What is Purple Tea?

Purple Tea is a special Yunnan tea. There exist three unique varieties, all different cultivars .



The first is the original Purple tea is called "Wild Purple" or "Ye Sheng" Purple tea. The varietal is referred to as Assamica Dehongensis. Ye Sheng tea is very bitter when young but ages quickly and develops great complexity with age. It was originally processed into mao cha and sold as a kind of Raw Pu-erh tea, but more recently has been processed into Black tea with incredible results!



The second kind of purple tea is often called "Zi Cha" 紫茶 or 紫芽 (Purple tea or Purple Bud). Zi Cha is a naturally occurring mutated version of Assamica. It grows all over Yunnan and accounts for less than 1% of cultivated Assamica in Yunnan.



The third kind of purple tea is called "Zi Juan". Zi Juan (aka Purple Beauty) is a man-made cultivar developed by Yunnan Xishuangbanna Tea Research Station in the late 1990's. Fujianese purple leaf cuttings from Wu Yi area were hybridized with local Yunnan Assamica plants to product this unique tea.

Wild Tree "Ye Sheng" Pu-erh tea (17 Products) - The original Purple tea is called "Wild Purple" or "Ye Sheng" Purple tea. The varietal is referred to as Assamica Dehongensis. Ye Sheng tea is very bitter when young but ages quickly and develops great complexity with age.

Wild Tree "Ye Sheng" Black Tea (9 Products) - The original Purple tea is called "Wild Purple" or "Ye Sheng" Purple tea. The varietal is referred to as Assamica Dehongensis. Ye Sheng tea is very bitter when young but ages quickly and develops great complexity with age. It was originally processed into mao cha and sold as a kind of Raw Pu-erh tea, but more recently has been processed into Black tea with incredible results!

Purple Leaf "Zi Cha" Pu-erh tea (8 Products) - During the hot, humid summer and fall seasons a portion of tea tree buds are purplish red colored. The source of the color is anthocyanin, which changes color along with cell sap acidity. High levels of acidity lead to red color, while medium acidity is more purple, and high alkalinity tends toward indigo. Anthocanin is a phenol material, and along with catechin is an important component in the medicinal effect of tea. Purplish red tea results from an inheritied reaction to unfavorable hot and humid summer environmental conditions, providing the tea tree with a mechanism for fighting scorching ultraviolet rays.

Purple Beauty "Zi Juan" Tea (2 Products) - The main difference between Purple Bud and Purple Beauty tea lies in the fact that Purple Bud tea is natural but has undergone genetic mutation due to climate and seasonal changes. Purple Beauty, on the other hand, is the result of human cultivation. The tea community first began to notice the Purple Bud variant at Wuyi Shan. Purple Bud has long been known as a scattered deviation that grows extensively among different kinds of tea plants. It is most common in summer tea. High anthocyanin content provides its purple color.