“What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” If you live in Central Oregon, you get it. In the High Desert of Central Oregon, plants don’t get an easy life. (Neither do the people.)
If you’ve lived here for any length of time, you have experienced the more intense high-elevation sun, cold nights, massive temperature swings, dry air, the infamous "Tumalo Wind" and lean soil.
And that’s exactly why purple plants belongs here.
At Tumalo Tea, we are fascinated with how environment shapes the plants and us — not only in a spiritual way, but also in a true chemical and biological one.
This is where the healing power of purple producing plants become even more powerful. At Tumalo Tea, we have fallen in love with the purple producing plants – Anise Hyssop, True Hyssop, echinacea, Tulsi and of course, lavender. The deep reds, purples, and blues in plants come largely from compounds called anthocyanins, a class of flavonoids found in the plants. Plants were designed to protect themselves from the elements - which is exactly what anthocyanins were created for. Antho meaning “plants” and cyanins meaning “blue or deep blue”, from the Greek word “kyanin” – where we get the word “cyan”. (Words are cool, huh?)
Anthocyanins, these purple pigments are part of a plant’s protective survival system. Research shows anthocyanins are often stimulated by high light and UV exposure, cool temperatures, drought conditions, and large day-night temperature swings — all characteristics of the High Desert of Central Oregon.
Anthocyanins function like internal sunscreen. They help the plants manage oxidative stress and protect them from damage from excess light and temperature fluctuation. What does that mean for us? Plant-protecting anthocyanins translate into people-protecting, anti-inflammatory properties for us.
At Tumalo Tea, we think this is pure purple magic! In Creation, purple is often signals resilience chemistry. Plants that are saying, “I’m stronger for growing here.” The stronger the plants and the increased power of the anthocyanins, theoretically increases the potency of the plants we use in our beautifully beneficial blends.
We also believe soil matters, so we employ restorative farming practices that enrich the aridisol and andisol earth. Soil matters. Sun matters. Temperatures matter. We believe these combined challenges work together to make both the plants and those who propagate and partake of them even better.
If you garden in the High Desert, both you and your plants have been wind-blown, cold-night strengthened and basked in the many, dry sunny days of the desert. And now you know why it is even more rewarding to grow here.
Welcome to Tumalo Tea, where our mission is to grow and partake of the goodness of God’s Creation. Drink it in.
[1] Enaru B, Drețcanu G, Pop TD, Stǎnilǎ A, Diaconeasa Z. Anthocyanins: Factors Affecting Their Stability and Degradation. Antioxidants (Basel). 2021 Dec 9;10(12):1967. doi: 10.3390/antiox10121967. PMID: 34943070; PMCID: PMC8750456.
[2] Kerr, Lila D.; Gravatt, Dennis A.; and Wiggers, Robert J., "The Effects of Ultraviolet Light on Anthocyanin Accumulation in the Adventitious Roots of Sedum wrightii (Crassulaceae)" (2018). Faculty Publications. 167.
https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/biology/167