Whispering Pines Tea Company

This is a very nicely balanced tea and so very different from the Wuyi Mountain version from Verdant. These leaves, which are a lovely mosaic of dark and green, smell somewhat of toasted marshmallows. The first steep is candy sweet (not honey sweet) and a bit dry, the second steep brings in some grassiness and something woody going on underneath. That wet wood is more pronounced in the third steep, but altogether, it’s even sweeter. It was about tapped out after five steeps, but I’ll try it again with slightly hotter water for later steeps. Definitely a keeper.

A smooth chocolatey mouthfeel with strong notes of cocoa and hints of vanilla interwoven throughout from start to finish – for anyone searching for a premium flavoured black tea :)

I received this tea as a sample from Ost. It’s a good black tea, though now that I’ve found out that it is discontinued, it makes me a bit sad. For a plain black tea, I do think I prefer Whispering Pines’ Jabberwocky, just because it seems to have more flavor. This tea smells sweet – like raisins and spices – but when I brewed it, the sweetness of the dry tea didn’t transfer. It smells a bit smoky, but not overwhelmingly so. It’s more mild than I would like, but still enjoyable.

Awesome!

Just finished my sample of this one today. It’s been remarkable and consistently enjoyable from start to finish. The smooth blend of jasmine and pine notes inspires a feeling of tranquility, and a warm cup of this isn’t too much on a hot day—it even seems cooling and refreshing. Thanks again to beelicious for the sample!

Thanks to beelicious for the wonderful gift of this sample and many others!

This is a fantastic green blend. Visually, it’s an interesting blend of pine needles and tea leaves. The leaves are so dark that it’s hard to believe they are green tea, particularly next to the contrast of the pine needles. The aroma is light and refreshing, a mix of floral and pine. The brewed tea is, first and foremost, an excellent jasmine green. It’s delicate and lightly sweet, with a fruitiness in the background, and a touch more of that refreshing quality imparted by the pine needles. There’s no vegetal quality, nothing too heavy, nor is the pine too strong. It really does remind me of the fresh air out in a forest. I don’t often get excited about green teas (they’re usually in the range of “okay” to “pretty good”), but this one is well worth trying!

Edit: I wasn’t sure what other reviewers meant by “buttery” at first, but on the second infusion, there is definitely a smooth, buttery note. The tea remains light and almost airy in spite of this!

Super long digression ahead – sorry in advance!

What a WEEK, you guys.

Since the boyfriend and I want to move out Oregon way we took a week and flew from ATL to Portland, and explored everything. I mean, EVERYTHING. We did the Columbia River Gorge, drove to Salem/Eugene/Corvallis and out to Newport to see the coast. It is so beautiful, and I do feel good about the move we’ll make soon.

While we were out there (we went in January on purpose, btw, since we needed to gauge what the peak of winter was like) on the cold rainy days we had a lot of bagged Bigelow teas, which I really enjoyed just because it was serious tea drinking weather. But now I’m back with MY teas, and even though its not too cold or rainy here, I wanted something warm and cosy to drink.

And I’m trying really hard not to think about how awesome it would be to have one of these snazzy mugs (http://www.madeinoregon.com/Mystic-Water-Right-Handed-Hand-Warmer-Mug.html) to drink said tea out of. I have enough mugs, self. REALLY. I do.

Okay, tea review time

Last time I had this the scent was kind of a fake vanilla. And it did the same thing this time – it was so very vanilla that it turned into chocolate scent wise. While I love vanilla very much and in teas think it is generally awesome, I do not feel the same way about chocolate. So, this could be why last time it didn’t seem to leave much of an impression.

The first sip of this is quite good: malty black tea with a buttery vanilla finish. No chocolate notes, yay! Maybe the vanilla addition needed to settle for a week or two?

Yes, overall this cup is much better than the first one. I’ll bump up the rating on it and then its off to read some Milan Kundera before hitting the sack. It’s so nice to be in my own space again…

Alright – my first Whispering Pines order, which I got during the Cyber Monday deal.

I love a good black tea. A good, malty black tea and some vanilla notes is even more up my alley, and the smell of the steeped leaf (mostly malty, potatoey yunnan notes) and steeped tea (mostly vanilla, but so much vanilla it’s almost chocolate…has this happened to anyone before?) is really promising.

I followed the parameters recommended on the bag, so 1.5 tsp., 3 minutes and 200 degree water. The first tasting impressions I’m getting are a very creamy vanilla/chocolate combination. Not so much black tea at this point, but I have the rest of the cup to go to find that. :)

As it cools the malty notes peek out in the scent of the steeped tea, but I still mostly pick up chocolate and vanilla in the flavor. I may try some milk just to see if I can tease out a little something different…and, no. This cup is just meant to be those two flavors for me.

I agree that this is a lovely winter sipping tea – and I definitely prefer it without anything added, after trying it both ways. I’m not as wowed as others seem to be though. I’ll enjoy what I have, for sure, and I like it fine, but as of right now it doesn’t rank as a must-have.

My last pot of tea from this sample. I am really enjoying it this rainy morning. It has this lovely, silky mouthfeel that I really like, and it isn’t over the top with the chai spices – it is balanced just right. I definitely want to reorder this in the future.

I have been a little askeered to try this tea. I have read in tons of other reviews about the smoke in keemuns. I didn’t smell any smoke in this, though. It just smelled malty and tasty. I could smell a light pine but didn’t taste it at all, which was fine with me. Tree flavor was another I wasn’t sure I wanted to try. :) But this was lightly fruity with some mild sweet maltiness. This is pretty good. Thanks, Veronica!

In addition to my giant Lupicia box, I received my swap package from Christina and it is packed full of tasty teas. This was one of those teas and it is one I have wanted to try for a while. I mean, when its referred to as “Wee Snaily Yums”, how could my interest not be piqued.

With my first sip, I can certainly see why so many rave about this tea. It is smooth and silky, like honey and caramel but also a touch earthy, like the taste one would find in a sweet potato. It is good. Really good. And has a perfect touch of malt. Yum! So, thank you Christina for passing some along and also thank you to Ost for being the original supplier :P. This is one I will be seeking out again soon.

When life gives you lemons, make lemon bars. But make sure to use the right sized baking pan. Decided to have this tea with mine. It smells like caramel and baked bread. The flavour is a bit more chocolatey. The bread taste goes well with my dessert.

So, I ordered a sampler pack… and it came today. This smells pretty good, like malty chocolate. In the flavour I get more fruit, and bread… along with the cocoa. So pretty much it’s chocolate covered fruit, with plums, and some really good bread. Seems a little out of place in the Summer though, I think this is an Autumn morning tea.

Flavors: Baked Bread, Chocolate, Cocoa, Fruity, Malt

[This note was originally posted to the older version of North Winds but is intended for this version.]

I’ve been interested in trying more black tea blends lately, so this is one of the ones I ordered. The blend is composed of two kinds of tea leaves, both spindly and dark but one with golden undersides—this is probably the dian hong. The aroma is an intense, pleasant waft of chocolate and malt. The taste is just what you’d expect from that too, a very welcoming combination of chocolate, malt, and nutty notes, and plus there’s that full-bodied, bready richness from the dian hong. The finish is clear and sweet, and reminiscent of apricot. It’s a wonderfully cozy tea for breakfast or any other time of day!

Brendan’s inspiration behind this tea is also great to read. Maybe we’ll see some lovely teas inspired by the Oregon wilderness in the future :)

Sad sipdown!

Finishing this off as my morning cuppa . I have enjoyed every cup of the bread-y, cocoa-y, sweet, malty, rich flavor of this lovely tea. Since it was my last spoonful of leaves I decided to be good and follow the brewing parameters Brandon sent. Half a tablespoon of leaves, 212 degree water, 3 minute steep. It was a delicious way to wake up.

Still a big fan of this one. Lots of chocolate with some cherry and bread notes. I’ll be a little sad when this one is gone.

Side note: During my 5+ year hiatus from Steepster I’ve diligently worked on using up my tea collection. I struggle to finish teas, especially the ones I love, because I don’t want them to be gone. But I was also overwhelmed by the sheer amount of tea in my tiny kitchen, so I put myself on a no-buy and started working my way through my 300ish samples and many purchases. I do wish I would’ve taken notes, but the overall experience has been fun. Currently I’m on track to finish all of my teas that are over five years old by the end of this year. I did get to a point where I started buying replacements for categories of teas I was completely out of (Moroccan mint, tisanes, etc…), but I’m limiting the quantity until I’ve finished my oldest teas. Heaven help my wallet once I catch up!

My tin of this tea was tucked away in a drawer, and when I saw it I realized I had not prepared this one in months and months. The horror! Fear not though for the situation has been remedied. This tea is full of chocolate and sweet, fruity notes along with hints of peppery spice. Delicious.

Tea of the morning. I actually also drank this tea yesterday while I hosted a tea party for twenty-five ladies. It was a lot of fun, and everyone really enjoyed learning about new teas. There’s already talk of having a garden party this summer which I think would be lovely.

Back to the tea, this is such a staple in my life now. It has delicious notes of chocolate, fruit, and bread. It’s sturdy enough for me to reach for it in the morning, but it’s lovely enough to make me stop what I’m doing and enjoy a quite moment with a really nice tea.

Yep, I’m a fan.

Tea of the morning. This is a tried and true favorite. I love the chocolate and stone fruit notes together. They make me a happy, happy girl. I also love that this resteeps beautifully and holds up well in my travel mug because I have lots to do today and zero desire to step out into the cold. The fact that this is called North Winds is not lost on me…. :)

Tea of the morning. I’m enjoying the new version of this tea. There are still nice chocolate notes, but I get more of a mixed stone fruit note rather than straight cherry. There is also a deeper bready note. It reminds me of good dark bread. The taste is noticeable in the first steep, but it really comes out to play in late steeps. Very yummy.

If someone had never tried tea before and I could only share one tea with them I think it would be North Winds. It’s delicious and simple in the very best way. The chocolate and fruity notes settle on the tongue, and the hint of spice lingers after the sip. It’s just good. It’s a tea you can have long conversations around – conversations that might have nothing to do with tea – but the fact that you had really lovely tea stays with you after the talking has ended. I adore teas that stay in my memory that way.

My Whispering Pines order arrived yesterday which means that this lovely is back in my cup today. The rest of my order is actually a Christmas present, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to hold out once I had this back in the house. Thankfully I bought a whopping four ounces, so two of those ounces are back in the tin where they belong. The other two will wait under the tree for me. :)

The tea… it’s full of chocolate notes as well as stone fruit, malt, and honey. Once the tea cools there’s a deeper molasses flavor. There’s also the taste of multigrain bread which is so good when combined with all of the other flavors going on in this cup. The tea is moderately thick, smooth, and not astringent. It resteeps very well with more bread like flavors coming out in the second and third steep. Delicious!

I received this tea as a free sample along with the Ailaoshan tea that I purchased from Whispering Pines and I actually like it better! The chocolate flavor is considerably more pronounced – deeper. Toasted rye, apricot and white pepper flavor notes as listed by WP were all present and accounted for. I also picked up on caramel and a pleasantly sweet carrot taste.
This is a cup that you just don’t want to ever end! North Winds is the newest must have in my tea pantry.

Oh man, this is so good. I mean, it’s not quite as ridiculously decadent as Golden Orchid (same tea, but with vanilla beans added!), but I can see myself just wanting to drink this every day. Damn it. Just as I am vowing to myself to stick to Canadian companies (why did I have to develop a tea obsession just as the Canadian dollar tanked?? the exchange rate is killing me here) with reasonable shipping costs (y’all have already heard my rant about shipping), I discover that I might not be able to live without this tea. Hrmph. Luckily I can’t even stay mad about it, because I have this warm cup of chocolatey yumminess to soothe me. :)