.jpg)
There's nothing as comforting as a hot cup of tea in bed. But what do you do when you don't feel like drinking black or green tea? Thankfully, these aren't your only options. You can try purple tea.
It’s a tasty alternative that Kenya-based tea growers sell, and it has powerful nutrients and antioxidants. If you’re wondering where to buy purple tea, you’ll find it online. But what are purple tea’s health benefits? And does it have caffeine? Today, we’ll answer your questions and tell you how to make purple tea.
What Is Purple Tea?
Purple tea is made from a Camellia sinensis variety, which is also the source of black and green teas. While it mainly comes from the Mt. Kenyan region, it's produced in Japan, China, and India.
.jpg)
This tea gets its name from its purple plant leaves, which are rich in anthocyanins and polyphenols. However, it isn't purple-colored; it's dark with a purple tint.
What Does Purple Tea Taste Like?
Purple tea has a woody and sweet flavor. It's lighter than black tea, and it doesn't have the grassy flavor of green tea. Instead, its taste might remind you of oolong tea.
4 Health Benefits of Purple Tea
What is purple tea good for, you might ask. Let's go over the main purple tea benefits.
1. Strengthening Your Immunity
The main benefit of purple tea is found in its high level of antioxidants, thanks to its rich anthocyanin content. This is the same antioxidant found in blueberries and acai berries.
According to a 2018 Medicinal & Aromatic Plant paper, anthocyanin gives purple tea a "high free-radical scavenging rate, i.e., 52% compared to 34% for green tea and 28% for black tea." This powerful antioxidant strengthens your immunity and improves your health.
Additionally, purple tea helps your body create lymphocytes, which are white blood cells that protect you. This way, you're less likely to get chronic diseases (like heart diseases and diabetes) and several cancer types. Purple tea also helps reduce chronic and acute inflammation and soothes pains.
Tip: If you're a type 2 diabetes patient, drinking purple tea twice a day can regulate your blood sugar levels.
2. Boosting the Brain Antioxidant Ability
In a Nutritional Neuroscience study, scientists gave mice purified and characterized Kenyan purple tea anthocyanins for 15 days.
Afterward, brain analysis demonstrated a significant increase in brain antioxidant capacities, which means the antioxidant was able to cross the Blood-Brain Barrier (BBB).
This suggests that purple tea can help prevent neurodegenerative diseases and promote brain health.
3. Promoting Weight Loss
According to the International Journal of Biomedical Science, low-caffeine drinks are the way to go if you want to lose weight.
After all, they control fat absorption and improve hepatic fat metabolism. Luckily, purple tea isn’t high in caffeine. Its caffeine content is less than that of green tea, oolong tea, and other teas from the same plant.
Additionally, purple tea contains a type of polyphenol called GHG. It can reduce fat mass and thickness and increase lean body mass. As a result, it suppresses body and liver weight gain, which is good news for people asking if purple tea is good for the liver.
4. Enhancing Skin and Hair Health
Purple tea contains anthocyanin, which increases the number of extracellular molecules, such as collagens and elastin.
A 2018 Nutrients study says: "Collagen, a fibrous protein, is the major constituent of the dermis, and, combined with elastin, retains skin elasticity and flexibility." Accordingly, purple tea can fight off the free radicals and toxins responsible for dead skin and acne scars.
Not to mention, purple tea promotes blood circulation in the scalp, which helps treat baldness. You'll even find shampoos, gels, serums, and toners with the ingredient.
How to Make Purple Tea
It's super easy to make purple tea. All you need to do is:
- Pour boiling water over a tea bag, or use a tea mug infuser if you have loose purple tea leaves.
- Brew the tea for two to three minutes. If you leave it more, it might get bitter.
- Add sugar or honey to sweeten the tea as you like.
- You can add milk to your purple tea.
Best Purple Tea Brands
You may be wondering where to buy purple tea. After all, it isn't available in many local stores, but you can find it online. Here are the best purple tea brands to try:
- Baobab Organics: This brand offers organic purple tea bags and uses hand-picked leaves from Kenya.
.jpg)
- The Whistling Kettle: This brand imports fresh purple tea and sells it as loose leaves, which allows you to see its impeccable quality for yourself.
- Chixotic: Chixotic's purple tea is organic (supporting African farmers), non-fermented, and an absolute cult favorite!
- JusTea: This online brand partners with small-scale tea farming families to support them and get you farmer-direct tea from Kenya.
FAQs
How Much Purple Tea Should You Drink a Day?
We recommend drinking one or two cups of purple tea daily, as it can strengthen your immunity and regulate your blood sugar level.
Where Is Purple Tea Grown?
The purple tea Kenya plant grows in an environment with intense sun exposure and extreme temperatures. So, you'll find it in the mountains at high elevations. Although the purple tea plant is mainly grown in Kenya, it's available in Japan, India, and China.
Is Purple Tea Actually Purple?
No, it's dark with a hint of purple, but it gets the name from its plant's purple leaves.
Is Purple Tea Better Than Green Tea?
Purple tea provides you with the same benefits as green tea. However, it has less caffeine and more antioxidant (anthocyanin) content, which renders it a better alternative to green tea.
Conclusion
Purple tea is an excellent Kenyan production made from the purple leaves of a Camellia sinensis variety, which gives it a purple tint. It has powerful antioxidants that can positively affect your immunity, brain activity, and skin and hair health. So, incorporate purple tea into your morning routine, and you'll see promising results!
.jpg)
.jpg)
