Medicinal Herbs

Java Tea / Cat's Whiskers Extract

Orthosiphon aristatus

Java tea (Orthosiphon aristatus), called râu mèo or cat's whiskers in Vietnam, is a perennial herb half a metre to a metre tall, with a square purplish-brown stem, coarsely toothed leaves in opposite pairs, and white flowers ageing to blue-violet whose stamens and style thrust far out past the petals like a cat's whiskers. Grown from seed, it is widely planted in the delta provinces of Tiền Giang, Đồng Tháp, Bến Tre and Hậu Giang, and stands flooding well. The leafy tops are cut before flowering and dried, or rolled and pan-fired like green tea until they curl and turn fragrant. It smells of tea and tastes lightly bitter.