Country of Origin: Kenya
Leaf Appearance: dark, pressed flat
Ingredients: oolong tea
Steep time: 3 minutes
Water Temperature: 200 degrees
Preparation Method: porcelain teacup
Liquor: amber

When I saw this tea star at World Tea Expo I was really fascinated by it. At first glance you might think that is a typical flowering tea. However, it is actually hand tied Kenyan oolong. Doubly exciting! The guys at +Jus Tea told me a funny story about the naming of this tea. Originally their workers called it buibui, the Swahili word for spider, because that’s what they thought it resembled. After a bit of refinement their star was born. Although it doesn’t blossom in the traditional sense, the leaves did expand quite a bit after steeping. The string made it easy and mess free to steep a cup even when I was in a rush. The taste was mellow with sweet fruity and floral notes. Overall it was a very smooth and enjoyable tea. There was no bitterness or astringency to speak of. Milk and sugar would not be advisable with this one but neither is needed at all. For another fun review of this tea, check out the thoughts of my friend, Oolong Owl.

I interviewed Britta from their team on Episode 2 of my podcast last year. Make sure you check that out if you haven’t already!

Tea Star sample received from JusTea at World Tea Expo.

{
“@context” : “http://schema.org”,
“@type” : “Review”,
“name” : “JusTea Tea Star”,
“author” : {
“@type” : “Person”,
“name” : “Nicole Martin”
},
“datePublished” : “August 22nd, 2014”,
“image” : “http://www.teaformeplease.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Fabric-Pouch.jpg”,
“itemReviewed” : “JusTea Tea Star”,
“reviewBody” : “When I saw this tea star at World Tea Expo I was really fascinated by it. At first glance you might think that is a typical flowering tea. However, it is actually hand tied Kenyan oolong. Doubly exciting! The guys at +Jus Tea told me a funny story about the naming of this tea. Originally their workers called it buibui, the Swahili word for spider, because that’s what they thought it resembled. After a bit of refinement their star was born. Although it doesn’t blossom in the traditional sense, the leaves did expand quite a bit after steeping. The string made it easy and mess free to steep a cup even when I was in a rush. The taste was mellow with sweet fruity and floral notes. Overall it was a very smooth and enjoyable tea. There was no bitterness or astringency to speak of. Milk and sugar would not be advisable with this one but neither is needed at all. For another fun review of this tea, check out the thoughts of my friend, Oolong Owl.

I interviewed Britta from their team on Episode 2 of my podcast last year. Make sure you check that out if you haven’t already!”,
“url” : “http://www.teaformeplease.com/2014/08/justea-tea-star.html” : {
“@type” : “Organization”,
“name” : “Tea for Me Please”
}
}