Green Terrace Teas

This Bi Luo Chun is from Taiwan so it is a little different from one for the mainland of China. It is dryer dark green leaves. That doesn’t stop it from being smooth and soft in the mouth. It has a bit of a vegetable taste and finishes dry in the mouth. Not harsh at all and very relaxing of a drink

Thanks to Green Terrace Teas for the free shipping code! :)

I am quite liking this tea! I don’t have much experience with oolongs, but I have to say that this one has flavours I like. It’s a little green, a little like buttered corn, a little spinachy, and floral. I’ve been sipping on it as it cools, then making another cup.

The first steep at 1 minute was very buttery and very light.

The second steep at 2 minutes smells a little spinachy and very sweet like lilacs, and tastes quite creamy.

The third steep at 2 minutes is very similar to the second. I could probably get more steeps out of this, but instead I am focusing on making cookies and popsicles. :)

Do you have a tea in your cupboard that’s so good it’s a special occasion tea? And you hardly ever get to drink it because it’s that good? This is one of those teas and I resolve to just drink down my good oolongs. Having this in the morning because I never seem to fit oolongs in for afternoon.

I just brewed this Western style this morning. No fuss and took in the aroma and taste of the beautiful floral buttery oolong. Mmmmmmmm. It was nice after doing some Rodney Yee Yoga. I like his calm voice (and he’s not bad looking either!) but he sometimes rushes the yoga moves too much.

I’ve already left a review on this one but am enjoying it this snowy afternoon. A wonderful floral oolong to dream of spring flowers. Today is groundhog day and I can’t believe they got Wiarton Willie out on a day like this. So it’s supposed to be an early spring but two other groundhogs say 6 more weeks. Hope Wiarton Willie is right.

This is a wonderful light oolong. Floral with fruity notes (melon). Only slightly astringent. 3 infusions brewed at 30s, 45s, & 60s. I like the first two infusions better. I think 60s was a bit too much as it give it too much punch. I like my oolongs very light. I think I will try a little more of this later in the day. In my tiny yixing teapot, the leaves were still uncurling with the 2nd and 3rd infusion so there’s lots of flavour left there.

After my really EXCELLENT experience with the Li Shan Black from Green Terrance, I was really looking forward to this tea. Sadly, I did not have a good experience. I tried it first gong fu @ 200F 30/30/1:00/1:30/2 and at first thought I would really enjoy it as it had a gorgeous peach-apricot aroma. Sadly, on tasting each steep was really bitter until the 5th when there wasn’t much left but a hay flavor.

I had enough (the samples are REALLY generous) to do a western style cup, so I tried a tablespoon in 10 ounces of 200F water. It wasn’t bitter this way, but tasted odd and I didn’t finish the cup.

I’m wondering if I got a flawed sample. I’m going to refrain from giving this a numerical rating.

This is such a unique tea! I don’t think I’ve tried anything like it before. The first thing I notice is how rich and dark it is. With just one sip, I notice thick and heavy notes of molasses. I’m reminded instantly of a gingerbread cake – soft, sweet and so distinct. This tea would be absolutely perfect for an evening cup during the holiday season. It really does bring to mind gooey, sticky, dripping molasses. Other cups I’ve had bring to mind a dark honey with stone fruits. I personally have to be in the mood for a tea like this as it’s so deeply specific, but it is very much a beauty. Many thanks to Green Terrace Teas for a sample. This has been a real treat to try!

Li Shan Black is the first of three samples I received from Green Terrace Teas to review. I am out of town visiting my sisters this weekend and while I had tea, I didn’t have the hardware to brew gong fu style as recommended by Green Terrace. So I improvised.

Using a Fiesta Ware cream pitcher, a strainer and some custard cups, my sisters and I had an impromptu session with this tea.

A sniff of the dry leaf in the bag is a big malty, fruity nose-bomb. As these are two of my favorite things in a tea, I was hopeful the brewed tea would taste the way it smells and it did not disappoint.

Using just-off boiling water, we started with 1 minute steeps increasing 30 seconds and went through 5 steeps.

The first steep was malty, with honey-rose scent and a flavor we all likened to apricots. Subsequent steeps continued to provide a sweet, smooth ride. There is no astringency here, just an extremely balanced sweet and fruity medium-bodied cup.

More (including the song) on my blog at: http://atasteofmzpriss.wordpress.com/2014/07/27/li-shan-black-tea-green-terrace-teas/

Finally broke down on this crazy restrictive diet and said I’m having a tea or else I’ll blow the whole diet and have something else. So a tea it was. Brewed this in my teeny tiny yixing teapot. At least with the pot being so tiny, it reduces the amount of caffeine I’ll be getting. I remember getting this teapot and thinking “You’ve got to be kidding!”. Now I think I prefer super tiny pots!

I brewed for 30 sec on the first steeping. Noticed the wonderful floral notes. My breathing is getting a bit better from the diet so I’m smelling and tasting more. Although I smelled floral notes, nothing came through floral in the taste. This oolong is very clean, clear tasting oolong. That may sound contradictory since it also has a buttery, milky flavour. It’s a bit lighter than other milk oolongs I’ve had. I noticed from other reviews that most prefer a heavier milky taste & aroma with milk oolongs but I think this one has it’s place depending on what you prefer or feel like.

2nd & 3rd infusions were still good at 45 sec each. The milky , buttery flavour seemed lighter.
I think next time I have this tea, I might play around a bit with the steep times to see what different tastes come out.

What a piece of heaven in my day. Since it’s been awhile since I’ve had a cup of anything but peppermint or rooibos, it tastes like heaven to me. I think this tea has make me calmer instead of feeling a rush of caffeine.

I’ve never had a Roasted Dong Ding Oolong before. I always see them on websites but I figure I have enough roasted oolongs as it is.
Since this was a sample option I figured now would be a good time to try.
Even though it was expected I still felt glad to see/taste that this one wasn’t floral or vegetable at all! XD Definitely roasty!
Since I haven’t had many other Dong Ding Oolongs to compare it to I can’t really rate it. It’s not bad. Definitely roast-y. Definitely my favorite out of the three samples.
Thanks so much for the free samples, Green Terrace Teas! ^^

So I know I started out with drinking oolongs wrong when i first got into tea. My dad has a worker in China who has stayed at our house a few times over the years. She always used to just put a bunch of tea leaves in her cup and then keep adding water. Over-steeping did not exist in her world. And neither did it in mine till I found this forum. xD
Sometimes I like to still be a bad tea drinker and drink tea like that, without a strainer. I’ve been tempted to do that with these Green Terrace Teas. They are too light for me it feels like. Perhaps I am used to drinking strong and sometimes bitter oolongs, so when I drink the vegetable, floral kinds they’re too light for me.
The steeping time on Steepster says a minute, but after doing it for a minute I wanted it to be stronger so I steeped it for a bit longer.
Was hoping for a stronger Li Shan like I’ve had in the past but like the other sample I tried it’s light and floral-y. I mean, it is a bit stronger than the other of course. But not strong enough for me I suppose.
I’m hard on teas. :P

My last sample from Green Terrace Teas.

Method: gongfu session with gaiwan. 5 second rinse. Steeping times: 5, 5, 10, 15, 20, 30, 45, 60.

The aroma of the dry leaf is like a freshly baked pie with an unusual mix of fruits, which I picked out in the following order: plums, Granny Smith apples, lemons, limes, and orange rinds. The wet leaf aroma is sweet with just a hint of tartness, and is dominated by plums and apples. It’s as if the leaves were asserting, “I’m a FRUIT.” Speaking of the leaves themselves, they’re surprisingly smaller, and their colors are interesting and lovely when they’re completely unrolled. Many of them are army green with rusted red patches.

By golly, what a liquor! The color of white grape juice, it is smooth, medium-bodied, bright, and energetic. I can taste every fruity note I got a whiff of and even a hint of lavender. And it’s so incredibly sweet that the sweetness clings for minutes and minutes after the last sip of each cup.

This tea is one of those that gets one thinking, “Is this really tea??” Wow, so sweet. Very fruit. I am happy to have saved this one for last. I’ve never had a Gui Fei oolong before let alone even heard of it, and although I have no other Gui Fei’s to compare this one to, I still think it’s amazing. I just finished the last infusion at this moment and I feel energized!! A final and a very big thank you to Green Terrace Teas!

Finally getting around to trying these samples. Only took me forever. But I’m doin’ it!
I’ve always wanted to try a Four Seasons oolong. Teavana had one that I’d been interested in, but I didn’t wanna spent like 17 bucks on tea that I don’t even know I’ll like. xD
So when I saw that this Four Seasons was a sample I figured I’d try it, so I can maybe get an idea of what other Four Seasons oolongs might taste like…
I don’t know what I was expecting from this tea, but the initial veggie flavor didn’t really thrill me too much. But as I continued to drink a floral, almost jasmine taste came out. Which was quite nice.
I think I’m mainly just used to roasted oolongs than veggie/floral kind, so this one seemed weird to me. Glad I tried it though!
Thanks for the samples, Green Terrace Teas! :D

This is my last sample from GTT.
I love it . Super tasty
Gongfu
4g 100 ml gaiwan 200F
Rinse/10/15/15/20/20/30 etc
This tea is so flavorful, smell is amazing. Plums, longan, honey and chestnut( I think) or some kind of other nuts(?)
Delicious. Lingering aftertaste long after finish my tea.
I am so glad being able to try, thank you so much Green Terrace Tea.

The scent of this tea reminds me of buttered corn. It smells very rich and creamy! I can’t wait to see what this one tastes like… always eager to try a new milk oolong!

Sipping… this is so weird, but what I’m tasting is really buttered corn. It has that rich sweetness that corn kernels have, but a nice buttery background as well. What I like about it is that it’s on the sweeter end of things and not the savory. It’s not sugary like some other milk oolongs out there, but still retains enough of that sweetness to make the cup delicious. The entire sip is smooth and gentle. This is really tasty. I wouldn’t say that this is my favorite milk oolong in the world, but it’s buttery, unique and very enjoyable.

Thank you so much, Green Terrace Teas for a sample of this tea!

oh yeah… there’s a reason this one is on my wishlist. Must make a purchase! Thanks you kimquat for sending this one my way and letting me revisit it. Still love it, still want it. noms!

GCTTB

I pulled this one out of the box to try today because it’s been a while since i had it and i wanted to see if my first experience with this one was repeatable. Turns out, it was. This is an excellent tea from GTT and one that need to go on my wish list now for a future purchase! Honey notes are really tasty in this one!

this was another sample from the Green Terrace teas and the one i was most looking forward to. Let me tell you, THIS is where it’s at. I much prefer this one to the honey black. While the honey black is nice, this one is much more bold in it’s deliciouness! matly cocoa, sweet delicious cup of yum. I’ve only done one steep, but i’ll be resteeping this so wee what happens with the other steepings.

thank you again green terrace teas! love this!

This is the second bitten-leaf tea I tried from Green Terrace, and I loved the other, Eastern Beauty, rating it one of the best teas I’ve had. Not so much a fan of this one, though. Brewed aroma is a nice honeysuckle that somewhat carries through to the flavor, however I am finding the flavor to be somewhat thin. Plus it has a fair amount of astringency.

Writing this review in exchange for Green Terrace’s “Tea for Reviews” sample offer, so I regret not being able to write a more positive review but have to be straight with my fellow Steeps. I did also love the 3rd sample I tried, Li Shan Black, review forthcoming, so overall I am definitely glad to have had the sampling opportunity from Green Terrace.

Thank you so much for sending me a generous sample of this, Green Terrace Teas.

Method: Gongfu session with gaiwan. 2 second rinse. Steeping times: 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 45, 60.

The dry leaf aroma naturally smells roasted, and I also caught candied caramel. After the rinse, the aroma drastically changed – toasted rice, kale, grilled zucchini, and – after the leaves aired in the bowl a bit – banana chips. The wet leaf aroma was different following the fifth infusion: a mixed juice, or maybe fruit salad, with strawberry, banana, and blueberry.

The liquor throughout the session was light gold and full-bodied, and had a wonderfully silky smooth texture. This is one of those teas you just have to let sit in your mouth. There are mostly notes of cooked dark green vegetables, notably collard greens and kale. Underneath these notes was a fruity sweetness – specifically banana at some point. Towards the end of session, when the leaves were beginning to give, the fruit disappeared and a floral quality took over.

This is my first Dong Ding oolong ever. I’ve had very good experience with it. I tend to be most affected by an oolong between the second and fourth infusions, during which, for this one, I felt like one of Dali’s melted clocks (I originally thought melted chocolate but that brings up a totally different taste when one thinks of roasted vegetables). My rating is based not on my experience – rather, lack of experience – with Dong Ding but instead on my overall impression with this individual one.

Argh. Steepster ate my review.

I’ve been steeping this grandpa style all day. Let me walk you through the progression: Honey, sweet black, apricot, plum, malt…. at this point of the day I added some actual honey and it was sweet honey black the rest of the afternoon.

This tea makes me honey obsessed. I’ve been looking up teas with ‘honey’ in the name with the search bar. Any recommendations?

Thank you Green Terrace for this sample!

Today was not such a good day for me. I was having such horrible abdominal cramps that I actually left work early, I think it was probably a food reaction. Either that or I’ll be having a very unpleasant week. I came home and napped the afternoon away and then woke up to make tea. =)

Usually the honey tea I’m familiar with is from Milk tea shops. In which case I doubt it has the same type of ‘honey tea’, usually I think of it more along the lines of milk tea+honey+tapioca pearls.

Color me very surprised when this tea brewed actually reminded me of that taste, although thankfully without the sweetness. I set to brewing it, and then forgot about it for awhile as I took out the trash and watered the plants. I brewed at about 190*, which is lower than normal for a black tea, but the result was a really smooth and beautiful light black tea with honey notes. A touch of floral and a touch of creaminess was laced throughout the sip and it wasn’t at all drying. I’m really glad this is a pretty big sample, but even if it wasn’t, this would be on my ‘buy’ list. I can’t wait to try the other two samples.

The last of my samples, another Green Terrace chose for me. It smells nicely floral (maybe orchids). The flavour is light, buttery, and green. Teas like this are trying to make me prefer green oolongs (which I do like, but usually after lunch.)