High Mountain Purple Tea is the name for tea made from tea trees with purple traits growing on high-altitude tea mountains in the Lincang area of Yunnan Province. Locally it has long been called purple tea, and some of the older trees appear to be several hundred years old. It is clearly a different lineage from cultivars selected and bred in recent years, such as Zi Juan.
Raw Pu-erh tea is a delicate tea that is fruity and fresh, like freshly made white wine. It has no bitterness or astringency, making it very popular with children.
When you think of Pu-erh tea, you might imagine a tea with a brown liquor and the flavor of dried mushrooms or dried fruits, but that is a type of Pu-erh called ripe Pu-erh.
Difference Between Raw and Ripe Pu-erh Tea >
Where Purple Tea Grows and Why It Is Rare
The purple tea found in the high-altitude areas of Lincang is a different lineage from Zi Juan, which was discovered in Xishuangbanna, Yunnan, in 1985 and developed by selective breeding. It is also different from the tea with purple buds generally called Zi Ya in Yunnan. The type of purple tea we offer has a very limited distribution, concentrated in parts of Yong De and Zhenkang counties in southwestern Lincang.
Purple tea has attracted increasing attention in recent years, and some farmers in areas such as Zhenkang County have begun cultivating it. However, these trees are all young. High Mountain Purple Tea from trees over 100 years old is therefore so rare that it is almost legendary.
The producer's son climbing an old purple tea tree 
Purple Tea Trees and Their Leaves
The leaves often look much like ordinary tea leaves, although parts of the branches, stems and leaf stalks may show some purple coloration. This trait is not present in every tree and varies from tree to tree, even within the same area or tea garden.
After processing, the dried leaves take on a dark purple or indigo tint. As a raw material, the leaves hold a lot of moisture and tend to get sticky during rolling, so they behave differently from ordinary tea leaves.
The Flavor of Purple Tea and Why It Is Hard to Process
The most distinctive feature of purple tea is its flavor. During processing, a clear and unique aroma reminiscent of perilla leaves rises, clearly different from ordinary tea leaves. This aroma depends strongly on the nature of the fresh leaves themselves and does not come from processing alone.
However, this flavor is easily lost if temperatures are not properly controlled during processing. In particular, high temperatures during pan frying eliminate the perilla and fruit notes, leaving the tea with a character very different from that of purple tea.
When processed as raw Pu-erh tea and aged under suitable conditions, High Mountain Purple Tea develops a sweet, peach-like flavor, allowing you to enjoy the changes that come with aging.
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 trees, 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 local sourcing. 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 is 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.
