Purple shiso, grown in the UK and carefully dried to create a deliciously different, delicately flavoured tea.
Purple shiso pours from the pot as light blue and turns purple over time. Shiso is a member of the mint family and although it bears some resemblance in flavour there is a savoury herb like more like basil or caraway with a hint of citrus.
Iced shiso is refreshing and the addition of lemon juice will lighten the colour of the purple variety from dark purple to bright pink. Purple shiso leaves are also used in pickling umeboschi.
