Whispering Pines Tea Company

I’ve been really bad about posting on here lately. I’m kinda obsessed with Instagram. It’s so visual! Anyway, I enjoyed a nice session with this tea last night. I got a really nice caramel sweetness in the later steeps. I also enjoyed it in one of my new teacups from YS. I think tea tastes better in them!

https://www.flickr.com/photos/97273956@N03/15526001794/

Okay, I have to say I’m a fan of Whispering Pines’ Shou offerings. This is my kinda shou! Like the Ontario Shou, this one is dark and syrup-like. Very smooth. The flavor here is less sweet, more mellow earthy. Yum yum yum. Glad to have both shous in my cupboard!!

I think I messed up my parameters on this one. I was really excited to try it as I love a good chai. The dry leaf smelled like vanilla chai. Yum! I steeped it for 3 minutes and added a little sugar and a splash of almond milk. Unfortunately, I think the milk muted the base tea. So, I did a second steep without milk and found it tasted more balanced, but I still think I under leafed it. Hmmm. Soooo, next time, I’m going to add more leaf and skip the milk. The spices are delicious, though. Very spicy and nicely balanced. I just want that base tea to come through more. I also got a buttery taste which was interesting. I’ll reserve final judgement until next time!

It’s been ludicrously cold here recently (especially by London’s usually always-mild standards), so I was massively craving something warm and comforting. I saw my old bag of this, sitting on my shelf, and felt it might be worth giving it another go.

I think it was a good call! Every infusion was smooth, slightly sweet, and comforting, with notes (I think) of caramel and chocolate.

I didn’t treat it as well as I should have (sorry Brenden!), but I did at least use my nice gaiwan and tea set. I think I mostly used boiling or near-boiling water, with pretty short steeps. I didn’t steep this tea out, as it was getting late and then my boyfriend came home so we moved on to cook dinner. BUT it was certainly going strong after the 4 or 5 rounds I did.

I still have enough in my bag for another two sessions, I think, so maybe tomorrow I’ll go again and I’ll really do it properly. Still, I absolutely loved this session.

When some more money comes through, I think I may treat myself to some more WP teas. It’s been a while, and their new puerh cakes look/sound lovely. Plus, they’re pitched at an affordable price, which is always good to see.

I brought this adorable little bag of loose Puerh with me when I recently returned to Oxford for a talk, along with my Gaiwan and little tea cups. I then ended up having to stay up horribly late to finish a self-study assignment that I’d kinda neglected…

With that in mind, I wanted something energising and dark and thought this Puerh would fit the bill. However, without any way to measure it and any Gong-Fu instructions for it to hand, I had to do a bit of guesswork and definitely guessed wrong. I overleafed this spectacularly. A 2-3" infusion produced tea that was a black as fresh coffee and probably a little stronger :P

It was really smooth, though – just like a delicious, dark-roasted, full-bodied coffee. It was so strong, though, that it hurt my tummy a little… XD

Still, given the promising flavour of the tea (it really was delicious, extreme strength aside), I think I’ll rebrew it according to Brenden’s written instructions in a mug at some point and write a proper review XD And maybe I’ll do a milder Gong-Fu session using the instructions I had for the Canton Tea Co “White Dragon” loose Puerh, which was similarly tippy and delicious looking!

Definitely nothing wrong with this tea, as far as I could tell. Hopefully a proper brew will leave me as impressed as I certainly wanted to be!

Dark, thick, smooth, vanilla, caramel, cocoa yummy-ness!!!

When I got home late last night and I opened this, I had a feeling it was going to be great. It smelled so good! Well, it tastes amazing too! Uh oh, this is bad for my tea budget! ;)

I forgot how good this tea is. Again, this is super old, especially for a green tea… I got it in 2014 from Sil maybe? Not sure about the handwriting..

It’s soft. Jasmine. Forest. Some butteriness.

I think I have another cup left. I pulled this tea to finish, so I’ll probably do that tomorrow!

So I’m finally trying this. I guess I can see why Sil didn’t like it. Very jasmine. So floral. Wow.

Also kinda resiny (almost minty). And grassy.

This is really neat. I think I like it a lot. Not something I’d need all the time, but the flavours are super unique and it’s a nice change from the black teas I tend to prefer.

Thanks so much, Sil!

So how do you even describe what the sky tastes like?

Well if I had to, I’d say it tastes just like Autumn Jade Tieguanyin… New tea from WP!!!

Yes, this tea is heavenly good.

The greenest of the greens, it wears its name really well.

The taste is pure and ethereal…

Feels like a light fluffy cloud in the mouth.

Sweet and delicate with a buttery mouthfeel.

It’s floral, lilac lovers you will love this!

The smell is intoxicating…

Imagine being in one of China’s most luxuriant garden in the springtime. Never been to China, but that’s how I imagine it would smell like.

I get a hint of spice that translates as nutmeg for me. I often get that from good quality green high mountain oolongs. There’s a minty fresh finish to the sip that just makes my mouth feels so clean.

This tea will give you angel breath!

I highly recommend it to all green oolong lovers…

I’m still floating on my oolong cloud after 6 excellent steeps. Get this. It has all the noms you need.

Here’s some pics:

http://instagram.com/p/wP5k11Qh3n/

http://instagram.com/p/wQAfcKQhx3/

I snagged this one from the last round of the ’Here’s Hoping’ teabox. I had pumpkin pie for breakfast and I really think CHAI goes with pumpkin pie. This particular blend contains the golden snails that I tried before: a light sweet potato flavor. Not the deepest darkest chai, but sometimes it’s nice for a change. I love the mix of spices in this one and it’s the perfect balance. Sweet potato base with just the right spices. I like that this one has the vanilla beans (the occasional crunch in my teeth) and also the holy basil to give it a little bit of a vegetal flavor. The second steep was just as spicy. This one is very good… it would be my choice for a lighter base chai, but I think I’d usually go for a brisk chai.
Steep #1 // 1 tsp // couple minutes after boiling // 3 min steep
Steep #2 // just boiled // 4-5min

Another snaily tea! This one has a lot more gold colour, like more gold than black, and a sweeter scent to the dry leaves. As it started brewing, the aroma was actually really mild, but a couple minutes in, it started to get really chocolatey. The flavour has a blend of chocolate, fruit, sweet potato and malty notes, and a long finish with sweetness and a bit of spice. It’s really nice, sweet and smooth.

I found this when I rummaged through my tea cupboard. I can’t remember if I had drunk this before and not reviewed it, or if it has just languished. (NTS: drink from stash and stop buying tea.)

This is a nice black tea. Smooth, a bit smokey, a little sweet. Very nice.

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. :)

My Whispering Pines order came in! YAAAAAY. :)
This is the first one I tried, because it sounded so good and smelled SO amazing. Oh man, it tastes amazing too. Chocolatey, creamy, malty deliciousness in a cup. YUM.

It’s a beautiful Sunday afternoon here in Richmond. Sunny, not a cloud in sight and almost 70F – What a treat in early February! So, what kind of tea with which to celebrate this meteorological excellence? A happy cup of Golden Snail Yunnan seemed befitting to honor the day.
Oh my! What a delicious cup! The dry leaf itself is golden and gorgeous with a seducing aroma of chocolate. So chocolatey that I could easily imagine that cocoa had been sprinkled upon the leaf. Golden Snail has the strongest note of chocolate flavor of any non-flavored black tea that this unrepentant chocoholic has ever tasted! Along with chocolate, there are incredible notes of sweet maple syrup and malt. A hint of brown sugar, butter and a pleasant wisp of oak bring this cup to Yunnan tea perfection!
Whispering Pines, you’ve done it yet again – This Golden Snail is the perfect example of what makes Yunnans so great. Thank you!
Now, time for another cup of this lovely brew with which to enjoy this lovely, springlike Sunday in Old Virginia.

So, I’m finally nearing the end of my bag of this really delicious tea. It’ll definitely be sad to see it go – today was yet another fantastic cup with all of those vanilla, chocolate and fudge notes that I’ve been enjoying so much.

As with some of the other WP teas I bought (though certainly not all of them), this was too expensive for me to keep a regular stock of. But I know I’ll certainly treat myself to it again, in future – for an indulgent, dessert-like tea, I’ve not yet come across anything more delicious! :D

I returned this tea a lot over the past few days – I was in need of a pick-me-up, and I could think of nothing better than this! The wonderful flavours of vanilla and chocolate, combining to produce that exceptional fudge like impression, will never cease to please.

This tea is a luxury, and certainly one I’m enjoying to the full!

So I fiiiiiiiiiiiiinally made time to sit down and treat myself to a cup of this tea. I was so excited to open the bag and, I must say, I was not disappointed by the smell. It smells so much like chocolate and vanilla. Really wonderful smell – something like a really chocolate-y fudge or a particularly vanilla-tinged brownie.

Though the wet leaves don’t smell nearly as good (still got the vanilla, but that generic roast/black tea smell has kicked in), the infusion itself smelled wonderful – still super sweet and so much vanilla :D

I can see what a couple of other reviewers meant about this being quite delicate – after drinking Verdant’s Zhu Rong for so long, particularly with their pretty extreme steeping conditions, I did find it a much gentler cup. But that definitely isn’t a complaint. It had hot chocolate, vanilla and fudge like notes. It’s exceptionally smooth, with little-to-no astringency. And so much vanilla, especially in the after taste. It just lingered for a few wonderful moments.

The vanilla and cocoa notes seemed to come through much more strongly as it cooled, too – once it got down to a really sippable temperature, it was much stronger and really flavoursome. Still on the mild-side of black teas, but definitely not in a way that is negative. It’s just light and sweet, like (I suppose) any good vanilla dessert ought to be!

Delightful. I’ll definitely be drinking this again soon :D

Firstly, Cyber Monday is on! 20% off sitewide at www.whisperingpinestea.com

Secondly, I believe an introduction is in order! :-)

The first private-label pu-erh pressing under the Great Lakes Label! These 100 gram cakes were pressed in October 2014 from Spring 2012 Xishuangbanna material, and are composed of 100% Gold Needle grade pu-erh, tested clean for pesticides and contaminants!

A beautiful pu-erh that was produced in Xishuangbanna province but stored away from the intense aging conditions there after production. All of the rough earthyness has faded already and this shou shows great potential for further aging. This high-grade shou pu-erh was an exciting find. Gold needle grade generally accounts for less than 0.5% of a fermentation batch, and is usually used sparingly to smooth out blends before pressing. Finding gold needle grade shou pu-erh is exceedingly difficult because of this.

Our Huron Gold Needle is the silkiest tea we have ever tasted. It feels at though there isn’t even tea in your mouth, and the flavors are being magically transported by a thick, weightless warm air. It floats across the tongue and down the throat on a carpet of moss, cocoa, and sweet fruit with a lasting creamy warmth in the aftertaste.

These cakes come packaged individually in 100% recycled heavy-weight envelopes, which are ideal for storing to age. These cakes have amazing aging potential, and will only get better!

There were 300 cakes produced, and only 30 available for the initial release. The rest will be available in February 2015.

I’m getting chocolate, blackberry, and vanilla. This tea is so robust and tasty. An absolute must-try.

This is really really awesome!!
I’ve drank a pretty good bit of it the past few days actually because damn it’s so good.
Not so easy to describe, its earthy and almost kinda tropical to me, like a refreshing tropical burst of of lime followed by a smooth soothing earthy taste of puerh with just a hint of sweetness, awesome!!
Lime to me sometimes can make things a tad bitter or sour even but not in here, the strong puerh and the slightly sweet brown sugar balance it out very well.
Looks like muddy water taste like heaven, hard to describe for me because I had it with different puerh and it’s gonna taste different pending on which puerh you use, I’ve used 4 different puerhs so far with, I think really thick, dark earthy, woodsy Puerh is perfect for it.

I had a few vaariations of it too so I’ll share that with ya, cuz i think it was interesting.
I made it with an aged Liu Bao and it was awesome, a little sweeter than with the Puerh and not quite as earthy, very nice but I like a really earthy Puerh for this.
Fresh Lime is is important for this one, I did run out of them and I used a tablespoon of lime juice instead, it was pretty good to but just not as good as a real lime.
I also ran out of dark brown sugar and had to use some light brown sugar once it was also really good but the dark brown is the best, dark brown had a slight molasses kinda of taste to it that played much better than the sweeter taste of the light brown sugar.

If you try this, which i think anybody who likes puerh should try it, Do it exactly the way it is written here! You’ll love it, if ya don’t absolutely love it at first then try to play with it some ;)
I played with it some because I loved it and because I ran out of stuff for it from making so much lol

I’m not putting a number on it because of the diverse flavors and tastes of different puerhs that you can use to make this, Make it with your fav Pu-erh or even better with WP Ontario 1357 Shou ;)