Green Terrace Teas

Resteeped yesterdays leaves for my morning cup. Sadly, they didn’t have much to give for a second steep. Maybe because I left them over night? I’m used to being able to get multiple good steeps from an oolong like this.

Floral, just a bit of a roasty, char note, and some very vegtal, tangy flavours on the finish. I think I quite like a medium roasted oolong, even though I tend to go for more green ones.

I’m having a tea party tomorrow! Super excited, and the apartment is almost clean. :) Tomorrow morning, baking, making sandwiches, and getting the teas I’m going to serve organized.

A sipdown and another excellent cup. I steeped the rest of my sample, which was about 1.5tsp (3g?) in 87C water for just over four minutes, then four, then five.

Strong notes of orchid, honey and apricot. A bit vegetal. Sweet, almost creamy body. Just awesome.

I will probably need to restock this some day. The honey note gets me every time.

I’ve had this sample for a while now, but just cracked it open. I’m feeling kind of crappy today and had a couple of appointments to go look houses, so I figured a good travel mug of tea would help sustain me.

I put 1tsp in my 16oz travel mug with 90C water about 2/3 full, then topped it up with cold water after a few minutes. I’ve been sipping at it for about three hours now.

Initially this seemed like a pretty mild, average green oolong. A bit fruity and floral, a touch of tang, but nothing really distinctive. After about half an hour, I was really taken by surprise at how the flavours were developing. Super intense, in your face honey, cinnamon and pastry! Very evocative of eating baklava (way, way more like baklava than DAVIDs’ offering this winter.) A bit of growing bitterness and astringency, but nothing unpleasant. And then on the finish, grass, peach and apricot.

Wow! I’m really impressed with how complex and unique this turned out to be. I’ve since arrived home and tipped the leaves and remaining tea into a teapot and added a bit more hot water. This has mellowed out the bitterness and astringency without dulling the flavours. Wonderful!

I love that I discovered notes in this tea that I might never have experienced if I’d only done my usual couple of short steeps.

Sipped this down tonight. A lovely oolong with strong orchid and grassy notes, but no milk.

Finally digging into this sample that I ordered quite a while ago.

The dry leaf doesn’t smell like much.

Steeped 3g for four minutes in 90C water, and then realized that I had to go, so I tossed the leaves and tea into my travel mug and topped it up with another 8oz of water.

This is very tasty, but I’m not getting any milk qualities from this. This is an extremely flowery green oolong, heavy on the orchid taste, with a touch of vegetal tang, and then lots of apricot, including the slight bite from apricot skin, on the finish.

Very forgiving – left the leaves in my mug for over an hour while I sipped at it, and it did not get bitter or oversteeped.

Knocking a few points off for this not tasting as expected, but all in all it’s a wonderful oolong.

I really like four seasons of Spring Ooolong. it isn’t as complex as some of the finer mountain teas, but it is reliable and a good value for the price. The Green Terrace version is very good: buttery with hints of veggies and spice. A great everyday tea. I’m a bit relieved, as I loaded up on 150 grams during their sale last Summer.

Backlog:

Ali Shan! My beloved! My favorite Oolong!

And I loved this Ali Shan from Green Terrace Teas. Exceptional quality. Sublime flavor.

Early infusions were sweet and lusciously smooth. Liquid silk mixed with thinned honey. Mmm! I picked up on notes of orchid and honeysuckle.

Later infusions were just as sweet and creamy. Still very silky. The floral notes are less sharp. I tend to prefer the later infusions because of that, the floral notes are less intense and I am able to enjoy those sweet and creamy notes all the more.

Here is my full-length review: http://sororiteasisters.com/2014/10/05/ali-shan-high-mountain-oolong-tea-from-green-terrace-teas/

Backlog from a couple days ago (drinking Bluebird’s Christmas Cake now!)
Thanks again for the tea package, Beorhthraefn! This was one I’ve been wanting to try. I couldn’t wait, even though Green Terrace site seems to be down because they are adding the new harvest of teas… but what happens if I need to look up info on a tea? Hopefully my parameters are close to what I was supposed to do. I love the picture of the leaves… they look like a rainbow. My sample looks slightly more like a roasted oolong. I went with a teaspoon and a half of leaves.

Steep #1 // 10 min after boiling // rinse // 1 min steep
This cup the flavor seems to be apricot, very sweet, a little peach, apple, butter. Kind of like a ti guan yin. Not at all like a charcoal oolong, though the leaves seem very much like it. Very unique and delicious. I’ve never tried a Gui Fei before.

Steep #2 // few min after boiling // 2 min steep
Now it seems like a savory oolong (whichever those types are). Salty, brothy. Not terrible, but I kind of wanted more of the first cup. I wonder if I oversteeped, but it doesn’t seem like the leaves are overdone? Maybe when I steep ANY oolong (or many of them anyway) at close to boiling it seems like a savory oolong? I should try steeping the same oolong with different parameters all in the same week. Oolongs are tricky.

Steep #3 // few min after boiling // 2 min
This one seems more like the first cup again.. I’m not sure how! The flavor seems to shift between different types of oolong — (ti guan yin, a savory, wen shan bao zhong, but never really a charcoal type though the leaves looked like it) —very interesting! If I knew the correct way to steep this one though, it might have been even better.

SSTTB Take 2!

I set a few samples aside before passing the box on to the next person, and this is one that I was really looking forward to trying as soon as I got over my cold. Now that I can smell and taste properly, I’m sitting down to try it. First western style, and maybe gongfu later. (If not tonight then I have enough to play later).

I was surprised by how long the leaves are. Very long and wispy, it reminds me a bit of a toasted oolong I have, moreso than a black.

There is definitely a honey note! Not overpowering like adding honey to tea can be, but it’s definitely honey-y! This is what I like. I don’t like adding honey to tea because a little goes too far, but this is the perfect balance of malty black tea and rich honey, without being like sipping honey water!

I can see myself getting more of this for sure. It would likely be a go-to straight black if I had it in my cupboard regularly!

Backlog:

I think that this will be the last of the tasting notes that I post tonight since it would seem that the dashboard is at a halt at the moment anyway. I wanted to post at least one or two more tasting notes tonight (and I have) because I’m determined to get caught up!

This is a really good Jasmine tea. I’ve been very impressed with the teas that I’ve tried from Green Terrace. The jasmine is strong but doesn’t overpower, a lovely, exotic floral note that doesn’t taste perfume-y. Perfectly lovely!

I like this a lot. It’s similar to a Chinese Jasmine green except that the green tea flavor is different – because this is a Taiwanese green. The flavor is less grassy and more sweet and there’s a slight creaminess to this that I don’t experience with most Chinese jasmine teas.

A really lovely tea, indeed! If you’re a fan of Jasmine teas – this one is highly recommended! Please check out of my full-length review: http://sororiteasisters.com/2014/09/09/jasmine-green-tea-from-green-terrace-teas/

Ah yes, listening to the Journey OST and drinking tea at two in the morning. This is my life, these are my choices. Regardless, I am pretty well smitten with this new oolong. My first steep was definitely overbrewed, and the (distinctly cinnamon) flavor was overpowering against a bitter backdrop. I almost dumped out the leaves, but shrugged and gave it a second, shorter steep instead. The cinnamon that had before proven so repugnant now uplifted the soft, green notes and the sweet, vaguely floral finish. And it’s so creamy? I don’t know how they manage to cram all those flavors into a single sip, but I’m not about to complain. I am a little miffed with Green Terrace Teas for having two of my favorite oolongs on record, but a new order should fix that.

From the SSTTB…it’s a pretty standard milk oolong, though I may have been slightly overzealous in my measuring and used a wee bit too much leaf, so it is a little stronger than some milk oolongs. I think I still prefer Teaopia’s and Teavivre’s the best.

Nice Li Shan high Mountain Oolong! Citrusy, buttery and full in the mouth. I really like the lingering sweet tartness to the soft palate. This tea is refreshing and mouth watering.

Thanks to Marzipan for this sample!
So, I think I might have steeped this a minute or so over, because it’s super strong.
It’s pretty earthy, And reminds me a lot of grapes. It’s earthy, but also fruity.
It reminds me of another tea…one from Teavivre that I really didn’t like, but I am totally blanking on the name. But yeah, it’s not really my kind of tea. Definitely liked the Honey Black better!
Glad to have tried it though! Thanks again for the sample, Marzipan! :D

Backlog:

An amazingly good black tea. This reminds me a lot of Dawn from Simple Leaf. Maybe even better than Dawn, if that’s possible. It’s an exceptional black tea.

Sweet, rich, chocolate-y, stone fruit notes and a honeyed caramel sweetness. Notes of flower in the distance.

The chocolate notes are what astound me. I can even taste some berry-esque notes that I would pick up if I were eating a bar of high quality dark chocolate. So good. Dreamy.

Here’s my full-length review of more gushing praise of this tea: http://sororiteasisters.com/2014/08/18/li-shan-black-tea-from-green-terrace-teas/ Seriously, it deserves the praise. It’s that good.

Backlog:

An absolutely wonderful LiShan Oolong. Creamy taste and texture, sweet floral notes, hints of tropical fruit. Sweet and smooth. Subtle vanilla notes.

I got ten amazing infusions from this tea. You can read about my experience with it here: http://sororiteasisters.com/2014/08/07/li-shan-high-mountain-oolong-from-green-terrace-teas/

Marzipan was generous enough to send me a sample of this one. I’ve been dying to try it since I keep reading all these tasting notes raving about it!
I chose all oolongs for my free samples, and didn’t even really think of choosing black teas. Which was clearly a mistake since everyone seemed to love their black teas. So I’m super happy someone was willing to send me a sample!
The name definitely doesn’t lie!
The only other flavor I taste in this tea other than honey is a little bit of raisin, which is kinda odd. xD But it’s a pretty tasty tea! :D I can understand the hype finally.
Thanks for the sample again, Marzipan! :D

I love a good oolong. This is a good oolong.

I’m not supposed to be at home today. I’m supposed to be freezing my tushy off at tailgate right now. Instead, last night while getting dinner ready, something tweaked in my back and I’ve been in pain since. Last night, I had to lay down to have any relief. Today, I’m sitting with a heating pad and it’s helping quite a bit, but I’m still hurting. Blah. I do all kinds of stuff that could hurt my back, lifting heavy weights and whatnot. I hurt my back chopping peppers for dinner.

So I’m curled up on the couch with my heating pad, getting some relief. It took a while until I was ready to get up and get some tea. I’m now drinking a nice mug of this one. Western style, because I don’t want to have to move any more than I have to right now.

Smooth, floral, maybe a little bit buttery. Tasty.

This is not quite what I was expecting.

It’s not a green oolong, and dry it smelled somewhat overwhelmingly toasty and earthy. It’s not, though! It’s really nice. There’s toasted notes, but it’s also very fruity and a little spicy.

I lack the words to describe this tea. It reminds me of the Big Red Robe I have from Silk Road, only better. It has more layers and dimensions.

I highly recommend trying this if you like slightly toasty oolongs. And even if you’re not 100% sure about them. This is so drinkable, and I will be doing at least a couple more steeps of this tonight.

Picking up where I left off with yesterday’s leaves.

45s, 60s, 2min all at 90C. While this was still tasty for the 6-8th steeps, the amazing complexity and honey nectarine finish did not reappear. Just lots of floral and a bit of grassiness. Ah well. I think these leaves are officially spent now.

The dry leaf is rolled in small green balls and smells faintly floral and buttery.

First steep, 30 seconds, 90C. The steeped leaf is quite floral smelling. Still quite tightly rolled. The liquor is pale gold and has a sweet, buttery note. Taste is sweet, like hay and corn, with just a hint of floral at first, which builds through the finish. Very light in flavour and body.

Seconds. 25s, 88C. The steeped leaf is starting to unfurl, and has a more savoury fragrance. Seaweed and cooked greens. The liquor smells floral but there’s also a slightly… musty? note, that reminds me of Chinese grocery stores that sell lots of dried goods and medicinals. On the palate the sweet corn and hay persists, still floral on the finish, but with a subtle sour note.

Third, 30s, 90C. The steeped leaf has that umami, cooked greens smell, and a roasted note. The liquor still has that faint musty smell. Sweet, floral, hay, corn. The finish has a vegetal tang. As it cools the floral notes intensify.

Fourth, 35s, 90C. Oh wow. Oh wow! This steep is a touch nutty and much more floral than the rest and here on the finish are some really intense, mouth-filling honey and nectarine notes. Like just finished eating a fresh nectarine kind of distinct and intense. Nice! Just a hint of astringency on this steep, too, and a bit of a drying sensation.

Fifth, 40s, 90C. By this steep I was starting to get over caffeinated and I ate a muffin which made it a bit harder to pick out the nuances, but there was still honey and nectarine.

I’m probably going to save the leaves and steep them more tomorrow, because there’s life in them yet, and I’m curious to see how the flavour develops from here.

I really enjoyed this tea. I would definitely pick up some more.

Backlog:

Lovely! Like a spring morning! The aroma is slightly “green” – not so much veggie or grassy but more like that fresh, new, green smell from the new green growth of spring.

Sweet, delightfully creamy, honey notes, floral notes. Buttery. The jasmine notes begin to emerge in the later infusions. I notice citrus in later infusions as well.

Really, really lovely.

Here’s my full-length review: http://sororiteasisters.com/2014/07/17/four-seasons-spring-oolong-from-green-terrace-teas/

I’m not a hundred percent sure what I did to this tea to make it hate my tastebuds. I resteeped and tried it on a different day to see if maybe I was at fault, with much the same result. There’s definitely chocolate notes, and the dry leaf smell isn’t super fragrant, but it is lovely with sweet undertones. However, upon brewing this up and taking a sip, honey was not the first thing that I detected. Instead there was a strange, almost pickled flavor to it that was, frankly, not at all appetizing. I don’t know if this is some twisted play on the sweet potato notes that other people have mentioned, or if I completely missed the steeping parameters when I made it. Whatever the case, it was a far cry from my previous experience with Green Terrace Tea’s extraordinary Shan Lin Xi Oolong.