Introduction
There is a rare form of tea imported from the
African continent to our country. Cultivated in Kenya, it has sweet notes that
present a pleasant lingering aroma. It is called as purple tea. It is claimed
to have similar health benefits as those given by the green tea that we have
heard of. Therefore, 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 scholarly research seems to have shifted to a new
variety of tea with loads of antioxidants. It is none other than purple tea.
Purple Tea
This rare form of tea has been found to
have many medicinal properties. The information about the therapeutic effects
of purple tea has been passed by the people to the succeeding generations. Some
research has already been done on this new tea variety to bring about other
aspects of this tea variety. The research has found that the purple tea is rich
in anthocyanins. This variety also has some quantity of catechins. It has low
caffeine content and hence does not have the intoxicating property. It also has
a high dose of antioxidants. The colour of this tea is due to the presence of a
class of antioxidants called anthocyanins. As a result, this beverage has more
earthly, brisk and rustic flavour when compared to that of the regular black
tea. It also has ability to quench the feeling of thirst. The purple tea is
known to cleanse the vascular system in the human body. This in turn reduces
the risk of developing hypertension and cardiac arrests. The purple tea fetches
three to four times the price of black tea in the international market.
Purple Tea to be Grown in India
Soon
purple tea would be grown in India. Assam is most likely to emerge as the
centre for purple tea cultivation in India. This was disclosed by a senior scientist
associated with Tocklai Tea Research Institute. Currently, Kenya is producing
purple tea in the world. According to this institute, the clone TRFK 306/1 for
purple tea was originally fetched from north-eastern Indian state of Assam. The
research team from this institute has also found that the presence of wild
bushes of this variety of tea in hilly forest areas of Karbi Anglong and Cachar
districts in Assam. Hence, this variant of tea can be grown commercially in the
north-eastern state of Assam.
