Whispering Pines Tea Company

Somehow this wasn’t listed as being in my cupboard even though I distinctly remember adding it.

I really like this tea.

I’m not sure when my tastes expanded like this, but they sure have.

And I needed a higher energy tea today for sure. There’s a lot going on today.

I have friends coming in from out of town soon. They were supposed to be driving but their car broke down part way into their journey. They instead took the car in for service and booked plane tickets. They’ll be here in less than two hours. I’m excited!

After that, we’re heading across the Mitten to meet up with other friends from all over the country. It should be a fantastic couple of days.

I couldn’t resist this tea just for the name when I placed my Whispering Pines Tea order the other day. It’s not one that I probably would have picked otherwise, even though I’m working to expand my tea horizons.

I’m glad I did. I will be honest, I don’t quite get most of the flavors that my favorite tea hobbit talks about with this one in his descriptions. I do get that baked bread kind of flavor, though. It’s a step.

I do like it. It’s got a rich, bready flavor that makes me hungry for breakfast.

And there’s also this :D

Time for Second Breakfast — A Baggins’ family recipe, passed down through generations of Baggins’s (thank you, Gollum, for that word)! I was told to keep it secret and keep it safe, but it’s so precious that I had to share!

A day in the Shire wouldn’t be complete without Second Breakfast! This blend is a tad lighter in body than your average breakfast blend, but a whole lot heavier on the flavor! Smooth, sweet, and thick, Second Breakfast is bursting with berries and chocolate. The body is silky and caramelly-sweet, coating your mouth with honey and stonefruit. Red berries can be noted in the middle of the sip along with a hint of pine. The finish is wildflowers and salted french baguette.

Enjoy a journey picking berries on the outskirts of the Shire with your Second Breakfast!

Notes: Berries, Chocolate, Stonefruit, Caramel, Malt, Pine, Salted French Baguette, Wildflowers

http://whisperingpinestea.com/second-breakfast.html

Available for pre-order as of right now! Shipping by the 17th :-)

Enjoy!~

http://whisperingpinestea.com/rivendell.html

Well, this happened :)
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Rivendell is a majestic Elven outpost in Middle Earth, filled with lush vegetation, towering waterfalls, and clean, pure air.

Our Rivendell blend was inspired by this ethereal place. With a base of sweet Anxi Tieguanyin, roasted cedar leaves, and hand-cut Tahitian vanilla, this tea is the essence of purity.

Rivendell opens with the taste of cedar, cherry, and caramel flowing through a luscious sweet body. The middle of the sip coats your mouth with a nectar-like sweetness and hints at vanilla and chocolate, with a touch of pine nut and mineral, reminiscent of spring water that has flowed over miles of untouched granite. The finish is clean with hints of lilac and pear, leaving an aftertaste of cedar and caramel. It tastes as if the purest water in the world flowed through miles of sugarcane fields, scattered with nectar-filled lilacs and orchids, passed through a forest of cedar and cherry trees, then poured over a pristine granite cliff straight into your cup. It’s pure nectar and caramel with light florals, a hint of berries and chocolate, a touch of pine nut, and heady evergreen sweetness.

If there ever was a fruit fit only for the elves, this would be its juice.

Notes: Cedar, Cherry, Caramel, Vanilla, Mineral, Chocolate, Pine Nut, Lilac, Pear

http://whisperingpinestea.com/rivendell.html

I’ve been drinking this for 2 nights now. Tonight I’m having this for dessert with a taro mochi. It’s pretty much your typical chai, and it has no medicinal rooibos flavor.

Method:
2TB/10oz
Rinse: 20sec
First steep: 45sec
Second steep: 50sec
Third steep: 55sec
Fourth steep: 55sec
Fifth steep: 1min 05sec

I wish I could tell you what temperature the water was. I use an Adagio UtiliTEA to heat water and I don’t have a thermometer. I did the touch test for temp: I dipped my finger in and pulled it away quickly. It registered as “hot” for a moment, but not enough to burn. It’s the temp I use for green teas.

1. Herbaceous aroma and taste at the tip of the tongue. There is a slightly tangy flavor that I can’t place as a fruit. Not quite bitter, but tangy. There are woodsy notes too. Like fresh wood and forest. Each sip finishes creamy, sweet, and floral…similar to a tieguanyin. There is a buttery mouthfeel that’s more texture than flavor. It actually reminds me of a very light cheesecake, or whipped topping.

2. Now THIS infusion says “tangy lime” to me! It is slightly tart, with just a touch of bitterness that makes me think of lime zest. There is a spice quality that I can’t put my finger on. Oh, that frustrates me. It’s an herbaceous, plant-like spice that I’ve noticed in other shengs. Particularly Mandala’s Wild Monk. The creamy, floral finish coupled with the tangy lime flavor makes me think of key lime pie! I’m just missing the graham cracker crust.

3. Very similar to the second. Begins with tanginess and bitter lemon/lime zest. A very leafy, plant-like flavor too. I seem to be catching notes of aloe/eucalyptus. It’s a green freshness. Not as potent as the notes I was catching in the Jabber though. I hope I’m not reading it wrong, because eucalyptus is still a flavor that’s new to my palate. Finish is long: floral, cream, dairy.

4. Compared to previous steeps the fourth is soooo smoothed out. There is absolutely no bitterness. The tangy lime/citrus flavor has dissipated as well. It’s sweet, with notes of honey and melon. Unripe melon. Honeydew! There’s a hint of pine. It could be cedar, I admit, but it’s most certainly an evergreen. It feels juicy in a way that makes my mouth water. Again, cream in the finish.

5. This one is floral and fresh, sweet like honeysuckle. The melon flavor is still present—ripe, not unripe. Long finish with butter and cream. Buttery both in taste and texture this time! This steep has notes of hay like a white tea. Not quite grain, but hay, yes. Creaminess that coats your mouth.

Overall an interesting experience. I would like to see how this tea ages with time. I imagine the first few steeps wouldn’t be so rough. I drank this yesterday and threw the leaves into a jar of water to cold-steep overnight. Today it’s very leafy and fresh with faint notes of honeysuckle and cream. I didn’t catch all of the flavors that were described, but then, I don’t know what “camphor” or “oakmoss” taste like. It was definitely very green, as shengs tend to be. There were indefinable undertones of evergreen spice. Flavors that I have a hard time putting into words!

I’m excited to see what other people think of this one. (:

I’m a tea newbie, and this was my first wild-picked sheng to try.
I feel very unqualified to judge here, as I’m still getting used to the taste in general.
Brewing as directed on the package made the tea extremely bitter for me. Next I tried pseudo- gongfu with my ingenuitea with 10 sec rinse followed by 30 sec steep. There was still a bit of bitterness, so I’m thinking a 5 sec max steep would work. I’m not giving up on this tea!!

Yummy maltomeal goodness! I may have to start making this my go-to breakfast tea. I love it black prepared as the package instructs, but I may have to put some honey and milk in there to transport me back to those childhood breakfasts.
I think it was teafairy who said this was total pudding mouth…. And I get it now!

Today has been another cruddy day. It’s not been a good week. Penny, the kitty in my profile picture, has been acting off, and since that has resulted in WWIII in our house, I took him to the vet yesterday to make sure he wasn’t sick. Dr. Fear, the awesome vet, called to tell me that he is indeed sick, but we don’t know with what. His white blood cell count is through the roof, but all the rest of his number are fine. We get to go back and do an xray tomorrow because he does have a known lung abnormality that has never been identified. Anyway, that was just part of my great day. Work has also been awfully awful. I have a terrible stress headache, possibly from pounding my head against my desk in frustration. (Okay, I didn’t really do that, but I wanted to.)

So I needed some comfort tea. This was the tea I chose as jasmine is one of my greatest comforts.

Brenden, I love this tea. It’s a really good jasmine. Not too jasmine, but just perfect. Comforting. Peaceful.

But now I am out of it, as this was just a random sample thrown in with my last order, and it’s out of stock. (Yes, I really, truly thought about breaking tea buying hiatus for this one. It’s that good and I need it in my cupboard. I didn’t realize it until now, but I do.)

edited to fix the fact that hearts seem to break my tasting notes….

Brenden threw in a sample of this with my recent WP order. This morning, trying to get out the door and realizing I needed more tea at work, but having no time to deal with pulling out anything and no space for anything but sample sizes, I grabbed this and hoped for the best.

It’s really good.

I love jasmine teas. I love green teas. This is a beautiful jasmine blend. It’s not too too jasmine, but it’s still definitely jasmine. Beautifully jasmine. Deliciously jasmine. Dance on my tongue jasmine.

It kept me company all morning. On the website, there are directions for 3 infusions, but I got 4 for sure. I thought about doing a fifth, except I them knocked the brew basket off my desk and decided I didn’t want to use the leaves that were now all over my cubicle carpeting again. (Other than tea, this has been my day.)

Today has been a day of laundry, watching Doctor Who on Netflix, and drinking Whispering Pines tea. Right now it’s this tea. It took me over 3 hours to fold and put away the boxes and boxes of clothes that I’d been avoiding since we moved 3 months ago. And I figured this would be a perfect reward. Delicious chocolate with a bit of malt, it’s hard not to love this. So decadent.

Backlog
Hot, this tea is like rich dark cocoa, but as it cools it gets much more roasty.
First sip of my cup, and wow, cocoa. Dark dark cocoa. My boyfriend accidentally turned off my timer so I don’t know how long this was steeping for, but I’ve decided I like it this strong.

We had company over last night, so I added a splash of Coconut Rum that I picked up while I was in the Caribbean, and it was superb. I love chocolate and coconut, so the two went together perfectly. Like a perfect dessert drink. All it was missing was whipped creme. That should totally be a thing. A tea bar! Serving mixed drinks made with tea, like strawberry tea in a daiquiri, chocolate tea and rum. Pumpkin chai and Baileys. If I ever win the lottery that’s what I’ll do. Open a Tea Bar.

Anyway, so I resteeped, and while waiting for it to cool, totally forgot about it. A couple hours later, it’s cold, but I take a sip. Deep dark roasty-ness hits me. And something else, that I might even call an autumn leaf pile (not that I’ve ever experienced autumn, let alone an autumn leaf pile. I love the sun sand and surf of Florida, but sometimes I’m really jealous of you northerners).

I put the leaves in the fridge last night, so depending on if they still smell fragrant, I might go another round with this baby.

Oh yes.

My tiny, tiny WPT order came in today. This is just what I needed!

I couldn’t tell you what camphor or eucalyptus tastes like, but I can tell you that it’s similar to aloe. Or at least, the way aloe smells. It smells like a pale green plant. Not minty, but it awakens similar taste buds. It’s like a breath of fresh air. A cool mountain breeze, carrying the scent of evergreen trees. I still don’t know what eucalyptus tastes like but I bet it’s delicious. ;) This was the first note I found in this tea. Following closely behind is the deep, rich flavor of dark chocolate. It’s SOOO dark and so robust! Just the way I like it! It intensifies as I keep sipping, and covers my mouth with a dark malty sweetness. Mmmm, cocoa. There is the suggestion of stone fruits in the background. (I recognize this from Ailaoshan Black.) Red fruits. Plums, raisins, maybe cherries. Each sip finishes with honey and thick caramel. It has a pudding-like texture. It coats your whole mouth and leaves you wanting moooore! After, when I exhale, I taste aloe/eucalyptus/freshness. It’s a very “clean” sensation (which is why I likened it to mint).

The second steep is more smooth and mellow. The flavors have melded together a little more and the aloe/eucalyptus has receded. It still has a freshness to it, but it’s not as pervasive. There’s a woodsiness/earthiness to this steep as well. Notes of cocoa still present, and strong. They contribute to the dark forest flavors very well. If I try very hard I can discern a grainy, bready flavor behind everything. It’s not like fresh buttered bread. It’s dry. Fresh, but dry. Maybe toasted wheat bread or bread crust. And omg, pudding mouth. There’s a very creamy, caramelly, custard-like finish! Ahhhh, this is great. I’m so glad I got this before it sold out.

Dang it Brenden. Adding yet another to my cupboard staples.

sigh

I was extremely pumped to try this tea. I love it, but I’m not getting the apricot or pluot flavor that others taste.
I know it’s not proper, but I drank the second steep with milk and agave syrup just for kicks, and it was a delicious cup! It tastes vanilla/mocha/malty to me.

feels like everyone has been drinking this lately…thought I’d join in finally. xD
I am happy I finally decided to drink it again now. Rough day. But this makes me feel a bit happier. It is comforting to have tea on the bad days (:
And it’s just as good as I remembered. Taste cherries and cocoa. And actually some malt that I don’t quite remember last time.
Lovely tea. Even on that bad days (:

I’ve had such a rough day emotionally. First my best friend who has been visiting me for the last week left again. Then my family was causing issues over my friend. And on top of that I’ve been feeling horribly physically. It’s just been a horrible day emotionally.
So it was a nice day to get my Whispering Pines order.
The strongest flavor I taste is baked bread. It definitely reminds me of that. There are hints of honey and caramel that make this tea so sweet. Reminds me of the Golden Snail tea, which upon trying last week became one of my favorite teas, hands down!
So this one is definitely a win!
It cheered me up some today, at least made me stop crying. Definitely an excellent tea worth trying!

The leafe colour of this one is dark brown almost black even When I mention a Teas colour liquid or leafe it is actually Lance who describes it to me because I have colourblindness, to me it is actually quite black and the appearance is very pretty long twisty leafes, they seem fragile easy to break in the fingers but do not crumble.

The Dry leafe aroma is slightly sweet with much citrus and a vegetal something reminiscent of seaweed to me.

I steeped this one in an earthen Gaiwan perfectly according to Brenden’s reccomendations, Water at 190 starting time of 1 minute.

Steep 1- 1 minute
The Wet leafe has an almost roasty, vegetal and very citrus type aroma to me, very nice.
The liquid colour is quite light like a golden honey, beautiful.
The taste is light and crisp with citrus and a little floral with and underlying woody type note. Nice!

Steep 2- 1 minute 30 seconds
The liquid is just slightly darker this time but still like a golden honey says Lance.
The flavors have changed this time it is actually quite bold and strong to me with awesome citrus notes playing with straight up sandlewood notes and the floral note of the first steep has become the underlying note. Very Nice!

Steep 3- 2 minutes
The colour this time is slighly darker, like a dark honey.
The flavour of this steep is much like the last, sandlewood and citrus but the floral is much better taste like they way an Orchid smells and a slight nutty earthy taste of perhaps a walnut but not bitter at all. Pleasant and complex!

Steep 4- 3 minutes
I was excepting it to possibly be a litter darker again but it isn’t, it is starting to get lighter like honey still but not quite as dark this time more like an amber colour.
Now I’m getting getting a very slight note of Pine(thats what I was waiting for), citrus and just a little sandlewood still, a bit more floral still like an Orchid and a little more earthy, nutty walnut type note to me still not bitter but this time there is a slight pleasant dryness of the finish.
The citrus and the sandlewood seemed come together almost as one throughout these steepings but now the citrus seems to be overtaking the sandlewood notes,if that makes any sense.
I noticed that Brenden says this fourth steep is his personal favorite which I can understand, it does seem to have reached some kind of changing point right about now but I think so far #3 is my favorite. Power of suggestion? I was very much looking forward to #4 because of the description.

Steep 5- 4 minutes
The colour remained the same the same as the last steep this time but the taste has changed quite bit.
This time around the floral Orchid note and the citrus are really popping and the sandlewood and the slight pine note are damn near gone. The nutty note is surely walnut to me with the same pleasant dryness on the finish, I see in other reviews people getting a cashew nuttyness which I was also looking forward to but I’m just not getting it :(. I was possibly wrong about #4 being a changing point because tho it has changed slightly with each steeping and more so on the 4th this change seems to be the best. 5th steep is now my favorite, this is it right here. Perfection!

Steep 6- 6 minutes
The colour is almost exactly the same as the 2 previous steepings, just very slightly lighter.
The flavour tho has diminished quite a bit with pretty much only the floral and the citrus remaining, not much else except for the dryness on the end which is still nice but not as pleasant as before, I think perhaps the extra steeping time has allowed the tea to cool a bit this time and changed that dryness on the finish. Still very pleasant to drink.

Steep 7- 9 minutes
The colour is more like the first steep now and the flavour is just slight floral and citrus and hot water. Still overall this was a very nice and complex tea and I really enjoyed spending this time with it tonight.
I very much recommend this tea to everyone.

I think I’m tea drunk now or maybe it’s just late and I’m tired, Maybe Both lol

This was the first tea I had gongfu style! I picked it based on Brenden’s recommendation, which was spot on as always. I didn’t write a review that time because I just decided to concentrate on the experience rather than worrying about taking notes or anything. And then I’d just have to repeat the experience to write a decent review, oh darn ;).

First, this tea is gorgeous! The leaves are fluffy and curly, while their color reminds me of golden lion tamarin fur. I think it’s cute :). I brewed 3g at 205F 15/15/30/40/60 sec

Steep 1: This steep was malty and bready, melting into sweet honey and cocoa. There was an earthy aroma that didn’t really come through in the flavor with this steep. Overall, it was honey butter on a biscuit! Yes please. More of this.

Steep 2: This steep was still malty and bready, but almost aggressively earthy tasting. It was not as sweet, but cocoa is stronger.

Steep 3: Now all the tastes are still very present, but mellowed as a whole. They’re not any weaker, they’re just not as sharp as they were, as if they’ve melted into each other. The cocoa was the strongest flavor in this steep.

Steep 4: This steep was all buttery bread with a hint of earth but the cocoa seemed to be hiding. Where did you go, cocoa?

Steep 5: Cocoa’s back! This steep was surprised me given the fourth steep. It was buttery, bready, and cocoa-y. It reminded me of a chocolate croissant. Nommy to the max! I can’t decide if I like the first steep or the last steep better; maybe I’ll have to do this again soon I’m definitely doing this again soon. This tea makes my teeth buzz and got me hella tea drunk to boot!

Aaaaah Saturday morning yums!!!

Method: 1.5 tsp, 8 oz, 200 degrees, 3 minutes, French Press

Dry Leaf Aroma & Brewing Aromas: Chocolate cake. Om nom nom

Flavor: yum! This has lovely cakey and cocoa notes. I wish it was a little sweeter, but that’s easily remedied. I am going to try a second steep and see how that goes!!!

And another sipdown as I slowly inch back towards 200. Just four more to go!
(And then I can start working towards 150, and maybe even more from there?) At least I am getting closer to having staple teas that I need to keep around (along with an assortment of smaller .5-1oz samples to suit my varying moods!

Sadly, this tea is NOT tin-worthy. I think it’s the mint that throws this one off for me. The berries are good. The smoke is nice. But there’s just something about this doesn’t blow my mind. I would drink it occasionally, but I don’t think I’d grab more than an oz at a time!

Uh oh. This is the last of my sample! Gotta get more!

I’m drinking this and watching Clue. I think I’ve seen Clue at least 1000 times. No lie. Whenever I can’t decide on something to watch, I pick Clue. I think this tea goes very nicely with Tim Curry. And that is a VERY high compliment to the tea!

I’m feeling so restless today. I want to do something, but I don’t know what I want to do, so I do nothing, then get annoyed with myself and even more restless. Rinse. Repeat.

I was going to try the Elderwood this evening, but I grabbed this instead because I thought it might have a calming effect.

Method: 1.5 tsp, 8 oz, 180 degrees, 1.5 min, muggy strainer

Dry Leaf Aroma: wow, gorgeous. Pine/evergreen and a very strong floral, like jasmine

Brewing Aroma: heavier on the floral

Flavor: the floral is first, with some gentle piney notes. Then there’s this fascinating and totally unexpected nutty note. It’s strong, too. It’s also got a creamy feel and a buttery taste. It’s also a little sweet and has a nice lingering aftertaste.

Is it bad that I have a reminder on my calendar to get this in August before the batch is gone?

Edit: Ehrmagerd!!!! 2nd steep. 3.5 min. Sipping this. Yum. Ok yum. What’s that? Holy crap! It’s pine nuts! This tea tastes like little pignolis on the end of the sip. SB- I love you!!!

Golden Orchid is a vanilla scented black tea blend as per its ingredients list. In practice it’s more of a fudge tea. I stand by my old tea note of six years ago. I don’t know which year this batch came from (no younger than 2018) but I do think it’s not quite as fudge-like as previous batches but the aftertaste is undoubtedly fudge-like. Weirdly enough, a bit of the sour tang of stonefruit and cleansing note of eucalyptus is creeping in too, as well as a burst of cloying date sweetness every once in a while. Neat.

I may be at the point where I slightly prefer Ambrosia to this but it’s still very much a comfort tea. Glad to see I still have some in my stash (I am totally rediscovering my previously neglected tea cupboard. It’s the coursework and procrastination).