Whispering Pines Tea Company

So I had a lovely weekend, for the most part, but last night took a turn for the worst.
There is someone who is dear to me who I’ve known for a while was struggling with some depression and mental health problems. I knew that it was causing problems, and he just went through some intense personal stuff, but I was under the impression that he was dealing with it all.
Last night I got a text that he was in crisis, and I went over to talk for a while. He was drunk, and having a total breakdown that was scary to watch.
He had calmed down by the time I left, and says he’ll be in touch today, but I am frantic and a bit hysterical. I don’t know if I did the right thing in my dealings with him, and I don’t know what to do. I feel ill.
I needed my gentlest tea this morning, as I was shivering in on practically no sleep, and my stomach feels horrible.
I really don’t know what to do here.

There is more tea left in my packet of this than I anticipated! This is a nice surprise.
I always am reminded of fresh bread, or rolls, or something else equally carb loaded, fresh out of an oven when I try this.
Mmmmm. Bread tea.

Good grief, this week. I swear I’ve been running at full tilt, and not really helped by anyone this week, plus that weird day off in the middle.
I am tired. I am cranky. I am glad its Friday.
This blend was perhaps a bit too subtle and delicate for my state of grumpiness this morning, but I hoped it would wake me and sooth me.
Well, one out of two ain’t bad.

Its raining!
This is bonker. Its June. I am in California, where sunshine is not just a suggestion but a law. Its JUNE. Its raining! I am completely, completely thrown.
But I am not one to let a little thing like my confusion stand in the way of tea drinking, especially not when a perfect tea drinking day has landed in my lap.
Morning cup was this, which was just as rich and yeast-y as I remembered, and was an excellent snuggling down tea.
Trouble is that its Thursday. I cannot snuggle down. I must rise and face the day! Blerg. What I wouldn’t give to tuck myself back into bed, tea in easy reach and a book in hand. Oh well.

I am not sleeping well lately- waking up too early and tossing and turning restlessly. Bleh.
So tea has become a highly critical tool of my morning, even more than usual.
Today I didn’t want anything bitter, sharp or bright. I wanted mellow, but still enough to wake me up. Enter Golden Snail.
This is so warm, with an almost yeasty, bread taste to it. I found it to be very mellow indeed.

My first try of Golden Snail!
This is so mellow, so warm, and almost yeasty in flavor and smell. I am reminded very strongly of bread.
I’m glad I’ve got more, as I can tell that there are layers and layers upon flavors, things that would be very fun to try and taste in the depths of this tea.
But today I got a warm, malty tea with an almost “chewy” mouthfeel, and overall a warm feeling.
Golden snail! I love that there are teas call Golden Snail.

Let me just say, where it sates " …mixing up the tea prior to scooping out your desired amount of leaf is recommended…" – Do it!
I had to rewrite my review as the first brew was very floral and I could not note much Vanilla in the cup. So, second time around, yes, very lovely Vanilla. Pleasant and sweet aroma. Later steeps are still somewhat floral, sweet grass, carnation… very nice tea over all, with a sweet treat or a bit sugar.

Update: Drinking this one again today. I’m getting closer to the bottom of the bag, and it seems that’s where all the Vanilla lives ;) Wow, vanilla! Super rich, glorious aroma, reminds me of Tonka Bean, with floral noted. Luxurious, velvety, just wonderful. I’m still smelling the carnation in the base tho in the first two steeping, its a bit confusing. Something in the black tea is throwing me off I think, but its a nice complex cup. I’m starting to enjoy this one a bit more. It has a bit of a bite to it, and minerality, touch of bitterness and it lingers on your senses. Ah third steeping, and I think I finally have it. It has notes of bergamot. Oddly enough;) somehow the aroma profile opened up into this lovely perfume, still strong vanila, sweet yet crisp.

I have to say that I might have got over zealous on my first brewing and added too much tea. The liquor came out too bitter for my taste. So second try here we go: It’s a lovely aroma, vanilla, cream, cocoa powder, dark chocolate and hint cherry, somewhat earthy, malty note. It has a bit of a mineral taste, and I was expecting it to be sweeter, richer, more full bodied. On the second steeping it has an earthy, grassy, forest taste, very vegital. Like sweet fresh cut grass, and flowers of some sort. I added some sweetener and it brings out the lovely desert notes. Over all great tea.

I had to revisit this note… I really want to love this one, but It just doesn’t do it for me. It smells really Fantastic, but lacks in body and balance. I add extra tea in hopes to get more taste out of it but it comes out bitter. I think Whispering Pines is either hit or miss for me, unfortunately this one is a miss.

I had the delight of tasting this amazing black tea today, and it surpassed my expectations. I followed the western brewing methods on the WP website and did my first steep for 3 minutes in just under boiling water. Second steep was 5 minutes at the same time.

The liquid is a beautiful brown, and it smells more like a standard black tea than anything else. The first few sips I thought it was a bit tannic, but after that, the flavours of cocoa and rich dark chocolate came out of hiding. It really does have a strong cocoa flavour, and a bit of sweetness that comes with good quality teas.

A very interesting tea that was a gift from a friend. The dry leaf smells of strong herbaceous grape leaf, fresh rain fallen forest floor, white grapes, clay, and milk thistle. A medley of unique scents. I warmed my gaiwan and placed some inside. The scent opens to slight menthol, malt honey, hot hay, and dark cherry. I washed the leaves once and prepared for brewing. The taste is of pure earth. I don’t mean soil or wet clay, I mean Earth. The naturalistic taste begins with oak, maple wood, and autumn leaf pile. A soft tone of supple soil rises up with a cool sweet sap pushing out of it. The cooling sensation envelops the mouth and moves down the throat. A long lasting sweet honey tone rises from the back of the throat and lingers on the tongue. The background consists of blood red roses. This tea reminds me of early morning autumn hikes in the woods by my house. This is a fantastic nostalgia tea. The tea lasts steep after steep and ends with sweet harsh tangs that nip at the tongue. A very good tea.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BC5gOFQTGTR/?taken-by=haveteawilltravel&hl=en

The downside to my current sipdown mania is that I’ll be killing of teas I really like, in addition to teas I only like, or feel meh about.
Such is the case today.
But its such a perfect morning for the last pot of Blackbear, grey and sleepy and I am cozy and tucked up inside, happy in my robe and my toast with lemon curd.
This is the perfect amount of smoke, never tasting like ash, and always a delight on a cold morning.
I hope I’ll be able to get more of this, when the air turns cold again. Its wonderful on a rainy day.
Sipdown!

It was raining properly this morning. Dark, stormy, wet, the whole nine yards. Why can’t that ever happen on a morning when I don’t have to wake up and can spend the day lounging and drinking tea in a decadent fashion? No, its only happens on work days, when I need to get up, get dressed, and go into the office.
Bleh.
But no reason not to have a truly lovely cup of smokey tea in the business of the morning.
Blackbear is just such a perfect tea for a rainy morning. I can’t even tell you how much pleasure it can give.

I woke up with a headache (bleh), so I needed something a touch strong to get me up, dressed, and out the door today.
Blackbear is such a lovely tea. Its smoky without tasting like a firefighters coat, and just so, so pleasant on a cold and rainy morning.
It helped the headache, too!

Tea of yesterday morning. So rich! So smokey and layered and ooph, this is good on a rainy morning.
Contented sigh.

Ugh, but I do not want to be awake. It was a late night, it was a warm bed, and today is a busy day at work AND the first day of Nanowrimo.
So, very hard to get up.
I’ve decided that I’m going to try to sip something down or try something I have not logged yet most every day. I’m not going to commit all the way to every day, as I’m sure I’ll have days where I just need to be with my favorite and familer teas, but I’m reminding myself to live a little!
Plus I own so much tea. I really gotta work on that.
That’s a long intro to the review proper.
It was a cold morning, and so I cracked my first smokey tea of the season. I love smokey teas, so I’m excited for the cold weather.
This has very nice smoke to it, but even better, its pretty well balanced. Its not an overwhelming campfire of a blend, but a savory delicacy, which heightened all the flavors, instead of flattening them.
Whispering Pines has yet to give me a dud, and this is another one for the winners column.

Its all over! The frustrating rehearsals, the annoying management, the whole summer theatre experience is over with!
It actually went just fine, but I’m happy that its over.
I am celebrating this morning with my final cup of this blend, which was a lovely, delicate flavor. Now that I can get more usual rest, I can have something gentler in the mornings.
This was a lovely addition to my cupboard. Whispering Pines does such a nice job with its blends. Its not my very favorite WP blend, but its perfectly lovely.
And now, a sipdown.

This is a tea that I can best describe as “soft”. It lacks the bitter or heavy edge that some black tea blends can have, and instead envelops in a cloud of soft warmth.
Like every Whispering Pines blend I’ve had thus far, the flavors are subtle and delightful, and I floated through my morning, surrounded by a protective cloud of loveliness.
Needed, today. Let me tell you!

Morning cuppa. I did not sleep very deeply last night, but I’m feeling alright at the moment (this may all come crashing down later, of course, but I’m determined to take advantage as best I can).
This remains a light, almost floral blend, with hints of wood and a very delicate sip. I enjoyed it very much as my first cup.