This tea is harvested from a mountainous region in Lincang, Yunnan Province, located just tens of kilometers from the Myanmar border, at an altitude of 2100 meters. It has a notably strong body, and when tasted, the peachy flavor gently spreads in the mouth, leaving a lingering sweetness.
Product Details
High Mountain Purple Tea is harvested from a mountainous region in Lincang, Yunnan Province, located just tens of kilometers from the Myanmar border, at an altitude of 2100 meters.
These areas are home to villages of ethnic minorities, where purple tea has been made for over 100 years. Locals have been drinking it, just like regular tea, for generations.
High Mountain Purple Tea Tree
According to local ethnic minorities, purple tea originates from wild tea plants, and the name comes from the purple coloration of the stems and other parts of the tea plant.
As shown in the picture above, not all tea stems are purple.
Another characteristic is that when processed, the tea leaves change to a deep indigo color. Therefore, the name "purple tea" may also refer to the color of the tea leaves after processing.
The picture above shows mao-cha before sorting.
A Tea Loved by Enthusiasts for Its Strong Body
High Mountain Purple Tea has two main characteristics.
Characteristics of High Mountain Purple Tea
- Strong body
- Honey and perilla-like flavor developed through aging
When you taste High Mountain Purple Tea, the flavor spreads across your mouth. This is the tea's most notable feature: its strong body, with flavors gently spreading, leaving a sweet aftertaste in your mouth.
Honey Flavor Developed Through Aging
High Mountain Purple Tea has a sweet flavor reminiscent of perilla, peaches, and honey. Because the flavor is very strong, it is easy to recommend to beginners of raw pu-erh tea.
Furthermore, through aging, the flavor becomes richer, and you can enjoy sweet scents like dried fruits, canned fruit, or brown sugar.
For aging, please store the tea unopened (in an oxygen-free environment) in a room with as high a temperature as possible. The lack of oxygen will allow the tea to age ideally.
Although aging is an oxidation reaction, oxidation can progress even without oxygen (the exchange of electrons between substances is also part of the oxidation process).
About Tea Aging >
High Mountain Purple Tea is Different from Purple Silk Tea
Purple Tea is often confused with the purple tea discovered in 1985 in Nannuo Mountain in southern Yunnan. However, the purple tea from Nannuo Mountain has a purple appearance and a strong astringency, making it unsuitable for drinking.
After some cultivation, a variety known as Zǐ Sī Chá (紫絹茶) was created, which is more suitable for drinking. However, Zǐ Sī Chá has a short history, and it has only been sold recently. Most of the tea trees are grown in tea gardens that follow modern agricultural practices.
In the high mountain areas of Lincang, Yunnan Province, there are purple tea trees that are over 100 years old, and this tea has been part of local life for generations, long before the discovery of purple tea in Nannuo Mountain in 1985.
The appearance of High Mountain Purple Tea is very similar to regular tea, with the exception that sometimes the stems are purple. Therefore, it seems likely that High Mountain Purple Tea is a subspecies of Camellia sinensis.
In terms of flavor, it does not have a particularly astringent taste, and is a smooth and drinkable tea.
Focus on Sourcing Naturally Cultivated Tea
Since 2010, we have been visiting Yunnan Province every spring. Over the years, we have built connections with many famous tea regions. However, our focus is not on a region's fame, but rather on tea with transparency and a long-lasting aftertaste. To achieve this, we focus on remote mountain villages, selecting tea gardens with ancient tea tree, high altitudes, and no fertilizers, sourcing through unique logistics channels. For more details, please visit the following page.
In Yunnan, teas claiming to be from famous regions are produced in thousands of locations, using leaves from other areas, and can be found everywhere—from airports and convenience stores to supermarkets.
What complicates matters is the surprising phenomenon where imitation teas made from leaves in remote areas are of higher quality than the genuine articles. This is especially common with Pu-erh teas from Lincang, and it is a well-known fact among professionals involved in sourcing locally. For more details, please visit the following page.
In Yunnan Province, there are long-established brands like Dayi and Zhongcha. These brands are renowned because their teas produced before 1990 are highly valued.
So, why are these older teas considered special? Many people assume it's due to long aging, but in reality, the tea leaves used at that time were naturally grown without fertilizers, resulting in their superior quality.
Therefore, even if current teas are aged for a long time, they will not reach the same quality. For more information, please visit the following page.
