Whispering Pines Tea Company

I brewed up about 5grams in a 100ml gaiwan at about 190f. I gave one rinse and actually tasted it and it was of course watery but left some fruitiness lingering. My first few steeps were a bit light for my taste so I ended up adding about another gram or so to the gaiwan. If you like tropical fruits and a creamy coconut taste then you will love this one. This was very lightly oxidized and tasted more like a green tea that an Oolong to me. The Oolong flavor itself was not my favorite as like I said it was more like a green but the crown jewel of this tea is its aftertaste. It is so sweet and tropical that I was wondering if it was a flavored tea. But the consensus is that it is not and that alone makes this one a tea to try. To be able to grow and process a tea without flavoring and get those kinds of notes is insane. Its a great tea and would be even better in the spring and summer as it is really refreshing. If you are a fan of green tea or lightly oxidized oolongs I would say give this one a go and you won’t be disappointed. I am not really a fan of green teas anymore as I have been tainted by the dark side (roasted Oolongs, blacks, and Pu’erh) but I did enjoy this tea. Quite creamy with a remarkable amount of tropical fruit flavor. Like a hot Pina Colada! Bear in mind these are notes that linger in the nose and mouth not actual sugary fruit flavors of a tea with chunks of fruit.

So I picked up some teas from Whispering Pines for the first time. I got them today and I started with this one. I am a fan of Black Tea and use it to give me a break from my ripe pu’erhs. I brewed up about 5 grams gongfu style in a 100ml gaiwan. I feel it was a bit light so maybe a bit more leaf would be better. The wet leaf smells sweet and woody with a bit of some kind of fruit. I could tell this was a blend as it tasted like two other teas I have combined (a Jingmai Wild Arbor Black and nice malty Yunnan Black). This was quite enjoyable and had a lingering sweet aftertaste that was really nice. There were notes of baked bread and brown sugar along with a little wood. I also got into some floral notes in the middle steeps. It gave surprisingly well considering leaf size and it being a black. I think I will try this one again Western style as I often like my blacks brewed that way. Not sure what to think about this vendor yet and I have about 3 Oolongs I also bought from them to try. All in all I would say if you like black tea give this one a try. Pretty tasty.

Just finished my sample of this, gong fu. No notes on the taste here but the energy it gave off over about ten steeps is incredible. Had me sweating like a (fill in the sinner of your choice) in church. Energy galore. Hope I can sleep tonight. Yikes!

Update: I didn’t really get much sleep last night…

I received this tea as a sampler in an order. I really love Moonlight Whites so I was pretty excited to see this arrive in the mail.

This isn’t going to be an in depth review because I am drinking it while watching The Walking Dead. It is very good though. Good enough that I felt it deserved at least an actual review mention.

Seriously, if you like Moonlight Whites and you understand the quality that Brenden brings to his tea than you know why you need to pick this up.

Imagine a milkshake. Now replace milk with flower nectar. Cover the top with cocoa. Add some salt. Shake. Warm up and add a little fruit juice to cool it down.

That is what this makes me think of.

This is the first thing from the Sheng Olympics that I have enjoyed. The others have been interesting, but overall, still not my thing. This is not really a sheng, is that correct, but rather a pressed, age(d)-(ing) white tea cake?

The scent is dill and herbs and flowers. Interestingly, as opposed to several others, I don’t taste much dill in the steeped liquor. I get a ton of citrus and floral. It does have a drying effect for me on the 3rd infusion.

It’a a lovely tea, both in the leaf and the liquor. So glad to have tried this! Thanks, LP, for including it with the share of the group and to James for sending a share of the group to me! I shall keep soldiering on as I try these shengs. I’m not reviewing most of them as I don’t feel that I know enough about them and don’t want to skew impressions for true pu-heads. :)

Puerh Noob reporting in. I’ve been feeling guilty that I haven’t been reviewing much even though I drink pu every day. But I came to the realization that most of my puerh drinking is in conjuction with eating… and that’s just not conducive to fair reviews. So I’m forgiving myself.

I got this sample with my order and I’m glad I did. This is my second taste of a Whispering Pines ripe. This is my second session with this sample.. the first was a few nights ago with dinner. :P 4 grams/1 cup, 1 quick rinse.

1st steep – Liquor is thin but smoothish. The taste for me is very minerally almost salty but not? Hard to describe… its not in my face woody or earthy.. the descriptions mention of merlot carries thru to the feeling and the sensation is dry and forward on the tongue, with a mouth watering feeling . As the liquor cools a slight nuttiness comes through. Cha qi is mild.

2nd steep – Liquor gets a little silkier, but it’s still thin.. The minerally flavor backs down which makes me really happy. I drink this faster than the first cup and suddenly I’m definitely feeling the cha qi. Yay! :)

3rd steep – Minerally backs off more, that front of tongue feeling is still solidly present. Flavor is something like very dry wood, which makes me think of paper bags? (sorry WPT)

There are more steeps to the leaves so I’ll continue drinking, but I’m getting tired of reviewing. :P Heheheh.

My Pu Journey:
This sample helped me confirm that I hate the combo taste of sweet/minerally ripe pu’s.. but if it’s just minerally, then I’m okay with it, but not necessarily a big fan. Overall I think this is very drinkable and I’ve just put in an order for an ounce. Right now I like this better than the sweeter 2013 Ontario 1357 (which I’ve only had one session with.)

I’ve had this a couple times in the last two days trying to help kill the cold I have. Both times I’ve been so stuffed up, I’ve not been able to actually smell it. The only thing I could smell was the ginger. I had 3 or 4 infusions of gingery tasting tea. It did a good job of clearing things up for a while. When I had it again this morning, I got ginger and berries. Both sweet and tart. This cough is evil. It definitely worked to help clear my sinues up. I’d like to try it when I can taste it.

well ive had a crap weekend. FWP but hey. So I broke out a few favourites, like LPs peachy elixir #9, and during the height of my pissed-off-ness I dumped the whole sample of this into my gaiwan and had a long dan cong sesh.

Its nice. nice and honeyed, its slightly more cooked/oxidised/whatevs the process is that makes mi lan than another I have tried, which gives it a slightly caramel flavour to the honey. A little lychee in the background taste and honey orchid aroma combine in that magical way. Mi Lan is such a nice tea…

It lasted many steeps, I cant remember the exact number but a fair few. The slightly darker edge to this version makes it a nice one for people who like the base dan cong flavour. thick and yummy

Brewing this in a small gongfu teapot, the rinsed leaves have a sweet, musty smell with hints of wood and pastry dough.

The tea is a deep reddish brown, and tastes considerably less sweet than I imagined it would, but it is incredibly smooth. The taste is a little musty and earthy with hints of mineral and maybe a touch of dark chocolate. This isn’t meant to be a reference for flavor, but have you ever brewed fresh turmeric root to drink? It’s really got a smooth texture and flavor, and the quality of this shou reminds me of that smoothness (but not of the turmeric flavor).

The second infusion is the color of cola. The second infusion has more sweetness than the first, and this may sound crazy but cola comes to mind not only in the color but subtly in the flavor as well. Maybe there’s something a little dark-fruit like about it (plum, fig?) that reminds me of Dr. Pepper… Don’t hold me to this or you’ll probably be disappointed. Haha, it’s a stretch but it was an immediate impression. The flavors are a little more developed in this infusion though and raisin comes to mind, as well as a bit of chocolate. The texture is still really smooth. There’s no bitterness. There’s a nice cooling sensation in the mouth after a sip.

Third infusion I’m getting some cocoa and coffee notes. I had some fruit juice with my dinner then came back to this tea, so it may be tasting less sweet because of the juice I was just drinking. The fourth infusion tastes a bit more mellow and sweet again.

I think this is a really smooth tea. The flavor is nice. A good everyday shou!

This tea should please ginger lovers. The 2 strongest flavours coming through for me are ginger and elder berry. I think I taste an undertone of eucalyptus.

The brew tastes like fresh elderberry juice with spicy notes of ginger that linger on the tongue after a few sips. I love that Brenden uses whole ingredients rather than extracts; it makes the tea seem so much more wholesome, especially when you’re looking for a tea to make you feel better.

I think the greatest thing about this tea is that it tastes better when you’re sick. It’s like a warm hug on a cold day. The price is right. Give it a shot if you’re feeling under the weather.

I forgot to smell the dry leaves for my review but the wet aroma is really nice, up front you get notes of sawdust and dandelion with a background note of peach.

As with most Ya Bao the infusion is almost colorless even after a minute of steeping. I’m brewing this in a gaiwan with the gaiwan about 1/3 full of buds. The first infusion of this is subtle and a bit fruity, like apple or pear. It’s mildly sweet, with a lingering afteraste like cork or bamboo and a long lingering subtle sweetness.

The second infusion has a more rich flavor, not at all subtle now, very sweet and berry-like with a woody finish and a bit of lingering dryness on the tongue. The sweetness and flavor both really linger a long time with this tea. I’m only two infusions in and I can already say this is the best Ya Bao I’ve had.

The third infusion has a bit of a cedar taste to it, and is more woody and less sweet than the last two, though it is still considerably sweet. There are hints of pepper and juniper berry in the finish.

I really like this Ya Bao. It’s got the most complexity and well-rounded flavor of any I’ve had. I think I know where I’ll be refilling when I run out.

love it.

I’ve surprised myself by developing a craving for this one over the last couple of weeks. Pu’erh is a thing my brain is still afraid of, even though I’ve tried enough by now to know that I actually quite like it. My first experience with this one was good, as far as I can recall. My reacquaintance with it was, possibly, even better. It’s the sweetest pu’erh I’ve ever tried, with a really prominent sugar cane flavour and a decent dose of creaminess. It mellows with successive steeps, the initial heady sweetness fading as more earthy, mulchy flavours develop. It’s kinda perfect for this time of year, and I’m just a little bit addicted. I’m nearly done with my pouch, and this is one I’m (quite unexpectedly) going to miss.

This is what I decided on for today after everything happened this morning. I’ve heard really, really good things about this pu’erh, and it’s been long overlooked in my cupboard. I’m using 1 tsp of leaf for this session, which had an initial rinse of 1 minute in water just cooled from boiling.

First steep is for 1 minute in water just cooled from boiling. The rinse liquor was fairly strongly scented and fishy, so I was wary with my first steep. It turns out that I needn’t have been – the flavour here is pretty delicate and the fishiness has gone completely. The best way to describe this would be “earthy cream”. It’s smooth and sweet with an underlying creaminess, but the main flavour is light forest floor/wet leaf, hence “earthy”. There’s a mild camphor-like coolness after successive sips.

Second steep also for one minute, in boiling water. The flavour this time is a little less distinctively earthy, with amped up cream notes and a touch of brown sugar/molasses in the mid-sip. Interestingly, the scent is still very earthy, but it’s not really coming out in the flavour. I’ve no problem with that, though – cream and brown sugar are just fine with me!

Lunch beckons, but I’ll be returning to this one later…

Third Steep for two minutes in boiling water. The liquor is much darker this time – a red-brown rather than an orange-brown. The flavour seems to have developed a little, too, and is now nuttier (I’m thinking walnut or hazelnut), with a caramel note lurking in the background. There’s still a touch of molasses, and the same distinctive creaminess. The earthiness is back very slightly, but is confined mostly to the aftertaste. I’m guessing the longer steep time encouraged this to re-emerge.

Fourth steep also for two minutes in boiling water. The earthiness has disappeared again, but the lightly sweet creaminess remains, with hints of brown sugar. Some of the intensity has worn off that flavour now, so I wouldn’t really call it molasses anymore. Brown sugar for sure, though. One thing I really like about this one is how it seems to get smoother with each successive steep. It was already pretty smooth to start with, but now it’s even more so. Silky, mildly sweet, sugar/cream amazingness.

Fifth steep for 3 minutes in boiling water, and it’s possibly the most amazing yet. It’s really sweet, with a distinctive creaminess and strong brown sugar notes, also a touch of vanilla. There’s no earthiness at all, and it’s the silkiest, smoothest thing that’s passed my lips in a long, long time. I know 3 minutes was recommended for this one, and I can definitely see why. I’m still over-cautious when it comes to pu’erh, though, especially the early steeps, thanks to a couple of fairly dodgy experiences. I’m going to have to think about what to do with my next cup, and whether to start with a longer steep straight off? Maybe it’s time to be brave again.

I had hoped to get six steeps of this one completed – two each at one, two and three minutes. I’m almost out of time unless I take the leaves home with me, though, and in all honesty I’m not going to faff around doing that. I’ve had a good time with this tea today, though – it’s kept me company without the need for milk, and has been utterly delicious all the way through. I’m really glad I picked up a pouch of this one, and only sad I didn’t get around to trying it sooner.

Sipdown! I drank my final cup of this one last night, and it was excellent. Just what I wanted in my pre-bedtime cup. It took me a while to nail the brewing on this one, but as usual I achieved perfection just as I started to run low. Beautiful chocolate cherry vanilla. I’m sad to see this one make its departure from my cupboard.

…and then I remembered that this one isn’t flavoured, other than the vanilla beans. Drinking this one today, that made it all the more amazing. Plain black tea that suggests rich, dark chocolate and black cherries? To the extent that the first time I drank it, I just assumed it had to be flavoured? It’s right here.

My appreciation of this one just zoomed up the scale. It’s an excellent dessert tea.

The next few days are clearly going to be Whispering Pines days, now they’ve emerged from their confinement in the deep, dark depths of “the box”. After my success with Imperial Gold Bud Dian Hong last night, I skipped straight to this one. I actually managed to recover all of the excitement and anticipation I originally felt when I first ordered this one, and it was nice to feel that way again. I used 1.5 tsp of leaf for my cup, and gave it 4 minutes in boiling water, no additions.

This has got to be one of the best tasting flavoured dessert teas I’ve ever tried. The initial sip is thick, heavy black cherry syrup – sweet, fruity, kirsch-like. The mid-sip adds distinctive notes of dark chocolate; rich and cocoa-like, and a perfect pairing with the cherry. The end of the sip brings sweet, creamy vanilla and just a hint of cinnamon. It’s a perfect combination of flavours, each enchancing the other to create a truly decadent taste experience. I’ve missed Whispering Pines, it’s true. I can’t wait to have another cup of this one!

Sipdown! Finished off the last of this today, and although sad it’s one of the older teas in my cupboard so I’m also looking on it as an achievement. I enjoyed this one, although it was a little finicky at times in brewing terms. When I got it right, though, it was SO right. I know I’ll miss it in the days ahead.

I got REALLY EXCELLENT sweet potato notes from this one today – clearly I caught it at just the right time. Unfortunately, I wasn’t paying attention to my parameters so I’ll probably never be able to recreate exactly the same circumstances. That’s what comes from pottering around absent mindedly when you’re half asleep.

Enjoyed it, though. Dian Hong rules.

I feel like I’m finally getting back on track with things, tea being one of them. It’s been a rocky couple of months health and work-wise and I know I let a lot of things slip, but this last weekend felt like an improvement on how things have been. I feel more interested in stuff/life generally than I have since well before Christmas. I celebrated that on Sunday by having a tidy up/sort out, which has made me feel better still – fresher and more organised. Part of the sort out involved my tea box – I had a look through and pulled out some older teas, and some in papery packaging that’s been a concern at the back of my mind for a while now. Chief among those were Whispering Pines and Bluebird Teas, so they’re now out of the box and readily accessible for drinking. I’m going to try and start drinking my “proper” tea – by which I mean all my loose leaf special stuff – at home again and not just at work. I’ve been drinking bagged Twinings/Clipper at home in the evenings and at weekends since Christmas, so it’s definitely time for a change. I can cope with making a cup of loose leaf tea when I’m tired, I’m sure. What I’m less sure about is what the hell happened to me over the last 3 months. Now I’m coming out of the fug, I feel like I completely lost track of the things that matter to me, and that make me who I am. It’s odd to look back on a recent span of time and feel like that.

Enough of the soul searching. This is one of the teas I pulled out, and it’s definitely been neglected enough. I used 1.5tsp of leaf for my cup, and gave it 3.5 minutes in boiling water. I added a tiny splash of milk, but only really because I was drinking it late on. Ordinarily I wouldn’t, I don’t think.

I appreciated this all the more given that my tastebuds are pretty accustomed to bagged at the moment. It has a beautifully strong, rich, malty flavour with gorgeous baked bread notes, sweet potato flesh and a distinctive background pepperiness. Drinking this reminded me why I like Yunnan blacks so much – this is a phenomenal tea, flavourful to drink with beautiful leaf to boot. There aren’t the words to describe how glad I am to have this one back in my rotation.

im writing this review later in the session- 6th steep i think. anyways, this cake has a lot going for it visually, it looks like a jackson pollock painting, with silver leaves, black, brown leaves and orangey flower speckled throughout. the cake is 100g but feels lighter to me. it is not pressed very tightly, you could break it in half with your hands if you tried.. this piece sheds leaves. it smells both floral and herbal with a spicy/pepper note at the front of the nose. i get both chamomile and a hint of fluoride as well.

i was surprised to see the liquor come out with the depth of orange it had on the first 5 sec steep. i wouldnt be caught tossing the first rinse/brew for this one. the color darkens and so on, becoming a little red.

im pretty sure there are buds in here..

sediment minimal.

a battle between herbal blends and floral perfume takes place, and some spice sneaks in. cant speak much on the notes here except for that its a little jarring, but i like it. i detect 0 bitterness and after you get past whats probably the chrysanthemum, its very smooth.

i would drink this late spring- summer, early- mid day. it would be nice to eat snacks with.

qi is mild and sort of a creeper.

inside the pot, what i see reminds me of a certain type of vomit. the size variation of leaf is amazing. the tea also reminds me of seaweed because it looks like it has a slick coat of something.. maybe all tea has that, maybe im crazy.

been listening to different renditions of oblivion by astor piazzolla while sipping, its a great pairing. with the music and the tea , my mind is more at ease.

- nycoma

Thanks mtchyg for the sample! I have done no reading on this tea, but was intrigued that it is made from golden needles apparently. Surprisingly, after a rinse in my small gongfu tea pot, I am surprised it smells quite like most other shou puerh teas I’ve had, a bit musty with quiet notes of petrichor. Maybe I expected a lighter or sweeter smell from the golden needles. I will say the color of the liquor is really lovely, a deep garnet red-brown.

Maybe I was expecting something sweeter from the golden needles, I’m not sure, but I was definitely expecting smooth, and in that regard this tea does not disappoint. It definitely has a smooth texture and flavor. The flavor is hard to pin down. Cacao, mineral, and wood are noticeable, with a bit of bitterness. The aftertaste really lingers and is mostly woody.

The liquor of the second infusion gives off a common scent for me in shou that I really enjoy, which smells like pastry dough. Again, the flavor is quite smooth, and it rolls off nicely into a subtle bitterness similar to that of dark chocolate. The flavor of this tea is really dark. I think there is a subtle hint of prune as well. In some ways, I’m reminded of coffee.

The third infusion is really mineral and reminds me of petrichor scent when the rain starts. The tea is rather cooling on the mouth and throat, though this is after I have let some cool down nearly to just a bit above room temperature. I find it really enjoyable this way though. The cooling sensation is very quenching and the flavor is smooth.

The fourth infusion is more mellow and sweet, with similar flavors, maybe a touch of tobacco.

Overall a good shou, though not as peculiar as I had hoped for the fact it is made of golden needles.