Purple Leaf Tea

Teabox Tuesday! This is one of the teas I’ve had stashed from the Here’s Hoping Teabox, so thank you to tea-sipper for organizing and all those that participated and shared! I always meant to try this sooner, and I think my brain thinking that a lot of these teas “should” be drunk gong fu style is what has held me back, as I rarely have the time to do a session. Finally today I just said “screw it” and made it western (easier for me, especially as I can take that out the door to work in my thermos). I had 3.3g in my sample and just brewed it all up in 450ml of water, and since I had no idea how purple leaf tea should be brewed, I used the recommendations from their website for 175F water and a 3 minute steep.

The leaf unfurls to be very full, reminding me a Jin Xuan oolong in appearance, with a strong stewed vegetal aroma. The color of the tea is a pinkish-brown color that is very pretty. The flavor is reminding me of a mellow Chinese green tea, as I’m getting that slight beany flavor that I find in Long Jings and Pi Lo Chuns; there is also a weak, floral oolong quality, though the vegetal flavor comes on stronger. There is no bitterness on the sip, but the tea does leave my tongue with a fairly strong lip-smacking/tongue-drying aftertaste. I’m curious if cold-steeping this would eliminate that and create a more refreshing “clean green” flavor.

It’s a nice enough mellow, afternoon pot of tea sort of brew, and I’m glad for the opportunity to try it!

Discovery TTB #20

The purple oolong from this box was a surprise hit for me, so I decided to sample the other purple tea as well. There was barely a teaspoon of this tea left in the box, so I brewed up a single cup and finished it off. The color wasn’t as “purple” as I was hoping…more of a light, slightly blueish brown. And the flavor was surprisingly light (it tasted like a very mild green tea) and unpleasantly astringent. Not a fan!

135/365

From the Regional Group Buy. The leaves have a purple tinge to them, but the tea itself brews up a pale green-ish brown. At least, it does for me. It’s nothing like the purple in the picture on the card that came with this one, but maybe it’s my fault for keeping it too long. I’m thinking probably not, but since I actually don’t know I think we’ll just move along…

In flavour terms, it tastes a lot like a green tea. It’s fairly sweet, with a light edamame flavour. There’s something else there in the background, too; a flavour almost like the smell of melted plastic? I’m aware that makes very little sense, but it’s what I’m getting, and right at the back of the throat.

I’m okay with this one, but it’s not quite as unique as I hoped. I’ve tried two purple teas before (one from Butiki and one from Tealux, I think, which came in the form of unicorn horns.) I don’t remember either being quite what I expected, and this one isn’t either, so perhaps purple tea just isn’t my thing. Always worth a try, though.

2022 Sipdown 29/365!

I never really got this tea to work for me – it was a bit astringent, and didn’t really have a distinct flavour that I could correlate with it being “purple”. Perhaps I didn’t brew it carefully enough? Either way, thanks for the share, whoever sent this to me! It was interesting to try despite the disappointment!

This Purple Leaf tea steeps up beautifully! I suggest you check out my photos in the link at the end of my review. You get a unique pale purple, that turns pink with lemon.

The flavor is quite light, a little vegetal and plummy. However the texture is quite dry and it makes your whole digestive tract dry. I steeped this low temperature, so the balance of flavor output and astringency is VERY fussy. Someone cold brew this and report back. It is good if you like really delicate, dry green tea.

Full review on Oolong Owl http://oolongowl.com/purple-leaf-tea-justea/

JusTea sent me a message saying they’d like me to try this unique tea (and they also sent over some extra extra goodies.) Thank you so much for reaching out, JusTea! I appreciate that. I love JusTea’s offerings. Now, all tea that isn’t a tisane comes from the green tea tree. But not THIS. It’s purple leaves. I wouldn’t say the end result looks extremely purple… the leaf actually looks like a dusty, twisty black tea with a hint of emerald color. But upon brewing, the leaf looks like a delicious green. I tried following the steep instructions, but the resulting brew had the lightest of flavors like green tea. The color definitely seemed different though. A muted mauve. I didn’t have any lemons to squeeze into the tea, so I used quite a bit of lemon juice. The color was pink! But the flavor then was mostly lemon. Whoops. Pink lemonade! I tried steeping the second cup a half mug right after boiling for two minutes. Unlike a green tea would have, it didn’t taste too bitter, but again the flavor is light. It’s a fun and different experience though! A pink cup without including hibiscus.
Steep #1 // 1 heaping teaspoon for a full mug// 35 minutes after boiling // 3 minute steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 2 minute steep

Another day steeping with fresh leaves, I wanted to try two teaspoons as the flavor was a little light with one teaspoon. The cup was much more flavorful this time, even more like a green tea. The color of the cup was darker but I didn’t want to add lemon to affect the flavor this time. I just wanted to enjoy the flavor of the purple! Still like a light green tea but with a dry quality, vegetal yet sweet. I think the best steep time for this on the second cup might be 15 minutes after boiling (around 195 degrees) or even hotter as a half mug at boiling didn’t overkill it last time. Next time I’ll try two teaspoons and add lemon and see how purple it gets. If you want a unique tea experience, give this one a try!
Steep #1 // 2 teaspoons for a full mug// 30 minutes after boiling // 2 1/2 minute steep
Steep #2 // 25 min after boiling // 3 minute steep

Currently sipping on the last bit of a mug of this…

This is equally roasty and vegetal; notes of grilled nuts, asparagus, and charred green bell pepper. It’s just a little bit smokey with hints of crisp, crunchy autumn leaves. Definitely better when it was hot; it was smoother and more comforting. Now that it’s cooled down to around room temperature I’m finding the vegetal elements more jarring and pronounced, which really isn’t my thing.

Gotta side with my first impression; just don’t love this one.

LP’s regional group buy. Backlog.

I don’t get a whole lot from this tea. But I don’t like most roasted oolongs and this falls in that catagory for me. I just taste the roast and not much else.

unique tea from nicole glad i have a little more of this as i’m not sure how i feel about it. it’s "green: tasting..but there’s an undertone there too. Will have to explore this a little more. thanks for the neat tea nicole!

I didn’t get much fragrance from the dry leaf, but the wet leaf smells a little beany. The brew comes to a dark golden oolong color, and the leaves become surprisingly green upon steeping. Strange though, that the brew almost is scentless.

The flavor is almost like a green tea: mushrooms and buttery beans, a little earthy/funky/ fungal. There’s a bit of saltiness to the brew that makes me think it would be a good base for soups.

There’s some mild astringency and a little malt and mineral.