Whispering Pines Tea Company

Delicious roasty oolong. Could easily be a coffee substitute for those so inclined to do so. Myself, I like this in the evening after work, rejuvenates and calms me from a stressful day.

Whoops. Totally forgot it was Valentine’s day all day today.. thought it was tomorrow so I didn’t have any of my Valentine’s themed teas. Somehow I don’t think I have many at this point? This was from Kawaii433— thank you very much! It’s also a sipdown. I love these types of teas in general, I’ve had WP’s in the past. So this note is for the new harvest! The little rolled bundles look mostly gold in color. I think lately this type of tea from other vendors has been lighter than I remember them in past harvests. Which means the flavor results in a lighter flavor as well. The gold brew is delicious but slightly too light in flavor for me. I remember the past harvest of this being ridiculously complex. Though I think maybe because the leaves have more to unravel, each cup also has unraveling flavors. The flavors here are noticeably sweet potato and honey. The second steep is a bit darker and takes on more of that awesome wine quality some very fresh black teas seem to have. (I think I notice that fading in my black teas when they get older, sadly.) It’s lovely to revisit a fresh harvest of this type of tea. Though as I expected, the newer harvests of many black teas seem to have lighter flavor. The rating for this one would be 90.
Steep #1 // 1 heaping teaspoon for a full mug // 9 minutes after boiling // 2 1/2 minute steep
Steep #2 // 2 minutes after boiling // 3 minute steep
2019 sipdowns: 10

Thank you TeaTiff for the swap! It’s terrible it’s taking a while for me to try these teas. I’m trying! These leaves are little coils of gold with hints of black. There is a fragrance of tomato soup before I even take a sip. The flavor is lovely – very smooth, tomato soup, honey, hints of chocolate, sweet potato, bit of spice. A ridiculous combination if you think about it, but the flavors work perfectly together… only in tea! The second steep really melded together and deepened… more difficult to pick out the flavors like I did in the first cup but very delicious!
Steep #1 // 1 tsp // few min after boiling // 3 min
Steep #2 // just boiled // 5 min

Thanks so much to Dexter for sending me samples of these pricey Whispering Pines teas! The leaves of this one are rather broken, but I think that’s mostly because it came from the bottom of the package. I can see the cedar leaves and a few scant saffron fragments mixed in. Dry scent is earthy, woody, and reminds me of scotch.

This tea has a very manly aroma. It’s a mixture of woody and leather with a touch of vanilla, and makes me think of a study with a vintage wooden desk and leather-bound books. Hmm, this one is actually quite interesting. It tastes much as I would expect it to from the aroma – there’s a strong woody flavor and roasty note. It tastes almost exactly like high-quality scotch to me (I don’t drink, but my boyfriend loves scotch so I’ve tasted his on multiple occasions). I can taste a hint of menthol at the end of the sip. Overall, very unique, though I don’t see this being worth the price.

Can I get this by the pound without breaking the bank? What lovely flavors of chocolate and vanilla. There is also a melange of other flavors but I can’t really pick out the individual flavors. The dry scent is lovely, almost better than the flavor but the flavor is awesome. I can picture this in a daily rotation of favorite teas. Unfortunately, I don’t have more :-(

Thanks to The Cookie Lady!

So, this worked last time so, I’ll try it again. I have never tried this tea, but I would desperately love to try this. It sounds so fantastic. If anyone would like to, I would love to swap for this tea.

First sip…. ahhh, comfort. Notes of honey, and a spice that while mild feels like it would relieve congestion. It has some flavor I can’t place but reminds me of something familiar… I could see myself drinking this all day when I’m not feeling well. A perfect tea for a gloomy, rainy day in the District.

Let me start out by saying that I have been a fan of Verdant’s black tea’s for a long time, and of course my favorite from the teas they offered was the Laoshan Black, but the Laoshan always lacked a certain something to it that I found in this tea! This tea is maltier, more chocolatey, and all around a more flavorful, full bodied tea. The smell of it when you first pour water on it smells delicious and makes my mouth water! I have been enjoying Whispering Pines tea for a couple of weeks now and both of the teas I ordered(Golden Orchid and Ailaoshan Black) are amazing and are very very flavorful.

This is quite possibly one of the tastiest teas, if not the tastiest tea I’ve ever had. The grade A Madagascar vanilla beans in the tea really help bring out and complement the malt flavor that the tea has. Drinking this morning, day, or night this tea always brings a smile to my face and is perfect for enjoying on a nice fall day outside. The tea has flavor notes that are malty, fruity, and an almost sweet vanilla that isn’t so strong that you lose the taste of the black tea, just complements it. I can’t wait to buy more!

Miss Dexter was generous enough to send me a sample of this rather expensive tea (along with Port) because it’s one of the Whispering Pines teas that sounds amazing but costs more than I am willing to pay just to try it. So thank you, amazing tea friend! The leaves are a mixture of fuzzy golden Imperial Dian Hong buds and darker, twisty Ailaoshan Black leaves. Dry scent is very sweet and vanilla-y with a touch of cocoa.

Mm, the steeped tea smells fantastic… A lovely creamy mix of sweet vanilla custard, milk chocolate, caramel, and dark dried fruit. Wow, the taste is much earthier than I expected! I can definitely taste the described oak and morel notes, and they blend amazingly with soft cocoa and sweet vanilla flavors. There’s a caramel sweetness that becomes creme brulee when mixed with the vanilla, and just a touch of fruity sweetness that the website describes as cherry. Very delicious!

Delicious. Smooth, with a slight grassy flavor and a natural almost-caramel sweetness. It doesn’t really seem like black tea… more like green, but with the sweetness of a high quality black.

Update: then I steeped it too long and it definitely tasted like more normal black tea. It is MUCH better steeped correctly.

I received this one as a free sample with my WP order. It was one that i had considered ordering, so i was happy to see it. Brewed, this is a smooth tea, with hints of cocoa, malt with an almost fruitiness to it. It’s not my favourite of the WP teas, but i can understand why so many folks love this one. I throroughly enjoyed this cup, but i’m going to pass the other half of my wee sample over to a friend to try as i think this one might be something they’ll enjoy too!

I brewed this tea correctly this time, I think. It is slightly bitter, just a little. It has a strong roasted barley taste, very strong, and not in a real pleasant way. It has long black, twisted leaves that look really tasty. But it doesn’t taste as good as it looks to me. I do not always like roasted barley flavored teas. Next time I will add honey instead of sugar, that may mitigate the roasted barley flavor a bit. This tea might improve steeped gongfu style but it is morning and I am too lazy to steep it gongfu style.

I brewed this once in an 18oz teapot with 4 tsp leaf and 190 degree water for 1 min.

I won’t give this a rating today because I inadvertently over brewed it. I gave it the standard 3 min steep and afterwards noticed the directions said a one minute steep, oh well. Its still not bad but not as good as others have said. I will try it again another time with a 1 min steep and see how it is. This way I get a strong sour taste and a mild roasted barley taste.

I brewed this once with 5 tsp leaf and 190 degree water in a 18oz teapot for 3 min.

OH MY!!!
First sip and I taste mushroomy notes Yay!!!!!!
Extremely smooth and Silky, almost creamy.
Nice subtle earthy note that is very clean tasting almost mineraly.
Some woody types notes also in there, slight sandalwood.
Raw cocoa notes.
At times I got almost toasty nutty kinda of notes.
At times it was also kinda savory and broth like, mushroomy broth.
This Tea is great hot, warm, cool or cold; it’s great with long steeps, short steep or any steeping method.
It is also Long Lasting, I started off saying this was an all day tea because it yields so many steeps, it just wont quit.

View my Blog post Please
http://toadsteablog.blogspot.com/2014/10/2012-huron-gold-needle-puerh-by.html
Thanks :)

Thanks for the sample Ost!

This is a rich, complex black blend. I like it but I feel like it needs something. Like it is missing a top note or needs more natural sweetness? Anyway, this is good but I strongly prefer Golden Orchid and Cocoa Amore :D

I did a short steep (2 minutes), and the result was a nice light Keemun that’s full of plum and honey notes. When I say full I mean full. The plum notes were juicy and sweet, and the honey could be tasted throughout the sip but was strongest at the end. It was really, really good!

The deeper notes of grain and malt you can get from a longer steep are nice, but the brightness and fruitiness from a quick steep was delicious, too. I’m starting to think this is one of those teas that’s tough to mess up. No matter what I do to it the flavor is excellent!

My first cup of this was fairly sweet with lots of plum and date-like notes. There was also cocoa, malt, and honey. Really nice. The resteep was much more earthy with lots of wet earth and grain notes as well as something else a wee bit dark that I’m having trouble identifying. Again, really nice. I may go for a third steep in a while just to see how the flavors play out. Right now I’m going to go plant bulbs. It’s December 1st and the high today is 60°F. There’s no way I’m staying inside!

Tea of the morning. This is an unusual Keemun. It’s light and fruity with underlying honey notes. There might be a little chocolate, but the plum, raisin, and dried date notes are at the forefront. I pick up the pine – very light and clean – in the smell, but I don’t taste it. There’s no smoke even at the end of the sip. Overall, I like this a lot. For me, this is an afternoon tea. I think the lighter body and soft sweetness of the tea will be wonderful as an afternoon pick-me-up.

Just finished my sample of this tea. Definitely getting some chocolate notes in this one, quickly followed by a sharp sweetness. These flavors are brought together by an earthy, slightly malty body. I did perhaps notice a tiny bit of bitterness and astringency, but trust me as somebody who dislikes those things a lot – they are not a problem due to the boldness of the fruit flavor here. In fact, this tea may have let me develop an appreciation for how a hint of bitterness and astringency can sometimes work with the flavors to produce something good. In regards to that it reminds me of dark chocolate, where the bitterness is sort of a necessary evil that eventually grows on you. Currently I’m unsure if i would re-order this and I find it hard to rate this tea because I am still kind of ‘exploring’ the spectrum of various black teas… but I would not be surprised if, at the end of my journey, this tea ends up being one of the highlights.

3min/1.5tsp/210F/8oz