tea has high levels of anthocyanins which are known to have powerful antioxidant properties. The medical benefits could include the following:
Fat Burner
Boosts fat loss through accelerating apoptosis (cell death) of fat cells through the catechins contained in the tea.
Anti-oxidant
Mops up free radicals in the body that may cause lifestyle diseases e.g gout, high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer etc.
Anti-ageing
Prevents degeneration of body tissue and cells.
Anti-carcinogenic
Induces death of carcinogenic (cancer) cells.
Heart Health
Reduces the risk of coronary heart disease.
Disclaimer: The above statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. The Kenyan purple tea is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Dragon Blood Zi Juan Purple Tea 2015 Spring Lin Cang from Bitterleaf
It’s been a while since I have had a good, solid Purple Tea. Dragon Blood Zi Juan Purple Tea 2015 Spring Lin Cang from Bitterleaf is a PRIME example of an excellent one!
Dragon Blood Zi Juan Purple Tea 2015 Spring Lin Cang from Bitterleaf has a grey-purple color leaf look to it that are stiff and pressed – of course – on infused the leaves loosen up and swim free. The flavor of this tea is slightly vegetal, a tad sweet, and a mellow pu-erh type flavor all rolled into one.
I’m happy to see more and more purple teas on the market. I’m looking forward to the different qualities, different offerings, and to see if companies out there will start flavoring purple tea. Stand alone – Dragon Blood Zi Juan Purple Tea 2015 Spring Lin Cang from Bitterleaf – is one of the best tasting ones I have had to date.
Here’s the scoop:
Leaf Type: Purple Tea
Where to Buy: Bitterleaf
Tea Description:
Our Dragon Blood Zi Juan Purple is sourced from a variety of tea that naturally has higher levels of anthocyanin. This not only gives the tea a purple colour, but gives it higher antioxidant properties which can promote cardiovascular health. Aside from the heralded health benefits, this is a unique tea, with a slight vegetal taste leading to a smoky sweetness. Processed similarly to a raw Puer, this tea can be stored for later or enjoyed now.
We can’t make any verifiable claims about whether or not this tea can or can’t give you super powers, so it’s best to just try for yourself.
Click here for more information about this tea and brewing instructions.
Our Dragon Blood 2015 Zi Juan Purple tea is a truly unique offering with an almost indescribable taste. It’s perhaps easiest to say that “it tastes like purple tea” – in other words, you just have to try it for yourself!
This Lin Cang area spring tea has been processed and pressed into cakes, similarly to how raw Puer is, imparting a slight vegetal, raw Puer taste, with some mild astringency. This is about the extent of its overlap with raw Puer though, as the bulk of its character is a complex, “purple tea” flavor, with unique hints of smoky sweetness that comes out more and more with each infusion.
Purple tea is often cited for its health benefits. These health benefits, as well as its dark purple colour, are due to higher levels of anthocyanin found in the tea. This in turn results in higher antioxidant activity and can promote cardiovascular health by way of anti-inflammatory properties and aiding in the reduction of blood pressure, lipid and blood sugar levels.* By undergoing minimal processing (similar to raw Puer), our Zi Juan purple tea optimizes these benefits. This is in contrast to purple teas that are processed using a black tea method (fully oxidized), which affects the chemical makeup of the tea and nullifies the positive effects of the high anthocyanin levels.
This tea brews up a beautiful light purple colour. Using additional leaves for a strong brew will yield a deeper purple soup, however the taste will be quite strong by that point, so we do not recommend brewing past the point of a light purple colour.
* With that said, we’re not doctors and are not qualified to make definitive claims (nor be held responsible) regarding the health benefits of this tea. Simply drinking this tea will not miraculously counteract the effects of washing down a bag of Doritos with Pepsi during a 10 hour Netflix marathon. This tea does, however, go well with a healthy diet and exercise.
Source:
This tea comes to us by way of the previous head of production and quality inspection with the formerly government owned Lin Cang Tea Factory. He now produces his own teas and has been able to work with us to provide this Lin Cang Zi Juan purple tea (as well as our 2015 Feng Qing Dian Hong, 2015 Fall Bing Dao and 2015 Spring Bang Dong raw Puer.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here.