Three sieves, one cultivar.
After the leaf has been processed, it is sieved into fractions by particle size. Larger leaf brews more slowly, gives a more delicate cup, rewards patience. Finer cut brews more quickly, brings the compound profile forward. The same leaf — three different teas at the moment of separation.
Three sieves. Three teas.
Tea grading, as the Indian and Kenyan industries practise it, begins with a simple physical fact. After the leaf has been processed, it is sieved into fractions by particle size. The largest particles — whole or near-whole leaf — fall out first. The medium fractions follow. The smallest cut, fine and dust-like, comes last.
Each fraction has its character. The same leaf, by the same farmers, grown in the same field, on the same day — three different teas at the moment of separation. Purple T at present offers three. We have named them by the sieve fraction they come from: Lower, Middle, Upper. The naming is unromantic on purpose. It maps to the tea-trade vocabulary; it does not pretend the differences are anything more than what they are.
Largest leaf · >7mm.
The most delicate expression of the cultivar. Silky in the mouth, floral at the top of the palate, mineral in the finish. The colour is paler than the other grades; the rose-shift on citrus is the most visible.
Best brewed slowly. Two and a half grams to two hundred and fifty millilitres of water at eighty degrees, three minutes for the first infusion, four for the second, five for the third. Lower can be infused three or four times before its character flattens. We recommend a clear glass vessel; the colour change is part of the ritual.
Best for: premium single-serve, multiple infusions, ceremonial moments. Pair with stoneware or porcelain. Avoid milk; the tea is too delicate to hold up.
Balanced · 5–7mm.
The culinary sweet spot. Balanced body, coherent flavour, the full compound profile in a forgiving cup. Middle is the recipe-development grade — it is where most of our development tea has been blended for, because it tolerates a wide range of brewing variables and still produces a cup with character.
Two and a half grams per two-fifty millilitres works at any temperature from seventy-five to eighty-five degrees, with a three-minute infusion. Cold-brew at the same dose for eight hours produces a clean, slightly briskly tannic iced tea that holds up to a wedge of lemon and a sprig of mint.
Best for: everyday ritual, cold brew, foodservice, iced with citrus. The grade we suggest if you are choosing a single Purple T to keep.
Finest cut · <5mm.
Bold. Briskly extracted. The highest compound yield per cup and the most pronounced purple character. Upper brews fast — the smaller particle gives up its compounds quickly, and an extra minute past three at eighty degrees can turn the cup astringent.
Two grams to two hundred millilitres at seventy-five degrees for two and a half minutes is our standard for Upper. It is the grade that goes well with milk, because the briskness holds up to cream rather than dissolving into it. It is the grade we use in functional formulations where high compound concentration in a small serve matters.
Best for: strong morning brew, blending, milk serves, functional formats. The grade for those who want the leaf to make itself known.
A short note on selection.
We do not believe one grade is better than another. We believe each does a different thing well, and that the choice between them is a question of how the drinker likes their tea, not a hierarchy.
If pressed: for a beginner to Purple T, Middle. It shows the cultivar's character without insisting on a particular ritual. For someone who already drinks loose-leaf green tea ceremonially, Lower. It rewards the same habits and shows them a new colour. For someone who already drinks matcha or strong black tea, Upper. It speaks the same language at the same volume.
A Founding Circle release contains a small portion of each, in three named tins, so members can decide for themselves. The opinion of someone who has tasted all three is worth more than ours.