What are the differences between purple Bud Tea and Purple Juanshan Tea? Many people may find it hard to distinguish. Today, let's talk about their differences.
Purple Bud Tea encompasses all tea trees and tea products with purple buds and leaves. Such tea trees are rarely seen in China. However, in Yunnan, Purple Bud Tea is a type of Pu'er tea where usually the buds and first three leaves are purple. The Purple Bud Tea in Yunnan is not a specific variety or a particular processing method but rather the result of natural genetic mutation under natural selection. They often grow on primitive wild old tea trees and ancient tea trees. Due to the dry climate and strong sunlight, the tea trees have undergone natural mutations, causing the buds to exhibit varying shades of purple.
In a vast tea forest, there aren't many tea trees with purple buds. Even on ancient tea trees, the number of purple buds is scarce. Purple Bud Tea is mainly distributed in high-altitude areas of Xishuangbanna, Lincang, and Pu'er, with relatively more in the Lincang region.
After brewing, the liquor color of Purple Bud Tea is similar to other Pu'er teas, yellow and bright. Its taste varies due to the unique geographical and climatic environments of different origins. However, overall, Purple Bud Tea has a richer flavor, more pronounced bitterness, astringency, and aroma. Therefore, due to its extremely low yield and higher picking costs, Purple Bud Tea is a choice for many tea enthusiasts for its rich taste and distinct aroma.
Compared to Purple Bud Tea, Purple Juanshan Tea appears entirely purple in its buds, leaves, and stems. It is a new variety cultivated through artificial selection by the Tea Research Institute of the Yunnan Academy of Agricultural Sciences. In 1985, researchers Zhou Pengju, Wang Chaoji, Wang Ping, et al., discovered an old tea tree with purple stems, leaves, and buds in a tea garden in Nannuoshan. Based on this tree, scientists successfully selected this new clonal variety using single-plant breeding methods.
Purple Juanshan Tea is primarily propagated through cuttings, belonging to the small semi-evergreen tree category with large leaves, similar to today's terrace-grown teas in Yunnan. Purple Juanshan Tea has achieved considerable planting scale in Yunnan. Purple Juanshan Tea is not suitable for making Pu'er tea but is more commonly used for making pan-fired green tea or black tea. After pan-firing, both the dry tea and the liquor of Purple Juanshan green tea are purple.
Thanks to low cultivation costs, high yields, and convenient picking methods, Purple Juanshan Tea has a relatively affordable market price. Studies show that the formation of red-purple buds and leaves in tea plants is closely related to the synthesis and accumulation of anthocyanins. Both Purple Bud Tea and Purple Juanshan Tea contain beneficial anthocyanins, with Purple Juanshan Tea having a higher content. The higher anthocyanin content is also one of the reasons for the higher bitterness and astringency in these teas.
However, we should take a scientific view of the anthocyanin content in Purple Bud Tea and Purple Juanshan Tea. If you want to consume anthocyanins for certain health benefits through Drinking Tea, it would be more direct to consume foods with even higher anthocyanin content. So, let's focus more on the experience of tasting the tea!
Originally published in Pu'er magazine
July 2024 issue
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