This is a tea cake that has been aging since 2020, it is made up of a blend of Yue Guang Bai (white tea whithered at night) from Jinggu village and Zi Juan Shai Shong (purple white tea whithered in the sun) from Menghai village, both in the Puer region of Yunnan, China. Tea like a lot of other plants can sometimes mutate and have purplish leaves, a small percent of every harvest from a garden will be purple, they have a slightly different more wild taste. An abundance of wild purple tea harvested from trees like this in high altitude sunny spots in the wilds of Yunnan is called Zi Ya (purple bud) or wild purple, the bud and first three leaves of these tea trees are purple while the rest is dark green. The Zi Juan (purple beauty) tea in this cake however is a cultivar cloned from one tea tree that was found with purply-green buds, leaves and stems, it also has a slightly purple infusion and a stronger flavour compared to Zi Ya. As another fun fact purple tea has been found to have a much higher concentration of a polyphenol called anthocyanin that is a potent anti-oxidant. As purple tea can often have a rather overwhelming flavour it’s often blended as it is here with another more refined tea.

This is an especially sweet, perfumed tea that brews a pale yellow to gold. It has a thick viscous mouthfeel and a delayed but substantial head-feeling. You get the floral, nectar-like aromas typical of white teas along with the extra complexity that comes from aging and the unique characteristics of the puer terroir. You can also appreciate the subtle presence of the purple tea in various ways. While initially overwhelming your mouth with sweetness this quickly fades and blends into a woody, more medicinal flavour reminiscent of sheng puer, you’re then left with a slightly astringent feeling on your tongue egging you on to drink more and more. Higher heat, quicker infusions will give you a more concentrated sweet flavour but sacrifices some of the aromatic character and thickness that a lower temperature longer infusion provides.

Since this tea is a compressed cake that has been broken apart you may receive some small chunks of tea in your bag, if they’re too big to brew just break them apart gently with your hands into smaller parts. Additionally if you’re interested in ordering a full 200g cake of this tea please let me know via email or the contact form on this website.