Whispering Pines Tea Company

I’m at the point now where I’m deciding which tea to drink because it’s literally hitting me on the head when I open my cupboard. This was the first decaf that came tumbling down, and thus I prepped it for drinking.

I underleafed this significantly based on what the website says (1/2 tb per 8 ounces) vs. what my package said (1 tsp per 8 ounces). As I always use the package instructions when steeping (if there are any), I went with 1 tsp – and it seems just peachy at that amount.

This tea reminds me of a hike in dense, moist, cooler underbrush like at Cathedral Grove on Vancouver Island, where I come to a clearing of cinnamon bushes. Seriously. That’s what this tea is to me.

There’s something spicy in there, and I had to double check that this wasn’t a chai initially, because it easily could be. Strong cinnamon flavor with spice, perhaps minty, green, almost pine-like, and then something sweet in there too. I can, and have, easily downed two cups of this unsweetened with CelebriTEA’s turkey tea cups she sent me, and will finish off this sample size with two more cups to go.

A lovely cool weather drink that reminds you how toasty it is inside while still appreciating the majestic outdoors.

Tea #25 from HHTTB2

Everything I’ve had from Whispering Pines has totally reminded me of nature and connecting to it and I LOVE it!

All the little safflower pieces in my infuser totally looked like reddy orange feathers floating on a pond in sunrise. It’s unbelievably pretty.

Safflower is the dominant flavor, with it’s savory but slightly sweet earthy flavor. The elderberries lend themselves to the tail of the sip, making it end on a lovely sweet-tart note. This is a really relaxing cup. Definitely a tranquil nighttime kind of blend.

this is very clever. brendan, if your goal is not just to blend a tea then i will state this one an absolute success.

let’s begin however, with what this is not: it is NOT graham crackers, marshmallows and chocolate in a tea.

what this is: a snapshot of someone(s) crouched by a campfire, the wind blowing slightly against their favour, trying to pull the roasted marshmallows off their roasting stick without blistering their fingers (they escape mostly unburned, lol).

layers. i really can’t wrap my brain around how you accomplished them.

-i get heat and smoke. they are SEPARATE. and the smoke is not a souchong source. by diagnosis of my tongue it is campfire smoke. the warmth is distinct but seems not to be coming from a spice.

-cinnamon and a cookie qualifier are there… they chime in after the smoke and i would count as layer 2.

-layer 3 is fruit, although very distant and not nameable…. at least not in this first steep.

-4 a softness is beginning to start which i believe will end up as marshmallow.

i don’t know if this is the order that you put them down in, but this is how they manifest for me.

this is an impressive accomplishment. this is less a tea and more a stillframe. and this coming from someone who does NOT particularly favour smoke in tea.

i did amend my methodology given that you are so beautifully purist in your blending brendan: i overleafed (1.5 tbsp) for my 12 oz mug and 2) i used 1 tbsp of coconut sugar. i think the effect is brilliant.

as it cools the warmth is still there, the smoke is SWEETENING, but a charcoal element in also settling in. very, very nicely done.

so if this tea is a memory for you…. let me ask: did your fingers get burned? or was my tongue off? =0)

thanks to MissB for this excellent adventure!

Thanks to MissB for this tidbit!

this is an unusual incarnation of a mint chocolate chip blend ;0)

okay, i cheated, i peeked at the ingredients, which (because i cheated) revealed absolutely nothing! mint is a given, chocolate too, there would be issues with my palate if i didn’t notice the tea…. but i’m getting citrus! there’s no reason to think the ingredients are other than as listed…. there are lemon breeds of peppermint, sage too for that matter. you can also have one crop affect another by proximity to something like lemon balm or lemon thyme.

the citrus note is neat! very unusual! i FOLLOWED THE DIRECTIONS for the first steep (yeah, yeah— pick your jaws up off the floor, lol) but next time round i think i’d prefer a longer steep.

no numbers til it sits on the counter for 4.5 instead of 3. ;0P

Thank you Brenden for this sample tea!

I prepared this tea as Brenden recommended using 1 TB in a Gaiwan. The steep time was what I’d call immediate. Glad I had a nice little strainer to catch the pine needles that tried to escape.

There wasn’t a mention of what the green tea was, but when I tasted the tea, my mouth told my brain that the pine and tea was similar to the taste of a very good jasmine silver needle.

I’ve tasted some rather dull silver needles that have a dusky, murky flavor and that isn’t what this was.

You can almost sense a light effervescence.

There’s always something mesmerizing about this type of tea that takes me back to my childhood camping trips.

We camped less than two hours from home along the California Coast at Big Sur State Park http://www.bigsurcalifornia.org/images2/McWayFalls1.jpg . There were streams to swim and fish with huge boulders and deep pools of clear water which smelled fresh. This water, pine and rock scent is what I associate with tea like Sleeping Bear Blend.
The Ponderosa Pine, Redwood trees, Cypress and Oak created an earthy perfume that I associate with Puerh. Campfires at night, bacon and eggs over the woodfire in the morning…that’s my Lapsang Souchong tea frame of reference.

So much about drinking tea is also about memories and about how the tea makes you feel as a whole person.

I shared some of this tea in a tasting with my friend Eric the scientist (who likes to take tea into the mountains to drink when the weather is nice).
He loved it.
Thought the use of pine needles was brilliant.
This approval came from a plant nerd and is high praise indeed. (Eric likes to nibble plants that only he can identify while walking through the forest)

Lovely tea Brenden!

I’m, umm, not even going to put this one in my cupboard. The rest of the sample will go to my mom and brother. Thanks, Dexter3657, for sharing. :)

Interestingly, even with a 5 minute steep, the leaves are still fairly tightly curled. I wonder how long it would take for them to look like leaves..?

Smells like burnt chocolate dirt pie. It’s a flavour in tea that I just can’t wrap my head around, and I really can’t stand. I know other people like it, and more power to you if you do!

I’ve had two sips. I can’t drink this tea. If you like those dark roasty chocolatey earthy teas then you might like this one. I’m going to have to pass.

The Inspiration
Our goal for this blend was to create a unique synthesis of complex flavors reminiscent of all the hidden wonders in the deep forest — a chai for all the wonderers, adventurers, and naturalists!

Woodland Chai has layers upon layers of complexity created with a fantastic malty blend of premium black and oolong base teas. This flavor fusion is achieved with creamy, cocoa, and sugarcane notes from our Yunnan Bi Luo Chun Black Tea, spun together with our dark chocolaty Fujian Black Tea before finally being completed with a brandy oolong carrying barley and heavy apple notes. Steeped, this tea has the aroma of fresh baked apple pie and spiced hot chocolate! The base tea takes the stage as the perfect blend of organic spices form a beautiful background nuanced with warm peppercorn, sweet safflower, and earthy spicy holy basil.

This chai is best in its natural state — enjoyed plain without milk or sweetener. I would recommend enjoying this chai inside on a cold winter day or sipping it from a thermos on an early morning springtime walk through a deep deciduous forest.

Notes
Apple
Fruity
Malt
Cocoa
Creamy
Sugarcane
Earthy Sweetness
Floral Warmth
Balanced Spice

How to brew the perfect cup:
Steep 1 tablespoon of leaves
in 8 ounces of boiling water
for 5 minutes.

2nd infusion: 5 minutes
3rd infusion: 7 minutes
4th infusion: 10 minutes

Ingredients
Black Tea
Oolong Tea
Organic Ginger
Organic Cardamom
Organic Cinnamon
Black Peppercorn
Organic Cloves
Organic Holy Basil
Safflower

Caffeine Content
Medium

http://whisperingpinestea.com/woodlandchai.html

Had a huge mug of this tonight. For some reason, it felt like it stripped my teeth of enamel in a very slight yet significant way. Still tasty, and perhaps I brewed it incorrectly somehow.

Had another cup of this later last night, and really enjoyed it as well, although I do prefer it hot over cooled.

Another cup of this the other night when Steepster first started going AWOL and refused to let me do much of anything. It really, truly does taste like a ginger snap to me – other than maybe the ‘snap’ part (I say this laughingly, as really, it’s tea). The lower steep temp definitely brought out the flavors a bit more. I think I may have to leave my kettle at 200F!

Steeped this one about 18 minutes; have to say I like it a lot more at the five minute mark, where the rooibos flavor disappears.

Even from the first sip, I get crisp ginger snaps in this blend, even with zero sweetener. A wonderful treat, and probably why this is my second order of it.

This is another sample from Brenden at Whispering Pines, and with my ginger-y, medicinal tea kick today, I thought this was my most appropriate choice before bed.

As it brewed, I thought to myself: there is no way this can actually taste like a ginger snap. I mean… there’s a certain feel to ginger snaps, so MissB, don’t get your hopes up!

Well, I should’ve gotten my hopes up. This is delicious, and even my youngest (who adores ginger snaps) said this was yummy. It has the same spice, bite, and breadiness of a ginger snap, and now I really want one…

No idea why this wasn’t in my cupboard; it’s one of those teas I “need”. Right now, it’s helping me fend off a tooth infection until I can get to the dentist. Swishing with this, and some oil (oil pulling, look it up) has made a world of difference.

Steeped this all night, downed it this morning, trying to fight off a tickle in my throat.

This is THE tea from WP that I’d order in ridiculous amounts, and it was never enough. I could drink it every day, it’s spicy and rough and tumble, blunt, this-is-how-it-is tea. In your face tea. I AM IN CHARGE TEA! I own you, tea. Yes, I love this stuff, because it’s so akin to my personality (which is to say, a bit abrasive with a lot of spice and passion).

This version of the tea (which I ordered prior to my six month exploration of Europe, but it only got here after I left) is VERY different to the versions I’ve had in the past. This version, and I don’t know what’s changed, is dark, dark purple, almost black. It tastes strongly of molasses and little else. I still drink it, I still feel amazeballs, but it’s less — me — than it was in the past.

A few cups of this tonight has definitely helped, as I try to rid my bedroom of bedbugs.

How did I get them? Zero idea. No one else has them in the house, just like when lice makes the rounds… I’m the only one who gets it. Sigh. Of course, the bites took over for a day or two, so I bought out the big guns: spray, some sort of earth I need to learn how to spell and write, new bed bug covers for all beds and pillows, bleach wipes, steam mop. Somewhere along the line, I inhaled and/or ingested some of the spray, called Poison Control, was told what I’d grabbed was the least offensive of the sprays available, and that I was likely allergic to the base of the spray — of all things, chrysanthemum. Cool!

So I drank a crapload of tea (of course, Clari Tea to the rescue!) had a really hot, long shower, and will be sleeping in the living room tonight while the fumes dissipate.

So, lovely Steepsterites — have I missed anything? Any suggestions?

Gosh I’ve missed Drop Dead Diva, my junk-food-for-the-brain TV fix. This tea went along with it beautifully!

Had several cups of this last night, and now another today. Every cup has varied considerably, although this one was steeped for close to an hour, it’s my favorite of the group so far. Still less gingery than the last batch, but I’m okay with that. :)

Reached for this last night as I’ve been feeling… off. Like I have a migraine and the stomach flu coupled with that-time-of-the-month crampiness. It’s a very weird body-place to be! Clari Tea always makes me feel better, so I brewed some. Still have some left over today (was too sloshy to drink more last night) and it’s less biting than normal, yet still really tasty. I will always have this in my cupboard.

This version, or bag, is brewing up much darker and thicker than my last one… and this is a good thing. I still love it, I have yet to mess this up no matter how I steep it, it’s just a solid, mildly spicy, sweet herbal that makes me feel like a million bucks if I’m feeling under the weather.

Yay! I have some again! So happy. :) The cup is already gone though, even though I just made it. I’ve really missed you, ClariTea. :)

A sad sipdown, however I have 4 ounces on their way, so really it’s very temporary. Gosh I love this stuff, especially to kick my immune system into gear when I’m fighting something. I wish I could portal some to all of you also under the weather!

Have a tremendous amount more of this coming because I love it so, so I decided to stop hoarding and drink a cup tonight. So yummy!