Although the trees may seem young on a human timescale, the material for this tea comes from billions of years old pure stardust that has travelled forward, sideward, and possibly even backward, in time to end up becoming what we on earth know as Zijuan (purple beauty) tea plants. Grown in the Mengsong region of Yunnan, this unique varietal of purple tea is processed in the same fashion as white tea (hence being white-purple, or whurple) is willing to take you on a voyage into the future, if you’ll let it. Your fate and adventures may still be unwritten in the book of time, but based on our travels with this tea, an unconventional experience can be expected, filled with a crisp, tangy, fruit-like sweetness, nice huigan and even a fragrance that strongly reminds us of purple sweet potatoes. That last one might seem like a stretch, but this stood out to us. And if you haven’t tried purple sweet potatoes, then you have a secondary mission of finding some (sold separately) and baking them. $0.20/gram
