This is a special and rare varietal (a mutation) among hundreds of big-leaf varietals found in Yunnan province. Purple tea is also known as “The tea of three colors”, as the tender buds are purple on the branches, once dried the tea leaves appear a blackish-green, and the leaves then turn green when steeped in boiling water. The purple color of the tender buds comes from anthocyanin, which is a water-soluble pigment widely found in plants. Depending on the different pH scales of plant cell sap, petals, leaves and fruits can show different colours, red while pH<7, purple while pH=7~8, and blue while pH>10. As the cell sap of fresh tea leaves is mildly acidic, when the content of anthocyanins in the buds is high, the leaves appear purple red.
 
Our 2020 Jinggu Purple Tea Dragon Ball is a selected option, it has the freshness of new processed Puerh but none of the crudeness that a young Puerh usually has. It also has a hint of high-quality green tea, mixed floral and honey notes. Both the bitterness and astringency are moderate and well balanced in the mellow tea soup. The pleasant vegetal flavour lasts long in the mouth after swallowing the tea soup, creating a subtle sweet aftertaste.
 
Purple tea has an incredible transformation after being aged. The first time we tried a sample of aged purple tea, we almost mistook the tea for one that was made in the ripe/Shou Puerh process and had to double check with our supplier. If this seems like something you might be interested in, we have this particular 2006 Jinggu Aged Purple Tea Dragon Ball on our website.