Method: 1 tbsp, 8 oz, 200 degrees, 3 minutes, Forlife brew in mug strainer
Dry Leaf Aroma: malty and sweet
Flavor: Oh my. Something seems amiss because this is very bitter! This was the sample I was most looking forward to, but I had to add sugar to drink it. I know the temp was exact, and I also have a separate tea timer. I tried this at 2 min, 30 sec and it already had a tinge of bitterness, so I stopped it at 3 min, instead of the 4 I had originally intended. It’s good with sugar, but it lost the maltiness from the dry leaf aroma.
I appreciate the sample, but this one just wasn’t for me.
Update: it seems the brewing instructions on the website were more general, and not specific to this tea. GTT has offered to send me another sample, so I’ll try again. I’ve removed my numerical rating for now. :)
Preparation
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Wow, I wonder what happened. :( Everyone has been having such good experiences with Green Terrace’s teas…
I know! I tried an oolong yesterday. It was lovely. I still have the Eastern Beauty to try. I have high hopes for that one!
Maybe it should be a short steep black, I have a few that must be brewed like that.
I think you’re probably right, but I don’t have any more. :(
I did check the website for instructions, but I think this may have been better with only 1-2 minutes.
Don’t have any more, what? I have enough for like two more cups and I’ve already had two!
I went and looked at other ppl parameters . 1 tsp for 8 oz. if you were using 1 tbsp it had to be less than 3 min
I wouldn’t rate it.
boychik I wasn’t really able to measure this one since the leaves are big and fluffy. I don’t think a teaspoon would be enough with the amount of air in there…
Don’t want to scream at ya but 1 tbsp is gongfu method haha
And you should get scale, it’s not expensive and you don’t have to guess
Just my 2c
Not sure where you’re looking, but it says right here
http://www.greenterraceteas.com/pages/brewing-guide
Western Style, black tea, 3 grams (1 tbsp) 200 degrees, 3-4 min.
That’s what I did, and the review stands. :)
Oh and Cameron: They were very generous samples, but I brewed 2 cups for me and my BF this AM (actually I let it go the full 4 min). I was having such a terrible morning and I left the mug at home! I was so upset. So I only had enough to make one cup when I got home. :(
I’m sorry you are having a bad day. I said I looked at other people tasting notes. I rarely trust generic parameters fr companies. Sorry if my comment made you more upset
I’m not upset, that’s why I added a smiley face, so you’d know there aren’t any hard feelings, Boychik. I prefer when steeping parameters are on the package, but they weren’t here. So I went to the specific page for this tea on the GTT website. I didn’t see any info there, other than temp. So then I saw the link for their brewing parameters, and I went there for instructions.
I feel like a tea company SHOULD know the best way to steep all of their own teas. And to be honest, I don’t always have time or the inclination to check a bunch of different places for instructions, you know? If it’s not on the package, it should be on the tea page. I did the best I could with their instructions, and the tea was bitter. It is what it is.
That comment about scale was for Cameron. But I’m sending fr iphone so many times my reviews or comments are crooked. I only trust Stacy with her instructions. If you look at H&S website everything should be brewed 205F for 5 min.
A good scale cost me $8 at Amazon.com. Just do it! lol
Sarsonator – thanks for your honest feedback. It sounds like you definitely used too much leaf and oversteeped the tea. The samples sent were a total of 10g, so if you used all of the leaves for 2 cups, the recommended steeping time would only be 40-60 seconds. The brewing instructions on our website are general guidelines for steeping loose tea, and we take the blame for not being more specific. Generally, we always recommend our tea be brewed Gongfu style for the best taste. Per your feedback and the feedback of others, we will definitely work on providing more detailed brewing instructions for each tea and include it directly on the product page. Your review has been very helpful to us, but we don’t think a good tea should take the fall for our misguidance (we are sending you another sample as an apology). We hope you can try steeping this one Gongfu style for about 40 seconds, and adjust your review accordingly. Have a great day, and sorry you had a “bitter” morning!
That’s so nice Green Terrace Teas. Maybe it’s better not to have that general steeping page at all
Thanks, GTT! It was actually 3 cups from one sample. 2 cups in the AM, and one cup that I tried after work. I used 1tbsp for each cup. I’ll absolutely try again. Thanks for the offer! How much tea should I use in the Gaiwan?
Sorry you had a bad morning Sarsonator :-(
But very happy about GTT’S response, that’s great customer service! I will start tasting and reviewing my samples tomorrow, can’t wait.
Brewing gongfu-style, you typically want to fill up about 1/3 of the gaiwan with larger, strip-style leaves (this applies to our black, green, and eastern beauty teas). If you brew our oolong tea, which is semiball-rolled style, you will only need to add tea until you can’t see the bottom of the gaiwan (about 1/4 or less). For our Honey Black, try about 40 seconds for your first steeping, and then add 10-15 seconds to each subsequent steeping. You can of course add/subtract leaves or brewing time to suit your tastes. Our general brewing table is coming down, and we are adding specific brewing guidelines to each tea. Thanks again for all the great feedback!
TTF: thanks! I agree, GTT has been very helpful. I’m really looking forward to trying this tea again. :)
GTT: thanks so much for the additional tea and the instructions. I’ll update when I get the tea and try again. I am drinking your Eastern Beauty now. It’s really lovely, and I’ll be reviewing that soon. :)
Wow, I wonder what happened. :( Everyone has been having such good experiences with Green Terrace’s teas…
I know! I tried an oolong yesterday. It was lovely. I still have the Eastern Beauty to try. I have high hopes for that one!
Maybe it should be a short steep black, I have a few that must be brewed like that.
I think you’re probably right, but I don’t have any more. :(
I did check the website for instructions, but I think this may have been better with only 1-2 minutes.
Don’t have any more, what? I have enough for like two more cups and I’ve already had two!
I went and looked at other ppl parameters . 1 tsp for 8 oz. if you were using 1 tbsp it had to be less than 3 min
I wouldn’t rate it.
boychik I wasn’t really able to measure this one since the leaves are big and fluffy. I don’t think a teaspoon would be enough with the amount of air in there…
Don’t want to scream at ya but 1 tbsp is gongfu method haha
And you should get scale, it’s not expensive and you don’t have to guess
Just my 2c
Not sure where you’re looking, but it says right here
http://www.greenterraceteas.com/pages/brewing-guide
Western Style, black tea, 3 grams (1 tbsp) 200 degrees, 3-4 min.
That’s what I did, and the review stands. :)
Oh and Cameron: They were very generous samples, but I brewed 2 cups for me and my BF this AM (actually I let it go the full 4 min). I was having such a terrible morning and I left the mug at home! I was so upset. So I only had enough to make one cup when I got home. :(
I’m sorry you are having a bad day. I said I looked at other people tasting notes. I rarely trust generic parameters fr companies. Sorry if my comment made you more upset
I’m not upset, that’s why I added a smiley face, so you’d know there aren’t any hard feelings, Boychik. I prefer when steeping parameters are on the package, but they weren’t here. So I went to the specific page for this tea on the GTT website. I didn’t see any info there, other than temp. So then I saw the link for their brewing parameters, and I went there for instructions.
I feel like a tea company SHOULD know the best way to steep all of their own teas. And to be honest, I don’t always have time or the inclination to check a bunch of different places for instructions, you know? If it’s not on the package, it should be on the tea page. I did the best I could with their instructions, and the tea was bitter. It is what it is.
That comment about scale was for Cameron. But I’m sending fr iphone so many times my reviews or comments are crooked. I only trust Stacy with her instructions. If you look at H&S website everything should be brewed 205F for 5 min.
A good scale cost me $8 at Amazon.com. Just do it! lol
Sarsonator – thanks for your honest feedback. It sounds like you definitely used too much leaf and oversteeped the tea. The samples sent were a total of 10g, so if you used all of the leaves for 2 cups, the recommended steeping time would only be 40-60 seconds. The brewing instructions on our website are general guidelines for steeping loose tea, and we take the blame for not being more specific. Generally, we always recommend our tea be brewed Gongfu style for the best taste. Per your feedback and the feedback of others, we will definitely work on providing more detailed brewing instructions for each tea and include it directly on the product page. Your review has been very helpful to us, but we don’t think a good tea should take the fall for our misguidance (we are sending you another sample as an apology). We hope you can try steeping this one Gongfu style for about 40 seconds, and adjust your review accordingly. Have a great day, and sorry you had a “bitter” morning!
That’s so nice Green Terrace Teas. Maybe it’s better not to have that general steeping page at all
Thanks, GTT! It was actually 3 cups from one sample. 2 cups in the AM, and one cup that I tried after work. I used 1tbsp for each cup. I’ll absolutely try again. Thanks for the offer! How much tea should I use in the Gaiwan?
Sorry you had a bad morning Sarsonator :-(
But very happy about GTT’S response, that’s great customer service! I will start tasting and reviewing my samples tomorrow, can’t wait.
Brewing gongfu-style, you typically want to fill up about 1/3 of the gaiwan with larger, strip-style leaves (this applies to our black, green, and eastern beauty teas). If you brew our oolong tea, which is semiball-rolled style, you will only need to add tea until you can’t see the bottom of the gaiwan (about 1/4 or less). For our Honey Black, try about 40 seconds for your first steeping, and then add 10-15 seconds to each subsequent steeping. You can of course add/subtract leaves or brewing time to suit your tastes. Our general brewing table is coming down, and we are adding specific brewing guidelines to each tea. Thanks again for all the great feedback!
TTF: thanks! I agree, GTT has been very helpful. I’m really looking forward to trying this tea again. :)
GTT: thanks so much for the additional tea and the instructions. I’ll update when I get the tea and try again. I am drinking your Eastern Beauty now. It’s really lovely, and I’ll be reviewing that soon. :)