Green Terrace Teas

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.

I just have a sample of this, and I’m disappointed that now the smallest size it’s available in is 15og that I will not be getting. Too much tea.

Ah well.

I like this tea. Floral. Creamy. Buttery. Sweet. Tasty.

I’m trying to battle the sore throat that has come from out of nowhere, and this seemed like it might help. Not sure that it is, but hey, it tastes good.

I ordered a sample a while back at the 50% off sale, and I’m just getting around to trying it.

This tea is quite nice. Just the right amount of malty. It does taste like honey. Yum.

Had this as my first cup of the day and I found it pretty unremarkable. There’s a nice floral note on the nose, but I’m not getting any distinctive flavours on the palate. Maybe a hint of butter right on the finish, but even that is kind of muddled.

Backlog:

This was the first of the teas that I sampled from Green Terrace and what an amazing introduction to this company.

A delightful peach note – sweet! – and a sharp floral note. A soft mouthfeel. Earth and wood. Very little astringency to my first cup (infusions 1 and 2, combined).

I got six wonderfully flavorful infusions out of this tea, please read more about them here: http://sororiteasisters.com/2014/07/10/eastern-beauty-oolong-tea-from-green-terrace-teas/

This is a really delightful oolong, I wasn’t expecting too much from it based on the smell of the dry leaf, which had some malt and roasty notes, and a touch of dry autumn leaf smell, but it’s actually quite complex.

There’s a strong baked bread note, with a bit of honey, which are flavours I’ve been really enjoying in tea lately. Also some floral jasmine and fruity notes, primarily apricot and plum. There’s a wee bit of tang on the finish that’s more vegetal than astringent. I steeped my first cup for 3.5 min.

Steeping the leaves a second time for 4.5min, I’m getting an amazing scent of orange blossoms, jasmine and baked bread from the leaves. The second cup wasn’t nearly as amazing as the first to drink – still bready but a lot of the nuances didn’t make it through to the second steep.

Still, really beautiful and enjoyable.

I got a sample of this tea - LOVED IT! Many steeps, subtle and floral.

Oh my god, I’m excited for this tea. After having Green Terrace’s amazing Li Shan black the other day, I just had to dig into this.

The dry leaf is tightly rolled into small green pellets and doesn’t smell like much, but steeped, the bready, sweet notes that I loved in the black are coming out, along with some nice floral notes.

Now that this has cooled enough to drink, I’m quite enjoying it. Some of the bready notes come through on the palate, along with a bit of vegetal tang, but the dominant note is a really lovely floral, complimented by just a hint of astringency. Reminiscent of jasmine and even a bit of lavender.

The start of the sip isn’t super great – it has a bit of that under-leafed hot water taste when it first hits my tongue, but the flavour and complexity build quickly, and the finish is quite powerful. I’m not sure that I’d actually want to add more leaf or more time to this.

Second steep was very similar. A bit heavier on the bread and lighter on the floral.

I sipped this down recently and I’m so sad it’s gone now. The dominant flavours are cinnamon and squash, with some malt and cocoa richness.

I feel like this would be the perfect base for making a really good pumpkin spice tea, except that it’s almost too good on its own to adulterate with flavours.

If this is still available with the same flavour profile I may need to cave and place a Greenterrace order sometime in the not too distant future.

This is one of my all time favourite black teas. Today I’m preparing it gong fu for the first time.

2g into my 50ml gaiwan. Heated my kettle to 96C.

The fragrance is roasty and sweet.

The first steep is rich, buttery cinnamon squash with brown sugar and hints of malt. The brown sugar lingers on the finish, leaving a sweet, coated mouth feel.

Second steep, the bread notes come to the forefront – this is the most bread tasting cup I’ve ever had of any tea. There’s still cinnamon and squash present.

By the third steep, the squash is forefront, and the sugar and cinnamon have faded out a bit.

Fourth steep I only got a tiny sip of, as I knocked over my gaiwan.

I managed a fifth steep, but these leaves are too close to spent to bother with any more.

I’m really happy that I finally have a good system and tools for doing gong fu tea preparation in a way that is enjoyable and relaxing. I’ve mostly avoided it because it felt like a lot of work. Now, I have my tiny 50ml gaiwan, my tea and aroma cup set, my teaboat and chahai. I heat my kettle to my desired temperature, and then just take it off the heat and let the water cool for subsequent steeps. I don’t seriously time any of my steeps.

I’ve been getting lots of delicious tea and a much more enjoyable experience this way.

I don’t usually resteep leaves, but this is so delicious and I have precious little left, and I like it enough to drink two cups in the same day.

And omg, so glad that I did.

Second steep is all squash baked with butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Amazing!

I never thought that a western style resteep would grab me this much but damn, this makes me want to order more even more than I already do.

This steep has a lighter body and feels a bit thinner than the first, but the flavour is still outstanding.

Edit: Okay, I just placed the association this cup has been giving me. I’m not sure exactly why or what it is about this, but this cup tastes like shopping at IKEA. I’m fairly certain that doesn’t make any sense to anyone but me, but there it is.

Green Terrace has a 15% off sale at the moment, so I decided to revisit this to figure out if I really need more right now.

This tea is incredible. Very smooth. Sweet, malty, with notes of cinnamon, coriander, nutmeg and honey, sweet potato and baked bread. I’ve never had a straight black tea with so many beautiful spice notes in it before – this is really unique and delicious.

I really want to order more of this right now – I only have a couple of cups left, though I’m just not sure I can justify over $40 for 100g of tea right now. The terrible exchange rate effectively wipes out the savings from the sale :(

Oh this is delicious! It’s light, malty, bready and sweet. I love it. I could see this being a go to black tea.

This deserves a better tasting note, but I just want to say how fabulous it is so I remember to try it again sooooon!

From the Lewis and Clark TTB.

Brewed gongfu-style with gaiwan. 5 second rinse. Steeping times: 5, 5, 5, 5, 10, 10, 10, 10, 30, 60.

The wet leaf offers a buttery and floral aroma. The liquor is pale yellow, clear, thin in texture, and medium-bodied. Not a complex flavor profile. The main note is flowers in most of the infusions – it seemed like I was drinking their fragrances. Towards the end of the session, the texture is a little creamier, and I taste a little less floral and more mineral, with a peach and apricot aftertaste.

Nice cup of tea. I like it better than the Honey Black tea made by the same company. A little bit more complex.

This is a pretty mild tea for a black tea. I thought I would like it more based on all the favorable reviews, but it didn’t make a strong impression on me. Not sure I am crazy about tea that tastes of sweet potato.

So I was supposed to get extra samples with my last order from Green Terrace Teas because they didn’t have the gongfu teapot available that I ordered. And then there weren’t any samples included with my order. Oops. So they sent a few samples later. This was one of them, in fact the only sample of their teas that was included that I hadn’t already had.

But I’m really glad they included it.

I’m having a lazy, blah kind of day. I have a bit of a sinus headache and I have this horrible knot in my neck/shoulder. So I’m not accomplishing much of anything. I’m even lazy in my brewing and did this in my ForLife mug western style.

It’s actually quite good this way.

This tea is pretty sweet without being over the top. I was expecting at least a touch roasty, but I didn’t get that at all. Not really floral, either. Sweet, maybe fruity.

A second infusion. I forget to set my timer. Oops. I’m really not sure how long this steeped for. At all. AT least five minutes, probably a lot longer, more like 10 to even 15.

It’s not ruined at all. Now it tastes kind of apple-y. Still sweet. Not bitter like I expected. I’m actually getting a little bit of the roasty now, too. I like this.

I was going to wait a while to dig into my Green Terrace teas, as the sample sizes don’t come in resealable packaging, and I’m still waiting on my resealable bags. But I was feeling in need of a new black tea and this one looked very tempting.

The dry leaf smells amazing. It’s very fruity, with notes of plum and raisin and other dried fruits. The leaf is long, dark and twisted.

Steeped, the leaves are whole and almost two inches long, with a few twigs. It smells very fruit, in that rich, dried autumn fruit way.

It’s quite pleasantly sweet. There are notes of raisins, plum, honey and baked bread. The finish is nice and malty. Body is middle of the road – not thin but not too thick, a bit creamy and no astringency.

This isn’t a remarkable tea but it is very nice and quite tasty.

Queued post, written July 24th 2014

It’s a heatwave and I’m drinking hot tea? Why??? Well, caffeine really. I do the occasional cold brew of stuff, but I have to say in general iced tea leaves me… well, cold. Just not in the desired way. Tea should be drunk hot. It is, for me, the natural state of tea. Cold tea can be all well and good, but it’s just not something that I want.

So I’m having hot tea now. In a heatwave. A normal person would go and have a glass of Ribena instead, but apparently I can only take normality so far.

Another reason is that I’ve still got this box of untried things to empty. I’m down to only eight things in it, not counting this oolong I’m having now. I need to empty it so that I can be allowed to buy new stuff, and for the longest time I’ve been annoyed by the lack of dark oolongs in my possession. The cup of tea that I want the very most right now is Da Hong Pao. But I haven’t got any. And I’m not allowed to get any.

Yet!

So onwards with the box emptying.

This is the last of the three samples that Green Tea Terrace sent me. I didn’t choose this one myself. I said I would like to try an oolong, but as they were all greenish types so far as I could tell, I said I had no idea where to even begin. I said the one or two that I had tried before, and asked them to choose something for me that wasn’t too floral. This is what I won.

The aroma of it is indeed not very floral. Again, and I’m beginning to suspect that this might be a Taiwan characteristic in general, I’m getting a fair bit honey notes from it and also a little bit of milk.

The flavour also has a large honey note, which I immediately decided I liked very much indeed. It really is mostly a honey-y tea, with a leafy sort of note to the aftertaste. The GTT descriptions mentions notes of jasmine and lily, which under other circumstances would have made me disregard it completely as I really don’t like jasmine scented things much at all. In this, however, I can’t actually find any of these floral notes at all. For me, this is a big win.

I found I quite enjoyed this, and it makes me more curious about the greener oolongs. I’ve never been hugely interested in green or white teas in general (save for the occasional ambition to learn more about them which would always pass again relatively quickly) and greenish oolongs tended to fall to that same side of the spectrum. I just couldn’t tell them apart at all. Not the way I’ve learned to do with black teas. I reckon this is probably a question of gaining a lot of experience, but in order to gain experience you have to have an pre-existing amount of interest which has turned out to be much more difficult to achieve. I can’t say that this particular tea has sparked such an interest in me, but I can say that I’ve now become interested in seeing if it could. :)