Green Terrace Teas

I’m drinking this at the same time as Alishan and Shan Lin Xi, all from Green Terrace. They all have quite distinct personalities! I started with the Alishan and this was quite the departure from that oolong. This oolong is crazy fruity to me. There’s a hint of a creamy mouthfeel and then BAM, mango in my mouth. I honestly couldn’t believe it when I took the first sip. I’m getting not only mango with some sweetness, but also a subtly spicy finish. I kept thinking that it reminded me of a dessert I had had, but couldn’t remember what. I finally figured it out- it reminds me a lot of mango mousse that is served in Indian restaurants. Yum! I don’t know if all Li Shans are like this, but it was definitely a unique experience for me.
Also, when did Green Terrace change so that the minimum quantity of tea is 150g? I just bought 10g of a bunch of their teas to try and would like to buy more, but that’s honestly a huge deterrent.

I’m finally able to dig into my Green Terrace teas, which arrived while I was away (I have awesome neighbors to keep my tea safe for me). I’m very happy I started with this one. Ok, fine, I started with this one as one of three brewed at once because I have become an oolong fiend. I haven’t started selling my possessions to buy oolong yet, but I’m headed that way ;-).
This is my kind of oolong! The tightly rolled green leaves are beautiful and yield a delicate yellow brew. The sip is mainly a wonderful creamy mouthfeel with a somewhat more subtle cream taste until almost the end when it is swept away by a fresh clean finish infused with balmy, graceful florals; which in turn sweeps me right off my oolong-loving feet. The florals are fresh above all else, calling to mind a cool breeze sweeping over a meadow of wildflowers through which a sparkling stream meanders. I’m twitterpated over this oolong!

Thank you so much for the samples! I wouldn’t call the oolong in this vacuumed foil pack as green as the picture on the site shows. The leaves are more yellow green than jade. They have a creamy milk oolong type fragrance to the dry leaves. I used two teaspoons for my 12-13 ounce mug, as the only suggestions on the site are 194-203 degrees.

Steep #1 // 12 min after boiling // rinse// 1 min
The flavor is very nice, creamy vegetables. Not quite milk oolong as the flavor sways over to savory slightly more than sweet. There is no astringency like I added too many leaves, but I probably could have went with 1 1/2 teaspoons and had a flavorful cup anyway.

Steep #2 // just boiled // 2 min
The brew color is a slightly brighter yellow now and the flavors are similar yet stronger (no astringency though). There is also a hint of floral flavor. I love my floral oolongs!

Steep #3 // just boiled // 2 min
Another full flavored cup, slightly more floral while losing some of the creaminess, still no astringency. So much of that lovely oolong flavor I love! I think the third cup might have even been the best one. I think this oolong could have went on for many more steeps. I’ve never seen my brew basket so full of leaves before… this oolong must have been rolled very tightly… the brew basket seems like half a pound now! A very lovely oolong, though I wish Green Terrace would sell a smaller amount of leaves at a time.
GreenTerraceTeas.com

Sipdown 14 of 2016. Sample. Received 10/2014 – Finished 1/2016

I enjoyed the last of this sample yesterday. It wasn’t nearly as sweet as I had remembered it. It was still a decent session, but it was missing the wonder I had first uncovered with it.

I am drinking the last of this sample from Green Terrace Teas this morning at work. Sometimes when I take teas to work I get a completely different experience than at home. Water temp/method of preperation, who knows. This morning I am wishing this wasn’t the last of this sample. It is very smooth and creamy with a burnt sugar/honey taste at the end of the sip. Yum! This might need to be in my cupboard sometime in the furture. Thanks again for the awesome samples Green Terrace Teas!

EDIT: I am steep #4 and this tea just keeps on giving.

I received this sample from Green Terrace Teas, Thank you!

This is a wonderful oolong. So smooth and full of flavor. I enjoyed this gongfu style last night and I brewed a cup of it western style this morning. Both were wonderful. It is really hard for me to describe the flavor on this one, but it was very tastely.

Marco Lewis TTB

Nantou Four Seasons by In Pursuit of Tea was the first type of oolong I ever tried, and it made me fall in love. This one is no different. It definitely didn’t disappoint! I used the whole package in my 120ml/4 oz yixing pot and at first it was a bit bitter and I realized I wasn’t getting much tea. I opened my pot up and realized that there were so many leaves crammed in there I could have filled the pot twice!! Once I removed half the leaves the sweet floral shined right through. Moral of the story: weight my leaves next time! :P

Thank you, Green Terrace Teas, for a sample!

This is a really nice green oolong! Floral, fruity and sweet. I enjoyed a lot of infusions out of this tea. This is one I could definitely keep on hand. Thank you for allowing me to try this wonderful tea.

Thank you, Green Terrace Teas, for a sample!

This is a very light floral green oolong that is slightly sweet. This tea is a nice evening tea, but not one that I see myself drinking often. This was a little on the light side for me.

This is the other tea I got from Green Terrace. It’s thick, fruity and bready with a little spice in the finish. Like sweet potatoes with cinnamon. It’s delicious.

It is similar to the Honey Black but different enough to be worth having both on hand. The Honey Black is way sweeter. I think if I could only keep one around it would be the Honey Black but this is an amazingly good tea.

I did a side by side gaiwan tasting with this and Honey Black from Beautiful Taiwan Tea Co. tonight. First, let me say that I don’t care as much for either of these done in this method as I do for them done Western style.

On to the teas. 5 grams each, 150 ml gaiwans, filtered water cooled 2 minutes from boiling. 45 second initial steep, left leaves in water while drinking resulting in approximately 2:30 for second steep.

Dry leaf comparison: BTTC leaves are smaller and more broken up though still large
Liquor comparison: GT is lighter in color
Taste comparison: Both honeyed, both sweetish, BTTC seems spicier. On second steep, BTTC also has sour notes creeping in, though not to an unpleasant level. GT is a lighter bodied tea.

Next is to try both in Western style side by side. From this method, I would not be picky about either one, both are equally good in my opinion.

Oh my. Vanilla and honey and bread and yeast and fruit and wow. This is deeply sweet and definitely a honey sweet. There is a honey aftertaste as well. The dry leaf smells UH-MAZING and the steeped tea is the same. This makes me so happy I put aside my “no more tea until September” idea and got this on their sale. There will need to be more of this tea.

Sipdowns continue… the thought of watching some Lipton-quaffing customs agent throw all of this great tea away is highly motivating!!!!!!!

Well, this tea is certainly tasty. Unfortunately, I am in a surly mood now, having placed my order from this company three times and just been told that I have to place it again.

WHAT?????????????

Thank you so much for the samples, GreenTerraceTeas.com! This one has similar long dark leaves to the Honey Black but the flavor is definitely different. As the Honey black is syrupy and fruity, this one is just like sweet potato. All sweet potato, 100% sweet potato, so I don’t even have much else to say about it. But I love this tea. Even the brew color is a nice light orange, so it’s a very light cup. It’s funny that these leaves have such a light brew, I guess because they aren’t chopped up into small pieces. I also used two and half teaspoons to compensate for the longer leaf. The second steep was just as nice, complete sweet potato. Similar to whichever Teavivre tea is like sweet potato. At first glance, both of the black teas on offer at Green Terrace seem similar but I love each of them for their own characteristics.
Steep #1 // 2 1/2 teaspoons // 10 min after boiling // 2-3 min steep
Steep #2 // few minutes after boiling // 4 min

I’m feeling quite Tea Drunk so please excuse any rambly-ness.

I THINK that this is my first milk oolong? But I’m not really sure. Seriously I feel like milk oolong is soo talked up on all the various tea blogs and discussion boards that it’s been on my wishlist since I’ve been on Steepster. Thank you Green Terrace for the sample!

So I didn’t really know what to expect. I generally like oolong, and I have a love/hate relationship with milk. There are times when I really like it, and there are times when I really can’t stand it- and it’s not even like I’m lactose intolerant, well maybe a little, but it’s just the taste/texture. When I’m in a milk drinking mood, it’s almost always non-fat or whole, there’s just no in-betweens. So I’ve been in a ‘milk is OK’ run this week, so it was the best time to try this, I felt, just in case, you know? haha.

This is a light oolong, green and with a heavier mouthfeel. I think this is were others get the ‘milk’ texture. The heavier mouthfeel is denser and slightly creamy, but not in a fatty way. It’s a rather more green oolong than I’m used to. The taste is quite sweet and soothing. I can see why soo many people find milk oolongs addicting.

It doesn’t remind me of cow milk, or soy or but milk, or even milk candy. It’s mostly (for me) a textural phenomenon. But if I wasn’t tipped off by the name, I might not have associated it with milk at all. It would just be ‘awesome oolong’. =D

This tea EXPANDS. A LOT. I probably overleafed it. I used 1 tbs/12oz, but short steeps. I’ve gotten through 4 steeps of this one, and added to the other teas I’ve had this evening, I wonder if I’m ever going to go to sleep. The liquor with a short steep is quite green and bright. If you let it brew longer it deepens to a tan-green color. The liquor remains clear throughout the brews and sweet to taste.

This is the last of the samples Green Terrace sent me in exchange for reviews. I need to clean up the reviews before posting on their site, but I was glad to get the chance to try the teas. I definitely want to hit up their current sale too. Anyone have other recommendations? I’m thinking this one and Honey Black.

Really enjoyed this sample. Now on my wish list!

I really enjoyed this dark and rich tea this afternoon, and it also gave me a boost before a long walk on the beach with a couple of quite energetic pups. The second infusion was also tasty, and I intend to try a third, decaffeinated round right after dinner.

I received three generous samples from Green Terrace Teas a while back, and this was one of the two blacks. I’m not really sure why I did not select any oolongs, but I am definitely happy to have the opportunity to experience this delicious Li Shan Black tea!

Other reviewers have noted the similarity of this Taiwanese black to some of the China haute black teas, and I have to agree. The bready richness is here and a touch of sweetness, too. I hasten to add, however, that the sweetness is rather subdued, at least compared to something like Golden Monkey. In any case, this is a very tasty brew—the sort which I would never consider adulterating, and I’m a big fan of cream in lesser black teas, especially blends.

I just finished the second infusion, and it was just as good as the first. This tea tastes and looks and smells very familiar to me, and now I believe that it may be similar to the only other Taiwanese black tea that I ever tried before.

This is one of 3 free smapels I received from greem terrace. I was waiting until I had quiet time and no allergies to start sampling. This one surprised me with how delicious and logn lasting it is. I brewed it gonfu style (in a tiny western style pot). I was surprised by how vegetal and floral the dry leaves smelled. They traveled so far and tightly wrapped I thought they would have little aroma but they smelled like kale, Meyers lemon and something floral. The first brews 30 and 45 sec were a very light liquid with a fair amount of that kale scent. The taste also kale and kelp with some lemon. The leaves didn’t’ fully unfurl until brews 3-4 and then the milky flavor also started to develop with the lemon dropping out. Surprise is brews 5-6 were sweeter and a bit vanilla with cream then more of the florals which continued to develop. Brews 5-6 floral almost jasmine like with a hint of kale scent and still creamy and sweet. 7! and *! less creamy still sweet and floral. I had to do 9 to see and still an oolong scent and sweet flavor. I brewed a 10th and it still had some sweetness and overall green tea flavor but I had drunk so much tea by then I set it aside and I’ll do a second sampling soon to be sure. This is one very pleasant and long lasting milk oolong. Not as much milk/cream as some but I am loving the green floavor and scent!