Purple Rain

Purple rain is harvested every spring from wild growing tea trees near the border of China. These trees grow in the mountainous region Muong Khuong in the Vietnamese province of Lao Cai at an elevation of 4900 feet above sea level. These wild growing trees are unique because they grow straight and tall and the leaves contain the naturally occurring purple pigment anthocyanin. H’mong families climb these tall trees in the mornings and pick the leaves by hand. The tea is processed in a small workshop at the edge of their village using a simple rolling machine and a wood-fired drum oven.