Review: Zi Juan

Details:

Tea Name: Rui Gong “Zi Juan”

Year: 2006

Type: Sheng Puerh Seller: King Tea Mall

Liquor Color: Peach or bronze

Dry leaf appearance: Black and dark brown, tightly twisted

Wet leaf appearance: Dark greens and dark browns, with edges and lines of purple

Dry leaf aroma: Prune

Wet leaf aroma: Prune, forest floor

This is the first purple tea I’ve had. I was expecting the liquor to be purple. Instead, it was mostly golden. But if you look closely, you can see a faint purple tinge. It’s difficult to capture in a photo, though.

I bought this tea without knowing much about purple tea. After doing a little research, I learned that there are two types of purple tea, Zi Ya (Purple Bud) and Zi Juan (Purple Beauty). Although Zi Ya’s leaves come from natural mutations, Zi Juan was selectively cultivated and bred by researchers since 1985. Apparently they are high in antioxidants, thanks to their dark purple color. In recent years, purple tea cultivars have also been developed in Kenya, Japan, and India. Here are two resources with more information about purple teas: https://sevencups.com/2019/06/what-is-purple-leaf-tea-really/ https://helloteacup.com/2017/08/24/what-is-purple-tea/ Tasting Notes:

The tea has a medium or full body. It coats my tongue and the top of my mouth. The most noticeable note is apricot, and the astringency is strong.

The second steep’s flavor is much stronger than the first. Intensely apricot. After I swallow, a floral aroma wafts in the back of my throat. The astringency continues. There are also notes like honey, maybe like peach blossom.

In the later steeps, a bitterness appears, but it isn’t overpowering. I might have steeped the tea a little too long. There isn’t a particularly noticeable aftertaste. Or rather, the aftertaste is the same as the liquor’s flavor, and it doesn’t linger long.

Overall Impressions: This was a very sweet, floral, fruity tea. It has primarily stone-fruit and honey notes. The caffeine’s effect was very noticeable. It gave me a lot of energy, so it’s not a tea to drink when trying to relax. I’m looking forward to trying more varieties of purple tea from other countries.

---

by Kara (@teaoverseas)