Tisane Information:
Leaf Type: Fruit/Herbal Tea
Where to Buy: Inca Tea
Tisane Description:
This is our Original blend to characterize the true ancient Incan recipe.
INGREDIENTS: Hibiscus Petals, Elderberries, Currants, Purple Corn, Apple Pieces, Pineapple Pieces, Cinnamon, Cloves and Natural Flavors. This is the tea that the founder Ryan came across during his hike. Its is an enlivening herbal, fruit tea blend of purple corn, berries and spices.
Learn more about this tisane here.
Taster’s Review:
I wasn’t sure exactly what to think about this new tea made with purple corn! Weird, right? But, I decided that I had to give it a try. It was just weird enough. Not so weird that I’m put off by the thought of it, but weird enough that I’m really intrigued!
The aroma of the dry leaf is spicy and sweet. I can smell the cinnamon and cloves, and the sweet notes of pineapple and berries. I steeped the pyramid sachet for 6 minutes (I don’t usually go over 6 minutes with hibiscus blends because I don’t want the tisane to become too syrupy) in 195°F water.
The brewed liquid is a dark plum color (hibiscus!) and smells of spiced fruit. The cinnamon and cloves are still a dominant scent to this, but I like that it’s not overwhelmingly spicy. The fruit notes come through nicely, smelling a bit like a spiced berry compote.
Tasty! Really tasty!
This Peruvian Spiced Berry is the first of the teas created by Inca Tea. It’s their “original.” And it certainly is original, because as I said, I can’t recall ever encountering a tea that is made with purple corn. And Inca Tea’s original is a tasty offering! I am really enjoying the combination of berry flavors and spice.
I taste a bit of corn in this too! The corn adds more of a nutty, grainy sort of background note than a strong, obvious “corn” flavor. This ends up tasting a bit like a liquefied spiced berry cobbler – YUM!
Yes, there’s hibiscus and rosehips in this, and this would ordinarily make for a tart cup, but the warmth of the spices and the sweetness from the apple and pineapple soften those tart notes so that the tartness of these herbs does more to accentuate the berry flavors rather than stand out on their own. There’s still some tartness, but it’s a berry tart rather than a hibiscus tart that I’m tasting.
There is some texture to the cup too, but it’s not coming off as syrupy. It’s pleasantly thick without feeling as though my tongue is coated with hibiscus syrup.
I really enjoyed this – my first experience with Inca Tea! I will be trying more from them – and I’m looking forward to it!
Yunnan Graceful ‘Zi Juan’ Purple Varietal Green Tea from What-Cha Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Purple/Green
Where to Buy: What-Cha Tea
Tea Description:
A brilliant and rare tea produced from purple varietal tea plants, with a smoky aroma and taste combined with a wonderful smooth texture.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Wow!
It’s been a long time since I’ve had a tea grown from the purple varietal tea plant, so I was excited to try this Yunnan Zi Juan Purple Varietal Green Tea from What-Cha. And it definitely did not disappoint! This is LOVELY!
The texture is smooth and silky. There is a mild overtone of smokiness with a sweet undertone. There is a delightful fruit note to this tea that evokes thoughts of melon and plums. There are faint vegetal notes that are nicely accented with a buttery tone.
It’s a really delightfully complex tea, reminding me more of an Oolong than of a green tea because of it’s silky smooth texture and its deliciously creamy butter notes. But just as I’m thinking that this is more of an Oolong tea the vegetal notes come through to say, “Hey, I’m green!” In the distance, I’m picking up on some light florals.
With all the amazing complexity of this tea, I decided to steep the leaves a second time to see what more I could discover with these leaves. The second steep is even more flavorful than the first!
The smoky notes have softened somewhat now, and the fruit notes have melded into a unified flavor. The vegetal notes are still there, but they are still faint … and there is still a beautifully creamy butter note to complement those vegetative flavors.
I’m tasting a little more floral notes. These floral tones are moving forward, out of the distance and a little more into focus in the foreground. This tea is still delightfully sweet. With the first cup, I mentioned how this tea reminded me a bit more of an Oolong than a Green … but with this cup, this tastes much more like the green tea that it is.
This is a truly delightful cup of tea. If you resteep it, this becomes two truly delightful cups of tea. And you really should resteep it!
Wanja Purple Tea from Wanja Tea of Kenya
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Purple
Where to Buy: Wanja Tea of Kenya
Tea Description:
Wanja Purple Tea of Kenya is a very rare tea that has sweet woodsy notes with a pleasant lingering astringency. While it is still derived from the same plant (Camellia Sinensis) that produces traditional Black and Green Tea, Wanja Purple Tea is rich inanthocyanin (a water soluble pigment that is found in red cranberries and grapes) which gives it the distinctive purple leaves.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I haven’t yet had many occasions to try purple teas. I’ve tried a few, and I’ve really enjoyed those that I’ve tried. So, when Wanja Tea of Kenya approached me with the opportunity to try their purple tea, I was very excited.
And now that I sit here, tasting it, I can say that the tea has not disappointed me. It is really delicious. It has a smooth creaminess that reminds me of an Oolong or a buttery green tea. The texture is rich and thick – almost like a broth, and there are compelling notes of wood and earth, as well as hints of vegetable and fruit within this cup. It has so much flavor to it, so many dynamic layers of flavor – but it isn’t what I’d call robust. It is soothing and calming.
As I continue to sip, I notice that the woody tones really emerge, and there seems to be a hint of spice along with it, making it vaguely reminiscent of a Darjeeling, but this has more body to it. The vegetative notes continue to linger in the distance, not exactly what I’d call grassy, exactly, but more like a very mild vegetable – like white beans. It even has the creaminess that reminds me very much of a bean soup.
I am really enjoying this tea and all the flavors it has presented. This is currently the only tea that Wanja Tea of Kenya offers, but, they picked a really good one for their benchmark tea. I hope it is indicative of what’s to come from this new company, because they’ve certainly piqued my interest!
Blueberry Purple Tea from Butiki Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Purple
Where to Buy: Butiki Teas
Tea Description:
Made with a base of Purple Tea of Kenya, this mellow tea has an earthy blueberry flavor that lingers. Add a little brown crystal sugar for an intense sweet blueberry flavor. More extensive information on our Kenyan teas can be found HERE.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I’ve tried a couple of purple teas now, I’ve had at least one purple Oolong and a purple Pu-erh, but this the first flavored purple tea (at least that I’m aware of). And it’s quite unusual … different from any blueberry flavored tea I’ve tried in the past, but at the same time, there are some remarkable similarities to some teas I’ve had, as well.
This purple tea bears some striking resemblances to a white or a green tea. It has the light, delicateness of a white tea with some of the herbaceous/vegetative tones of a green tea. There is also an earthiness to this tea that offers a unique contrast to the sweet-tart blueberry notes.
The blueberry is prominent, and the somewhat nutty, earthy, herbaceous flavor of the tea together with the blueberry creates a taste that is similar to a blueberry muffin – heavy on the blueberry! It is sweet and tart, earthy and refreshing … and it’s very good!
I really like this tea – it’s a great way to explore the purple tea variety. Oh… and I highly recommend resteeping this one – the second infusion is even better than the first. The earthiness softens a bit, making the flavor very smooth and even more pleasant than the first infusion.
Wild Purple Buds Puerh from Butiki Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Pu-erh (Purple)
Where to Buy: Butiki Teas
Tea Description:
Our Wild Purple Buds Puerh originates from Yunnan, China on the border of China and Burma. This tea was harvested from wild ancient trees at an altitude of 6,000 feet by the Wa tribal people in 2011. Our puerh falls in the Sheng (raw) category of puerh and is in loose leaf-form. The buds of this tea are purple, green, and yellow. Purple buds indicate a higher level of anthocyanin (a flavoniod). This flavonoid usually causes bitterness but does not in this case as this is a smooth puerh. Our puerh has light smoked oak notes with honey and floral notes and has a juicy mouthfeel. This rare tea is of limited supply.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I guess I should have read the steeping parameters for this one before I brewed it! haha! The recommended steep time is just 3 seconds! I steeped it for 45 seconds in my gaiwan after rinsing. After that time, the infusion as so light in color, it looked like a white tea! It certainly did not look like Pu-erh. I was worried I did something wrong, or maybe that 45 seconds was not long enough … and then I learn that I should have only steeped for 3 seconds.
After 45 seconds, the flavor is intense. It is rich, earthy, and a little sharp from the smoky tones, but not at all bitter. It has a lovely honey-esque undertone to it as well as a mineral-y overtone. It has a lighter body than a typical Pu-erh, it doesn’t feel real “heavy” the way that Pu-erh can often feel, but at the same time, there is a whole lot of flavor to it.
For the second infusion, I decided to steep it a little less time … not 3 seconds, since I figured after steeping it for 45 seconds, 3 seconds would be weak. So I steeped it for 30 seconds this time, and the flavor is very much like the first cup, but I notice that the mineral notes are softer, and the honey notes are tapering to a more floral sweetness. It’s still earthy and oaken, and has a pleasant crispness to it. It is quite enjoyable.
I found the third, fourth and fifth infusions to be very similar to the first and second, but by the sixth infusion, the flavor was becoming even smoother. The flavor is still rich and was by no means becoming weaker, but by this sixth infusion the flavors seemed to have melded together seamlessly. The smoky note here is fantastic. So deliciously savory, and a delightful contrast to the sweet tones of this cup. I notice less of the mineral notes now, and an almost bean-like vegetal note has emerged that marries with the smoky notes so delectably.
This tea is still going strong! As the day was coming to a close, I decided to put the leaves aside for the next day. Well, the next day is here now, and I’ve been steeping this tea! This is now my eighth infusion. The seventh infusion was delightful, reminding me of the flavors that I enjoyed last night: slightly mineral, sweet, floral, honey, vegetal, earth, and oak. This infusion is similar. Each infusion becomes smoother, and … I don’t want to say that the flavor gets “softer” as in weaker… but softer as in silkier, smoother, and easier to sip.
I am astonished at the endurance of this tea. It just keeps on going. I still have not brought the steep time to over 1 minute, and I am now on my ninth infusion. The flavors are still there, and still very enjoyable. I have a feeling that this tea is going to go on for a while still, but, I think that by now, you – the reader – gets the point, which is to TRY THIS TEA!
Seriously: try this tea. If you love Puerh, you must try it… even if you don’t really care for Puerh, give this one a try, if for no other reason than to expand your horizons a bit. You might find that this Puerh is to your liking… as it is quite unlike any Puerh I’ve ever tried.