Purple Tea Debuts At Guwahati Tea Auction, Sells For Record Price

The Guwahati Tea Auction Center today claimed to have sold about 1.2 kg of purple tea at a record price of Rs. 24,501 per kg, an industry source said.

The tea variety, produced by Donyi Polo Tea Estate of Arunachal Pradesh, was sold to Dugar Consumer Products Pvt Ltd in the city, the source said.

"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," Guwahati Tea Auction Buyers Association secretary Dinesh Bihani told PTI.

The Guwahati Tea Auction Center, which has recently added purple tea in its basket, sells various types such as golden tips, silver needles and other speciality teas.

Mr Bihani said Dugar Consumer Product Pvt Ltd sells tea under the brand name 'Uphaar', one of the "largest tea packet sellers in the North East region".

Around 10,000 purple tea leaves are required to make a kg of purple tea, another industry source said.

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, the source added.