What is Purple Tea?

Have you ever heard of purple tea? It has the same healthy benefits that you get from black or green tea, adds a few more as well as helps poor farmers in Kenya make a good living.

Like most other kinds of tea, purple tea is made from the Camellia Sinensis plant, but its unique coloring comes from a rare genetic mutation which produces anthocyanin. Anthocyanin is the exact same antioxidant that is in blueberries, but while blueberries have .10 percent of it, this purple tea has 1.5 percent.

Originally, purple tea was discovered in China, but several plants were given to Tea Research Foundation of Kenya and it began to be grown there. As of 2011 the foundation made plants available to small farms in Kenya to help local farmers make a living.

The purple tea is grown organically at small farms and every time someone buys it, it helps the local farmers make money. It is also a sustainable product, and they concentrate on producing it ethically, naturally, and to produce top quality delicious purple tea.

It is mainly grown in Nandi Hills in western Kenya at altitudes of between 4.500 and 7,500 feet. The high altitude is part of what helps the tea plants generate the antioxidant that gives it the purple color. As an added bonus, there are no pesticides needed to produce purple tea due to that high altitude.

What does Purple Tea Taste Like?

Purple tea has a sweet and woodsy kind of flavor. It is similar to green tea in taste, but there is less bitterness from tannins, as well as less astringency. It also has less caffeine than other teas, so it’s great for anyone sensitive to caffeine.

How do you make Purple Tea?

Purple tea is not hard to make. Just boil some water, add in two or three teaspoons of purple tea leaves, and simmer for around three to four minutes. It can be served hot or cold. Many people drink it with honey or sugar, and you could also add in things like mint, ginger, cloves, cinnamon, lemon grass or turmeric.

Purple Tea Health Benefits

The leaves from purple tea contain more of the healthy antioxidants than other kinds of tea. The leaves also are full of flavonoids and peptides, which are both good for preventing disease. The leave additionally contain anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, and anti-viral properties, and have been shown to help lower bad cholesterol, prevent colds and flu and boost brain function.

So, what are some of these healthy benefits of purple tea?

Helps treat baldness and grey hair — Purple tea extract has been utilized to help treat greying of the hair, as well as baldness in men. This is due to the fact the anthocyanin improves the circulation of the blood in their scalps so it reinforces the hair follicles and allows more hair to grow. It’s used like a hair tonic where the user rinses the scalp and results are normally seen in around three to five weeks of usage.

Good for the brain and cognitive functions – Studies have revealed purple tea extract can enhance memory, as well as has additional neurological benefits. The anthocyanin was shown in animal studies to get through the blood-brain barrier and thus the antioxidant properties could benefit the brain.

Helps you feel calm and relaxed – Purple tea has been seen to help relax the nerves and is considered to have mild anti-anxiety and anti-depressive qualities.

Helps regulate blood sugar levels – Drinking a few cups of purple tea between your meals has been shown to regulate the level of glucose in the blood. Therefore it is good for diabetics to drink it as it helps reduce excess sugar absorption from foods due to the phytochemicals in it.

Helps people lose weight – The high amount of catechins and epigallocatechin galette (EPCG) helps speed up metabolism, so you can burn calories better. Thus it helps you to lose weight. A study showed after four weeks, participants lowered their BMI, as well as had a smaller waist and less stomach fat.

Detoxifies the liver – Purple tea was also shown to be good for the liver, as it helps the liver metabolize fat, thus detoxifying it. This also helps get rid of toxins and excess body fat.

Gets rid of free radicals and inflammation – The antioxidants in purple tea help kill off free radicals, which are known for causing damage to cells, as well as causing inflammation. It also has been seen to have pain-killing properties and helps get rid of swelling.

Helps kill cancer tumors – Once more the beneficial anthocyanins help kill of tumor cells which are in the early stages. A study using rats in 2017 showed it caused brain tumors to get smaller due to the tea’s immune boosting ability.

Possible Side Effects

Even though purple tea appears to have a lot of great healthy benefits, there are a few possible side effects to be aware of. For some folks, it has been seen to cause nausea and diarrhea. Also, pregnant or breastfeeding mothers shouldn’t drink it unless they consult with their doctor first.

Conclusion

All in all, purple tea seems like a great relatively new variety of tea that has a lot of the same benefits as black and green tea, but less of the caffeine in those other teas. So if you love teas, then you’ll want to get some purple tea and try it out to see if you like it too.