When Henry Paul Njeru started growing purple tea on his Athi Estate farm in Kirunguria, Igembe South in Meru, little did he know that he would make a fortune out of it.

Known to have higher medicinal value than green and black tea, purple tea is quickly taking root in the region with the promise of much higher returns.

He grows the tea on 130 acres of his 475-acre tea estate, making it one of the biggest farms with the crop since the government approved commercial production of the new variety four years ago.

“The variety I grow is known as Tea Research Foundation of Kenya (TRFK) 306/1. It has higher medicinal value than green and black tea and its seeds produce oil used in the cosmetics and the pharmaceutical industries. We crush the tea at the plant and pack it for export to Japan,” said 39-year-old Njeru.

According to TRFK, the variety is suitable for all tea-growing areas. It also produces oil for cooking.

He harvests about five tonnes of purple leaves from the estate every month and about a million kilos of green tea leaves annually.

“We process the purple tea leaves into what is known as un-oxidised Crush Tear Curl (CTC) (non-fermented) which has higher levels of anthocyanin. This is the purple pigment which has numerous health properties,” said Mr Njeru who inherited the business from his father.

He sells the tea leaves for at about $30 (Sh2,730) per kilo, which is about 10 times the $3 a kilo (Sh275) that high quality green tea fetches in the global market.

He runs the business under the name Mr Njeru Industries Ltd, where he is the managing director. The processed tea is then packed into 10kg and 20kg packs made from aluminium foil and shipped to Shanghai Daning International Tea Co Ltd in Japan.

“Tea is processed before exporting, unlike coffee where you can export green beans. For green tea, KTDA processes on behalf of farmers. For purple tea, I have to do it myself,” he said.

Mr Njeru used to grow horticultural produce for export before he embraced tea. “I consulted TRFK, presented my proposal about the overseas market and after consultations they allowed me to seek new markets in Japan.

‘‘I travelled to Japan and talked to several companies and ended up with a deal with one. We agreed that I process the tea for easy shipment. I am currently targeting the US market where non-organic foods are highly valued,” he said.

Purple tea, like green tea, takes three years to mature but the former is drought-tolerant. However, the green tea still occupies a larger part of his farm because he has not been able to get enough purple tea seedlings.