Introduction

There is a rare form of tea imported from the African continent to our country. Grown in Kenya, it has sweet notes that have a pleasant persistent aroma. The people of the country refer to it as purple tea. They claim it has similar health benefits to the green tea we’ve heard about. Many health experts and scientists have worked on green tea and have found many health benefits associated with it. After this new development, the focus of academic research seems to have shifted towards a new variety of tea with a lot of antioxidants. It is none other than purple tea.

purple tea

This rare form of tea has been found to have many medicinal properties. Information about the therapeutic effects of this variety of tea has been passed down from one generation to the next. Some research has already been done on this new variety of tea to know its other aspects. Research has found that this tea is rich in anthocyanins. This variety of tea also has a certain amount of catechins. It is low in caffeine and therefore does not have the intoxicating property. It also has a high dose of antioxidants. A class of antioxidants called anthocyanins give this variety of tea its purple color. As a result, this drink tastes more earthy, energetic and rustic compared to regular black tea. It also has the ability to quench the feeling of thirst. It is known to cleanse the vascular system in the human body. This in turn reduces the risk of developing hypertension and cardiac arrest. Purple tea reaches a price three or four times higher than that of black tea in the international market.

India to grow purple tea

Soon this variety of tea would also be cultivated in India. Assam is likely to emerge as the center of purple tea cultivation in India. A senior scientist associated with Tocklai Tea Research Institute has said about this development. Currently, Kenya is the producer of this variety of tea in the world. According to this research institute, the clone TRFK 306/1 for purple tea was originally sourced from the northeastern Indian state of Assam. The research team of this organization has also identified the wild bushes of this tea variety in the hilly forested areas of the districts of Karbi Anglong and catch in Assam. Therefore, this variant of tea can be easily grown commercially in the northeastern state of Assam.