*Get 25% using the code HUMMING25 until November 17th*
Seller: Purple Chaa
Description:
Our purple tea is hand picked from the picturesque tea estates from Nandi Hills highlands, of the majestic Rift Valley in the beautiful East African country of Kenya. The hand rolled tea you receive goes through a different process than that of the traditional tea you get in a tea bag. Once the leaves are plucked they are spread into a thin layer to reduce the moisture content in the leaf. Each leaf and bud is then gently hand rolled. You’ll enjoy its unique and natural purple hue, but the health benefits you’ll experience will surpass its’ visual appeal. This antioxidant rich tea fights against free radicals to reduce your risk of chronic diseases, while also helping you lose unwanted pounds and inches and naturally boosting your energy level. With a delicious taste reminiscent of raspberry you’ll love making drinking a mug of purple tea part of your daily routine.
Origin: Nandi Hills highlands, Kenya
Price: $18.99 per 100g ($0.1899 per gram)
Rating: 
Purple Tea
Purple tea is a fairly new tea varietal, first discovered in India and then taken to the Tea Research Foundation of Kenya. While purple tea can be produced in other places, it is most prominent in Kenya.
It is called purple tea because the tea plant flushes purple. From the information provided in the tea package, I learned that it contains more antioxidants than green and black tea. Antixdants help prevent diseases like cancer, cardiovascular diseases and more. Hence, if you are drinking tea for its health benefits, this is something you might want to try.
The Tea
When Jigar from Purple Chaa contacted me through Instagram about a collaboration with him, I was extremely excited. I am fairly new to purple teas and I couldn’t wait to try this tea. I had no expectations going in but I got so much in return! Shipping was super fast and the packaging was exceptional. The box came with 100g of purple tea and a pamphlet with more information of this tea.
Jigar was ALSO extremely kind and has created a 25% discount offer for my readers using the code HUMMING25 until November 17th on any orders. Currently, their offerings include a premium loose leaf tea version, a broken leaf tea version, and finally a fannings option- all great for starting out on your purple tea adventure.
The Leaves
Dry Leaves: The leaves were dark grey,purple and rolled. The picking seems consistent, and most of the leaves have a similar shape.
Wet Leaves: The leaves expanded quite a bit. When unrolled, they are a gorgeous green with purple hues.
The Brewing Method
I decided that since I’m not experienced in making purple tea, I would try several ways of brewing this tea before I reviewed it.
The brewing methods I tried are:
- Gongfu Style (3g, 100-150ml, boiling water, 30secs +10secs)
- Western style (1 teaspoon, 8 oz, boiling water, 1-3mins)
- Coldbrew (10g, 1 liter, 24 hours)
- Recipe (25g, 16oz, boiling water, 8 mins)
Gongfu Style
This was the first brewing method I tried, as gongfu style allows me to control more variables such as leaf to water ratio, and time. I got around 5-6 infusions from this tea but I could have probably done one more infusion without compromising the taste.
The true taste of this tea came through in the 2nd infusion. It has some sweetness as soon as you try it, which develops into a refreshing aftertaste. The sweetness is better classified as floral- jasmine, lilies, like walking into a flower shop. There is a very slight astringency in the mouth but it’s very subtle, and keeps the tea interesting. The tea is consistent throughout the infusions and is perfect for mindless drinking.
Western Style
This was by far my favorite brewing method. As I found out when I brewed this gongfu style, I appreciate the tea’s quality for mindless drinking, which I find works great with Western style. The taste was also slightly different; it was sweeter- like lime and raspberry. This was very different than the floral notes I originally perceived when drinking gonfu. It was so pleasant and it never got bitter, which was amazing. I got around 3-4 infusions and while the taste did become weaker by the end, it was still pleasant to drink. I honestly loved this brewing method and I can’t wait to try more this way.
Coldbrew
I had heard many people do coldbrew for their purple teas and I decided to give it a try. I used around 10 grams of tea for and left it in the fridge for a little bit over 24 hours. As you can see from the picture, the color was very light! The taste was good and refreshing and reminded me of cucumbers and kale. However, I was a bit disappointed by the lack of the other flavors that I first perceived, such as lime and raspberry. If I were to cold brew again, I would use my leftover leaves after a few infusions rather than unused leaves.
Recipe
Jigar also invited me to try this tea with spices added, using a higher amount of leaves. I used 25 grams of leaves and 16oz of water. I left it brewing for 8 minutes and the color was so beautiful! It’s crazy how purple it can get- I could not stop admiring it. I added some ice and added an entire squeezed lime and got sipping. The tea, as can be expected, was extremely bitter and had to be watered down. The lime definitely helped but I do think it took some of the taste of the pure purple tea away. I personally never add spices or sweeteners to my tea, and the whole experience felt odd. I also think the tea on itself is so good and adding sweeteners takes away some of the experience. However, if you are someone who enjoys spices and sweeteners in your tea, definitely play around with this tea! You will get awesome results and a pretty cool looking tea! (Halloween tea anyone?)
My Thoughts
All in all, I am overly pleased by this tea and I already know I will be drinking it on a regular basis! If you are new to purple tea, this is an excellent way to start exploring this type of tea. Its affordability and their convenient 100g packages will allow you to experiment until you find your favorite brewing method.
Humming Tea 
One thought on “Purple Tea- Purple Chaa”