The Guwahati Tea Auction Centre on Wednesday claimed that it sold about 1.2 kg of purple tea at a record price of Rs 24,501 per kg, stated a media report quoting an industry source.
As per the report the purple tea, which has been produced by Arunachal Pradesh‘s Donyo Polo Tea Estate, was sold to Dugar Consumer Products Pvt Ltd, the source claimed.
Also read: Purple tea from Arunachal Pradesh to make auction debut in Guwahati Tea Auction Centre
The report quoted Guwahati Tea Auction Buyers Association secretary Dinesh Bihani as saying, “This is the first time purple tea is being manufactured in India. The tea was sold by Contemporary Tea Brokers Pvt Ltd here at the highest price.”
The purple tea is reportedly made from plants rich in anthocyanin, which gives the leaves a distinctive reddish purple appearance. Anthocyanin is a type of flavonoid, which is said to provide health benefits through its antioxidant effects. Purple tea is said to have 15 times more anthocyanin than wild blueberries, that is 1.5 per cent compared to 0.1 per cent in blueberries
The Guwahati Tea Auction Centre recently added purple tea in its basket. After black, green, white and yellow, purple tea made debut in the recent auction.
As per sources, around 10,000 purple tea leaves are required to make a kg of purple tea.
The report also quoted sources as saying that Donyi Polo had in August sold the golden needles tea variety at a record Rs 40,000 per kg, consisting of a 1.1 kg lot.
Purple tea is mild and there is no astringency. It tastes like green tea without grassy and vegetal notes.