I’m delighted to share my experience using the Starry Sky tea set from Umi Tea Sets.

On the Umi Tea Sets website, the full name of this teaware is “Chinese Starry Sky Jian Zhan Tea Set.” The version I am reviewing includes a teapot, six teacups, a fairness cup (sometimes called a fairness pitcher), and a two piece-ceramic tea strainer. It arrived in a beautiful deep blue “gift box” with multicolored fabric on the top.

Blue glazed teapot from Umi Tea Set Starry Skies Jian Zhan Tea Set. The teapot sits on a rock and daffodils are in the background.

Texture, Color, and Pattern

This glossy teaware has a very smooth hand feel. Umi Tea Sets call this color pattern “Starry Sky.” I see why. The main color of the tea set is a midnight blue. The “variable temperature firing” and glaze creates a pattern that reminds me of falling stars–small dots of pale yellowish/cream color that cascade down the sides of the teaware. Interacting with the background blue glaze, it also creates some beautiful light blue and other color variations. It’s a lovely effect. I feel like I should wish on a star whenever I use it!

Small, handless teacup with blue glaze "Starry Sky Tea Set" from Umi Tea Sets on a rock next to the leaves of daffodils

The same beautiful glazing decorates the interior of the teacups and the fairness cup. The interior of the teapot , by contrast, is all white. I really appreciate this! I prefer a white interior teapot so I can observe the color of the tea I steep. Doing this helps me tell if I’ve steeped the tea to my preference.

Starry Sky Tea Set’s Size & Pour

I’m happy to share information out the size of these items and the pour of the teapot.

Umi Tea Sets includes the measurements of the pieces in this tea set on their website, but not their volume.

So, I set out to pour and measure.

All the teaware inside the Umi Tea Sets Starry Sky Tea Set inside the blue giftbox with a handle. Yellow daffodils are in the background

Items Included and Size

Teapot: Filled to very top, it is 300 ml (10 oz); however, like all teapots with a spout that isn’t at the very top (in other words, most of them), this one pours the best when filled around 200 ml or less. (More on the pour, below.)
Fairness Cup (or Pitcher): When filled at the comfortable place on the pitcher, 200 ml.
Teacups: 6 teacups. Filled to the very top, they hold 80 ml (2.7 ounces). Filled to where the interior glaze pattern changes near the top of the cup (a more ideal way to fill a teacup), is about 60 ml (roughly 2 ounces).
Ceramic Tea Strainer: Inside the strainer there is a metal screen with tiny holes. The set also includes a ceramic piece on which you can rest the strainer when it is not in use. This is very convenient. Even though the ceramic teapot has a built in strainer, this separate strainer with smaller holes allows removing even finer particles of the tea leaves that make it through the teapot (if you want to).
Gift Box: The box in which the Starry Sky set arrived was about 15.5″ x 10.5″ x 4.75″ (or about 39cm x 26.5cm x12cm).

Pour

The Starry Sky Tea Set from Umi Tea Sets has a very cohesive and fast pour, as long as you don’t overfill it, which I’ve found true for with teapots with this spout positioning.

It pours beautifully when filled up to just above where the bottom of the built-in ceramic strainer starts–that’s about 200 ml (roughly 7 ounces).

Gift Box

Blue carrying case with a fabric top and a blue handle in front of daffodils

To my surprise, the Starry Sky Tea Set from Umi Tea Sets arrived in a “gift box” that feels more like a carrying case. It is a bit like a blue wooden briefcase with colorful fabric on top and padding on the inside. It has a handle, too. With the teaware in it, it weighs between 5-5.5 pounds. (My scale isn’t so exact.) It’s a very comfortable weight to carry.

I tested ease of transporting by taking it to my local botanical garden to enjoy the greenery and snap a few photos. Very easy! That said, it’s not advertised as a carrying case. The golden buckle that holds it closed seems very secure. But, I’d always check that it was in good order before transporting the tea set this way.

Uses for the Starry Sky Tea Set

Starry Sky is a versatile tea set. You could use it to steep tea for one or two people using one long infusion. Or, you could use it with a higher quantity of tea leaves and multiple infusions to make tea for more than two people.

In fact, I’m particularly excited that I can share and enjoy tea with five other tea lovers using this set! Given the size of the teapot and the volume of all six cups, this means I’d steep two infusions to serve six people.

Umi’s Starry Sky Tea Set is a lovely tea set. It functions beautifully and is easy to transport and store. I didn’t share details about how the beautiful glaze effects are accomplished; however, you can read about that on Umi Tea Sets’ website.

My Review Policy

Honesty and transparency are important to me. When Umi Tea Sets reached out to me, I was happy when they accepted my review policy.

In short, my policy is only to accept tea and teaware to review with the understanding that I’ll only post a review after I’ve used and determined that I sincerely like something. I don’t guarantee that I’ll post. (So, some places understandably back out after they learn this.)

Additionally, I always disclose when I am reviewing anything I received for free or with any other kind of perk. I’m so glad Umi Tea Sets was completely comfortable with this policy and generously sent me this beautiful teaware.