Whispering Pines Tea Company

I had this last night and had to have it again today because it is awesome. This is the redesigned version of the tea, which was redone last month (other notes are months old).

Both times I have steeped it at 3 minutes. For me this is like the nice sweet spot for breakfast teas. With this tea, it means not even needing a splash of milk at all.

It’s slightly malty and sweet, with some nuttiness to it too. It’s bold, but not too in your face. No astringency at all.

Now to just actually have it in the morning. I’m struggling to get through this day so a little boost of caffeine now is just right.

Ok I can’t find this on the website so I guess it is no longer around.

It looks like it’s gunpowder with peppercorn, and it tastes like that too. I steeped it twice this morning and it was just really easy to drink. A little smoky, as you’d expect from its name I guess, but very mild.

It also had a bit of fruitiness to it, and I quite enjoyed it.

I went a little crazy and used coconut milk creamer instead of regular milk. After the fact I realize it was silly but it was going to go to waste. I think it covered a lot of the flavor of the tea.

I made a big mug full. When I was straining, the smell of peppermint was nice and strong.

My method resulted in a pretty creamy cup so I can’t say too much, but I did drink it all anyway. Just a little spice, could still taste some black tea, but the peppermint was definitely there.

Next time…the stuff that is considered milk instead, haha.

I really enjoyed this tea, I know I did. Trouble is, I opened this sample the other night when I was really really not feeling good.

Here’s what I do know: I strained one cup off for the bf but left the ‘bits’ floating in mine. This was Brenden’s suggestion and I liked it. Camomile flowers are awesome all waterlogged and juicy, they kinda burst like teensie sweet little teapods when you chomp them. But… I really didn’t feel good that night and by the time I finished my cup (and half of his) my stomach was calm and I was out cold. Can’t properly review or rate because brain was off and I was unconscious before my teapot cooled. I am quite certain however that it was an excellent choice for a self-pitying tummy-aching, whinging, whining, it’s late and I wanna go to bed but everything feels like poo kinda night.

Made this for on the way to school, except my travel mug wouldn’t open :o after messing with it while waiting for the professor to show up, I finally got to my precious mate.

I had felt pretty groggy this morning thanks to the weather. I wasn’t as bad as Sebastian, who went right back to sleep after I uncovered his cage LOL… Well I had turned off my 8:30 alarm because I woke up at 8:20, and slept until the 9:00am one. Still had plenty of time to fully come up with an answer to the exam’s essay question, check out Steepster, and make this tea.

I was so certain I was going to take a nap when I got home, but finishing off the entire mug has made that out of the question now.

This is still really tasty, though today it seemed to be more spiced elderberry than minty. Though I think I could have steeped it longer if I had enough time. I actually almost left without the tea.

Next, I really want to try it iced.

I am easily excited by the ability to sort of make my own blend without doing the real work. I thought it’d be funny to name it for Bruno, I figure bears must love elderberries, I love cinnamon, and the one panda bear here in Atlanta is a serious mint fan (the other loves Tabasco sauce, like rolling around in it and everything). So, here it is! After it went missing. But I found it.

I think Bruno hid it.

It’s a very autumn/winter blend, I’m leaning more towards winter. It actually does taste kind of Christmasy, it reminds me of a spiced cranberry candle but with elderberries instead and well, edible…errr drinkable.

Everything is in a great ratio of ingredients, there is not a single thing that stands out more than the rest, which could be a problem with mint…as I learned with a custom Adagio blend. Brenden wrote the ratio on the order sheet but I of course already have no idea what I did with it. I just remember the mate is 60%.

I just really love the combination of elderberry and cinnamon. It’s just the right amount of spice to go with the cool mint.

Also, you can pick this one out on the blend your own mate page, yeah!

This really truly tastes like rain, or “less salty ocean” for those of you like me who have forgotten what rain looks like and have no rivers nearby. After being corrected, yes, rain, I remember this feel.

You know how it smells when it’s just rained in a grassy area? That’s how this tastes. It’s really not grassy overall, there’s just hints of it. And the jasmine notes give it this freshness that I can’t even put into words. This is how I imagine, without any weird chemicals and the like in the air, collected rainwater that you immediately drank would taste.

It’s a very light cup, but even with just a minute it is bursting with flavor despite its physical appearance.

Second steep, +15 seconds: it’s still a very strong flavor, just like the first cup! I’d say though the one major difference is the jasmine is a lot less floral. But seriously it’s like it was never even steeped in the first place, that’s how bright the same notes are.

I can’t wait to try this one out in my gaiwan. And also have a third steep preferably much later on today, too full of tea already haha.

Firstly, I ordered samples a while ago and I think this one has been discontinued since then.
I was really excited to try this tea but was wary after smelling it, because the smell was nothing like smores. Reminds me of my disappointment with DT’s Toasted Marshmallow.

The taste of this tea immediately reminded me of sweet potatoes, but not in a good way. I just didn’t like it. :(
What I did enjoy about this tea was the pretty orange color. http://instagram.com/p/Q5xp9YLPB6/

I honestly haven’t had much luck with the rest of my samples other than Whisper of the Woods but I have not given up on Whispering Pines! Hopefully I will try more of their teas in the future.

Usually when I feel a cold coming on, I can attack it with raw foods and this tea…last night I wasn’t so lucky. I started getting a runny rose at around 10pm so I threw together a cup of this…I usually steep it for 8-10 minutes when I just want to enjoy it but when I’m all-out attack-mode on a cold, I make this BOLD.

I steeped 2 tablespoons in 8 oz of water for 25 minutes – perfectly suitable for a Bacteria Holocaust. The post-infusion color was puerh-purple and the taste was intense enough to make me feel like a total BA just by drinking it. Well…turns out I was too late and the cold had launched a full-fledged attack on me at that point.

Decided to take a hot shower with a netipot while steeping another cup. I coughed in the middle of draining my sinuses, causing me to choke and because both of my nostrils were blocked off – whatever fluid was in my nose/sinus area went straight to my inner ear. My ears felt like a bass drum went off inside them, I dropped the netipot, completely lost my equilibrium and fell over. After that I got up and finished the shower, feeling okay. Drank my second cup of Clari Tea as well as a chamomile honey and ginger tea I threw together and went to sleep. It was 1am at this point. Well…I fell asleep really fast, but work up at around 3:30 with the worst pain I’ve ever felt in my ears. They were ringing and I had no hearing. Got up to get a drink of water and couldn’t walk. I’m quite certain I blew my eardrums.

So I’ve been up since 3:30 with 2.5 hours of sleep listening to ringing in my right ear and silence in my left with searing pain in both. I still can’t walk very well.

Hopefully I get to see a doctor today. :/

I need more caffeine if I’m going to make it until ten, though I think at this point I have already surrendered to not caring and going back to sleep before then, depending on how it goes. Mate time!

Steeped up in a 50/50 combination of milk and water on the stove for 5 minutes, this one seems spicier than the black tea variety.

This one doesn’t work as well with this preparation because it is much more subtle. Though if you’re not a fan of the taste of mate or you’re like me and need something to make the spices more subtle, this still works. The coconut is a bit more subtle too, not becoming super creamy like the toasted coconut chai.

Still tasty though. I’m usually not much of a ginger fan, but it’s very good in this.

I was given a not-so-subtle hint to try this one out :P I didn’t think I was going to be capable of drinking more tea, but running out of lip balm tubes means having to stop. I also had wanted to resteep Yunnan’s Fable but I put the infuser basket in the sink to get it out of the way and ended up getting dish soap in it so, nevermind that for now. Bear tea it is!

This steeped up very light, but it has the nicest green hue to it. It smells like a forest, just faintly in the midst of a green tea flavor.

It just tastes so fresh. Sweet and fresh, with hints of butter. The imagery to go with this tea is just perfect to imagine while sipping. It reminds me of waking up early in the morning while camping. The grass is usually wet outside the tent and you can smell it, and the birds are chirping already.

This one is lovely, I don’t think I can say anything that’s as lovely about it as its own description though. I think if you read it, you’ll have to buy an ounce of this one too.

Thank you for sharing your definite tea masterpiece, Brenden!

I have been wanting to try some teas from Whispering Pines and while this one wouldn’t necessarily be at the top of my list, I’m glad for the chance to try it thanks to The Traveling Tea Box and Amanda I drank this one last night after dinner and it made a very relaxing evening cup. It reminded me of some other jasmine blends I’ve had namely Teavana’s ToLife (Jasmine Pearls and Rooibos Tropica) only much better and a bit of Verdant’s Eight Treasures Yabao only not quite as good. It did not resteep well, in fact the husband commented on the face I was making when I sipped it. I think this company’s smokier teas would suit me better.

Brenden sent me a sample of this with my order and also suggested it to prevent me getting sick.
I did not realize it was made with lapsang souchong until I had already steeped it for 4 1/2 minutes, oops. So this will be interesting because I am still not feeling like lapsang and I can be friends.

I do like the name of this. The most interesting part of the drive through the North Georgia mountains is this seemingly random pile of rocks where two highways meet. It’s the grave of Trahlyta, who drank from a nearby spring to maintain her beauty. She rejected a warrior’s courtship, so he kidnapped her and took her away to the west. She missed her home in the mountains so much, and he refused to let her go, and she ended up dying while still imprisoned by him.

But, she had asked to be buried back home, and today her grave still exists in this crossroads area. You leave a stone for good fortune, as she wanted to make people’s wishes come true, so they could be happy as she once was. The rocks are well over 5 feet high.

They’ve tried to move it a couple of times for road construction, but both times someone has died. There is a historical marker there now and everything.

Every time I want to stop and leave a stone but every time I have no idea where exactly I can park to be able to do so but it is intriguing enough to always drive by it.

As for this tea, now that I finally have the bravery to try it, I can handle this..kind of. The mint makes it a lot easier but it still has the aftertaste of what definitely tastes of leather and cigars. But, the mint makes it pretty drinkable! And its’ nice and soothing.

Good call!

Senior year of high school, I worked at a craft store that had the best smelling wax melts ever. They were seasonal too, and the fall ones were always the best smells. This reminds me of one of them, though at this point I have no idea what it was. I’d say it also reminds me of those cinnamon broom things some people are crazy about, but if you’ve ever worked in a place suffocating you with them, then you try not to think of them.

While it’s pretty good without anything added, it definitely needs a bit of honey to get it really popping. Now, it definitely reminds me of a graham cracker crust, I am so going to have to try steeping this in some apple cider.

It’s not too heavy on the rooibos taste either with some honey. I added just about a teaspoon, worrying it might make it too sweet, but it’s really boosted the flavor. The aftertaste got pretty sweet, but nothing bad…tastes like the cinnamon flavor Teddy Grahams.

For the price, a mere $1.75 for an ounce, this is definitely worthy of a try if you’re looking for a good caffeine-free treat for autumn…which I think is finally going to make its way here next week after being obnoxiously hot today.

Oh man oh man oh man. Since the Zhena’s coconut chai was not very coconut, I had to listen to Brenden and try his version. Following the advice to try it ASAP, I finally cooled off enough to want a hot tea.

I made it on the stove with milk and water so um HOLY CREAMY CHAI. That’s the first thing you notice and then it gets spicy.

I wasn’t doing a great job measuring because I think I ended up more with like 3 1/2 oz of water and 5 1/2 oz of milk, but I did in fact measure 1/2 tbsp of chai. Simmered it for five minutes, added just a touch more milk to cool it enough to drink.

It smells like a coconut macaroon and it tastes like one too, if you added in clove, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger and pepper. I really like that I can taste every single spice in here. I went to double check on the website and I was pleasantly surprised to see I got them all.

I’m going to end up needing more milk quickly because I just want to drink this all day.

Man who knew there are plenty of chais out there I actually like. I also got the mate version of this so I will try that too, and I may have to give this a try without the whole milk method too!

I wish send to all capabilities never existed, I’m sure some of you know what I’m saying…getting really tired of my email box being flooded now. Argh.

I’m going to go take lunch to my grandpa which usually results in copious amounts of Coke Zero so it’s tea time before I go. This is pretty interesting, it smells like flowers, but not jasmine. I guess if there was a flower that had some coconut notes to it, this would be the flower.

The combination of jasmine and coconut tastes fruity. I can’t pinpoint exactly what kind of fruit, but it’s interesting! This is sweet, creamy, and just floral enough. If you usually are a jasmine hater, this one is a-ok.

The green tea adds a nice grassy flavor, but I just wish I actually could taste more coconut. The tea is so smooth though I don’t even care!

I started making this and then my boyfriend was like, want to go to Starbucks? So I let this steep while we went…and now I have a cold coffee drink and hot tea.

This wins out. I’m not getting too much chocolate, but this definitely tastes like the graham crackers and marshmallows.

I am of course a chocoholic so I’ll just add more cacao nibs since I have them to see if that helps. Of course I also wasn’t really paying attention when I added the tea to the steeper so maybe I managed to unknowingly scoop out a teaspoon with little cacao nibs.

But even without chocolate this is so good. How does it taste so much like graham crackers? It’s definitely not just the cinnamon that’s doing it! The marshmallow root is interesting with the cinnamon, and it also makes this really sweet. I am loving the slightly smoked pine flavor at the end of the sip too.

Next time, more cacao! (Is there such a thing as enough though?)

Backlog from last night.

I’m glad Brenden told me this was a calming blend, so I drank it at bedtime last night and not to get energy to do homework today!

This was a very calming, relaxing, herbal night time tea. I could taste all the herbal flavors melding together, urging me to drift off to sleep (BUT WAIT TEA, I said, I HAVE TO FINISH WATCHING BIG BROTHER!) The lemon in this tea appears more once the tea is slightly cooled.

I’m leaving off a rating since I mostly drink teas like this for their benefits, and anything with chamomile tends to remind me of sleep, so it’s not fair to compare it with other black teas that wake me up! Fair enough?

Trying this one out before I leave for the thrilling roads of North Georgia and North Carolina. I was going to wait till like noon, but I don’t want to have to stop to eat, so eating an actual breakfast it is.

I love black bears. One reason I’m even going up to NC is because it’s a year since I got Bruno: https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/251468_2016482060693_2781157_n.jpg Bruno is my honorary pet (I’m not paying a $500 pet fee for a dog, no way) and road trip mascot, and I got him up there. The Smoky Mountains are filled with bears! So this is the perfect tea before I head off. And it is Bruno-approved.

This is nice. A bit spicy, a bit smoky, with just the right hint of elderberry flavor for a touch of sweetness. I am still pretty new with mate, and some blends are a little too much for me but this one is perfect. I could see this being something a bear would like on a rough morning for being a bear.

So far it has helped me remember one thing I NEED to take already…a flashlight. I definitely tripped over uneven ground last year in the dark. Yay last minute decision making.

Now just to hope I don’t fall back asleep. There are mountains to drive over! Can’t wait to try my other Whispering Pines samples, but they will have to wait until I return because I want to be able to spend some decent time with them!

I enjoy this tea. The flavor is sweet with honey and fruity notes. There is a super light smoked note along with a light malty-ness. I can taste a bit of a sweet potato, too. I really like this one :)

I don’t think I’ve ever had eucalyptus in a tea, but I really like it. This is a very relaxing tea despite containing yerba mate. It is making a nice addition to reading also. I’m trying to finish up Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister- its good, but honestly Wicked was way better.

Really smoky and really tasty!