Precious Leaves (One Plant, Many Teas)

​All the styles of tea and their related traditions and activities have their source in one plant: camellia sinensis. There are two main varieties of camellia sinensis.  Camellia sinensis var. sinensis or camellia sinensis var. assamica.

 Strictly speaking, the term “tea” refers only to the beverage produced with leaves of this plant, whether it is white, green, oolong, black or Pu Erh.  The difference in color and shape is due to the manufacturing process and the varying levels of oxidation to which the tea leaves are exposed.  Black teas are fully oxidized, oolongs are semi-oxidized, green and white teas are non-oxidized.  While most tea plants produce dark green leaves, there is a newly discovered purple-leaf varietal of the tea plant.  Its leaves start out green and flush to a purple color as they mature.  The leaf is not only a purple hue, but uniquely steeps to a light golden brew with a purple tint.  Kenya now leads as the largest producer of purple tea.  This unique tea thrives when grown at high elevations along the equator, where it receives twelve hours of sunlight a day year-round. 

 All teas style from the camellia sinensis plant, whether Pu Erh, black, oolong, green or white, naturally contain between 100 to 300 mg of flavonoids per serving.  Purple Tea is the only known cultivar to contain anthocyanin, the flavonoid responsible for giving blueberries and pomegranates their purplish color.

 Chamomile, rooibos, mint and the like, which are derived from other plants are herbal infusions, not teas.