Whispering Pines Tea Company

This is the second sample I ordered from Whispering Pines. After seeing how popular and well-liked it is around these parts, I thought I’d see what all the fuss is about. The dry leaf is a mixture of black and golden leaves. I know there’s vanilla bean in here but I think it’s camouflaged among the black leaves. It smells just like hot chocolate mix to me! Very creamy milk chocolate with vanilla sweetness akin to marshmallows. Oh, and I steeped 1.5 tsp for 3 minutes.

The brewed tea smells delicious! Like deep, sultry vanilla mixed with dark cocoa and notes of caramel sweetness. I can see why everyone loves this tea! There is a very present cocoa taste that hits me first when I take a sip. The vanilla is there but more subdued than I expected (I read in a recent note that the presence of chocolate can cause us to not notice vanilla as much, maybe this is the case). I also taste warm freshly baked bread (maybe a sweet, rich bread like brioche or challah). I never really knew what “malty” meant in tea descriptions, but I think I can taste it in this tea, especially in the aftertaste – sort of a rich almost sourness but in a pleasant way, like yeast dough or dark beer. I would describe it as foamy. :P I drank the second half of this cup with a wee bit of sugar and I thought it helped the vanilla immensely (sorry all you purists). I’m not really sure I’m qualified to rate this tea but it was super delicious, so too bad! Aww, it’s all gone…

I actually had this one last night, but I completely forgot to log it this morning as I had planned to. I made sure to include this in my recent order, since the last time I had it, for some reason it didn’t come out very well for me. And it’s so darn inexpensive! So anyway, I really wanted to try it at once, but I saved it for the evening since it’s caffeine free. I overleafed a bit on purpose (2 teaspoons instead of 1/2 tablespoon) just to make sure the flavor was strong this time.

I definitely love this tea! The aroma and taste are both spicy and sweet and darkly fruity. I love the way the elderberries end up tasting – dark and syrupy but still sweet and berry-like. The spice is perfect! I can definitely taste the cinnamon and I get a clove-like flavor even though there are no cloves. I have no idea what holy basil is, so maybe it’s the cause of that. Overall, the flavor of this tea reminds me of a nice mulled apple cider with a deeper fruity flavor. Delicious, and a definite must-have from now on! I can’t wait to sip this in the colder months.

This was one of the samples that I ordered from Whispering Pines. It smells totally amazing – like cinnamon and berry and baked apples. Yummy! I did the recommended 1.5 tsp for 5 minutes.

I actually made this twice. My first try was last night, and I thought the tea came out very weak for my tastes. So I put off writing anything about it until I tried it again today. So I made it again in the same way (the sample was just enough for two cups) hoping it would come out differently. However, it still tastes very weak to me. Reading through the other reviews of this tea, I can’t help but feel like I somehow did something wrong. I wanted to love this tea so much, I really love the smell of it. I think I’ll have to buy some in the future and try it again, just to see if this was a fluke…

5:20am on my first day of christmas break, sitting in front of an open window…enjoying the temperature difference between inside and outside when the wind blows….really, is there anything better than winter?? The fragrance of this mug of tea keeps meeting my nose at random moments, and even before I’ve taken a sip I know exactly what to expect. The fujian notes lead the way into winter this morning, with deep velvety cocoa, dark molasses and a slight cannabis note….followed by the yam and apricot, baked grain and raisin of the Dian Hong. I’m thinking that what I pick up in some teas as cannabis others think as rye, but either way, this is a whole cup of warmth for this winter morning, when the holiday lays in wait and savoring every moment is the one thing you want to do. What do I have planned for my holiday? Selective hibernation, quiet contemplation of long shadows and mindfulness. It all begins, very deliciously here, with this cup.

ps. I used to get samples with my orders from Whispering Pines but haven’t gotten any in my last 3 orders….anyone else?

ok, i like this tea. i LIKE this tea. I didn’t want to like it, because it seems to be trending on Steepster right now (june 2014) and I didn’t want to get on the bandwagon, as I am one who bucks trends. Hard. I am also honest. This is a great tea.

This tea is what would happen if Bailin Gong Fu and Yunnan Gold Tips had a baby. A tea born to rule the universe of my mouth. AND I ONLY GOT A SAMPLE!!! It is malty, it is the best chocolate note I’ve had in a tea yet. (I added milk and the tea held up to the milk wonderfully…perhaps even bringing more roundness to the chocolate note) Bailin Gong Fu is a bit intense for me at times, and Yunnan Gold Tips is a bit understated for the mornings where I want a good cup of breakfast tea. Here… Here in my cup right now is something I feel was created just for me.

I am originally from Michigan, you know. :)

This is brilliant. Light notes of honey and sweet chocolate. I’ll definitely be ordering more when I’m out.

Ooh, this one is very interesting. It’s honey and fruit with a subtle undercurrent of smoked wood. The smell of the dry leaf and tea liquor was very heavy on the smoke, so it’s much lighter than I expected it to be! Delicate even. It’s smooth without a trace of bitterness. The finish is woodsy with a residual sweetness. The more I sip, the sweeter it seems to become. The smokiness recedes into the background a bit.

In the second cup, the smokiness is dialed back even more. The woodsy notes are stronger and the tea has gained a savory quality that reminds me of lightly roasted nuts. It’s smooth and silky and the sweetness is still very present.

I don’t think I could drink this every day but it’s quite nice. Something that’s suited for quiet, cool autumn nights.

SSTTB: Pick #11

So, there are two mint Chais in The Box and both smell pretty good so I’m taking advantage of my day off to do a side by side comparrison of the two. So the other one I’m drinking is Rishi’s Vanilla Mint Chai. I prepared both the same way; same amount of leaf, same steep time, same water temp and I’m pretty well just alternating between cups of them.

And I have to say, they’re really NOTHING alike. This one definitely seems more like a Chai to me; it’s smooth and has much more noticeable spice flavours in it like cloves and ginger, which both very much stick out to me. The cloves, which I love, balance off the ginger for me, which I hate. I would have said I tasted fennel too, but I don’t see that in the ingredients list. Odd. The mint in this one is also much crisper and I feel like it suits the Chai element really well. Everything just kinda “pops”.

And then, as a whole there’s something very very familiar and weird about this one. It took me a long ass motherfucking time to place what – but as one component, without breaking down the flavours, this reminds me EXACTLY of the Halva that the East Indian Convenience Store near me in Regina (my old city) used to sell. And it’s so weird to me that that happens to be the flavour that this one reminds me of because the Halva that they sold there was like this sweet, very nutty melt in your mouth buttery kind of pastry – but with an almost “cotton candy” like feel to it. It’s kinda hard to explain, I think, if you haven’t had it before.

It’s delicious though – and now I’m feeling really nostalgic? And why the ever loving fuck does a MINT CHAI remind me of sweet nutty pastry? My tastebuds are confused, but on board with this.

Oh, here’s a link for people who have no idea what I’m talking about: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halva#India

Brenden included this as a sample in my last order. :D I threw half of the leaves in a mason jar with 8oz of water, letting them steep for around 14-15 hours.

Man this is seriously good. Mint is the first flavor I notice. It’s very green, crisp, and slightly sweet. Next is the oolong—which strangely enough, tastes like chocolate to me? Am I the only one? It makes me think of Andes mints. (I would eat them obsessively when I was younger!) It’s a very light chocolate flavor but it’s definitely there. It also has a slight mineral taste that wuyi oolongs tend to have. I don’t notice much in the way of cinnamon; there’s just a hint of it at the end of each sip. Absolutely no bitterness in this cup. I wish I had let it steep longer, actually. It’s very clean, fresh, and minty-sweet. The oolong leaves a nice roasty/chocolate flavor in my mouth.

Oh, this tea. It takes me for a swim in a cool mountain spring on a hot, hot summer day.

Thanks so much for putting this in with my order. (:

OK, I admit it. I loveblack teas from Yunnan.
I also love pretty much every black bi luo I’ve ever had, & this one is no exception.
Deliciously honey malted, with an almost creamy mouth, it’s naturally sweet, pastry, yumminess.
Thanks to TeaFairy for my first sample from whispering pines.

This morning’s project was S’mores with S’mores tea! I think it was a huge success!

I used 1 tbsp of tea per cup, 208 degrees, and steeped longer this time (5 min). I added about 1/2 tbsp of cacao nibs to the steep also, because why not?

I used salted chocolate for the actual s’mores, and since I am not camping and don’t have a gas stove, I toasted the marshmallows in the oven. Broil on high, ONE min per side. Seriously, time it.

I melted the chocolate on a graham cracker for about a min in the micro. That was too long. 30 secs should do it. It may not look completely melted, but it continues to melt after it comes out. Don’t ask me how I know.

The tea and s’mores are amazing together. Salty sweet chocolate smokey creamy goodness.

I had some extra marshmallows, so I threw one in each cup of tea. They weren’t melting fast, so I just put the marshmallow in my mouth and drank the tea. Yumz.

Here are pics of the operation:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/124304184@N02/14500425813/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/124304184@N02/14479086634/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/124304184@N02/14500425323/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/124304184@N02/14293852837/

I really want to go camping…

Method: 1.5 tsp @ 208 degrees for 3 minutes in 8 oz., French Press

Dry Leaf Aroma: Smoke, Ginger Ale, and Cream Ale. Not ginger or cream. Specifically ginger ale and cream ale. Crazy!

Brewing Aroma: The smoke calmed way down. I can smell the black tea and a very subtle sweetness.

Flavor: Smoke & Spice, with a hint of sweetness. I didn’t get any chocolate from the scents or flavors, but I still enjoyed this tea very much. The smoke wasn’t out of control, though it definitely feels like making s’mores at a campfire. There was a nice zing to this. I would have sworn it was ginger, instead of cinnamon, but I guess I would be wrong. I saw that another Steepsterite mentioned oversteeping. I’ll try that next!

Had this one this morning, and it is so good. So rich and chocolate pastry like. Not bitter or astringent at all. I added milk and a little raw cane sugar.

Got this one from Courtney and it is both mineraly/raisiny/plummy and also cocoa/chocolatey. It is a quite nice black. I was able to enjoy this one without milk this morning, though I would like to see how it is with.

Quite enjoyable.

This is a very pleasant, well-balanced chai! The mint leaves a cool and refreshing feel in my mouth after sipping. The malt chocolate notes of the base tea are a nice complement to the mint and spices. It’s really good. I’ve noticed that the Fujian black tea base doesn’t retain as much of its flavor with a re-steep, which is a bit disappointing. The second steep is much more mellow; the base tea brings some light bread-like flavors, and the mint steps back to allow more of the cinnamon and spice to come forward. It’s significantly lighter but still delicious. I’m so glad I included this in my last order. Brenden knows how to do chai right! ;)

I’m pretty sure this tea tastes different to me every time I drink it. I remember drinking it and tasting smoke one time, and another I remember orange. Now I’m getting a vaguely pastry flavor. I’m not sure if that’s something that should be expected of this tea, or if it’s just getting old at this point. I didn’t see anyone else mention pastry as one of the flavors for this, and I have had it for a while now.

Oh. My. God.

Let me tell you about how I instantly fell in love with this tea. This is my first very smoky tea, and I was a bit “ish” about it when I realized that my cup smelled like beef jerky. BUT, when I took that first sip, I was SO surprised. There are some very obvious cocoa notes that appear just before the smoke, and it just works. The contrast between the flavours is what really makes this stand out, I would most definitely buy this.

Thank you Miss B

It was hooooot in here today folks!

I had cold brewed a 3 litre pitcher of this baby and it’s almost gone.

Best cinnaNOM treat ever… (Yes, Sarsonator, we call it cinnaNOM ’round here!!)

There’s a such a smooth cinnamon balance in this blend. You also get a nice earthy fruitiness from the elderberries. It taste so naturally sweet, and a little roasty and chocolaty, probably from the chicory.

What makes it such a lovely cold brew is the lemon balm. It just adds that little je ne sais quoi that makes it perfect. So good!!

Also, I know it’s getting late…but I’m listening to the Black Keys’s new album full blast, and it makes me happy :-)

Thank you friend who gave me an iTunes gift card a little while ago ;-)

Because Sarsonator can’t help talking about how delicious cinnamon is, I’ve decided to drink one of my favourite cinnaNOM tea…. (Sarsonator looooves cinnaNOM!)

Yes, this is a delicious blend, full of nominess. Lenommy, cinnanommy, choconommy.

Yes, that’s a lot of nommy and me like a lot.

Ok, before I start, I’d like to warn you that what I’m about to say does NOT affect the quality nor the freshness of this blend…It is only based on my sensitivity to certain scents.

Please forgive me Brenden but this dry blend…it smells like feet! Well, feet sprinkled with cinnamon and and other goodies.

Yes, I have been known to identify stinky feet in tea…sometimes it’s in the smell, but it’s obviously worse when it’s in the taste!

Luckily, in doesn’t transfer to the taste at all in this blend, phew!

Elder Grove is all cinnamon chocolate lemon drizzled. Just the right amount of sweet and citrusy notes.

Another blend that feels so earthy and organic.

It’s very relaxing, perfect infusion of the evening…

Thank you Brenden for this generous sample. (And sorry for the feet comparison!)

I was still in the mood for a smokey tea today, so I brought out my favorite. This is easily one of my top ten of all time teas. There’s a good amount of pine smoke, but also delicious cocoa notes mixed with malt and a flavor I always think of as baked grapefruit. It’s so good. The flavors play off of each other in the best of ways. It’s a great breakfast tea, but I’ve also reached for it in the afternoon when I’m looking for that break in the day to rest and regroup. This isn’t a tea I ever rush through. It’s too delicious for that.

Tea of the morning. I over brewed this, (probably a 6 or 7 minute steep) and the result was a cup full of chocolate and smokey flavors. I’m a fan. It was full of body while having no astringency or bitterness. Again, I’m a fan. I won’t over steep this every time because I enjoy all the other flavors this tea has to offer, but on the days I get distracted and let this sit a bit too long I certainly won’t hesitate to sip and enjoy. You know… ‘cause I’m a fan.

I have been traveling a lot over the past few months, but I’m home now with no plans to travel (for work at least) in the near future. Yay! To celebrate I spent the morning relaxing and drinking tea. Again, yay!

This tea is one of my favorites, and even though it’s called December I love it as a summer/ warm weather tea. It’s smokey and sweet with a woodsy pine note. Oh, it’s soooo good. I can’t wait until we’re back to cookouts and bbq to go with my tea. I’m all about the smokey flavors right now. It could be 100° outside an I’d still make a cup of this and enjoy.