Whispering Pines Tea Company

(From the Unflavored Traveling Tea Box)

This tea is outstanding. I knew it would be given that North Winds is the base, but I’m still impressed with the layers of flavor here. The sip starts out mildly fruity and then morphs into dark chocolate and sweet vanilla with a bit of a crusty bread note. Every now and then there is a hint of cocoa. It’s not bitter but a deeper chocolate note than the dark chocolate. It’s so good, and even though there are all of these heavy flavors the body of the tea manages to stay light which I find charming. As the tea cools I get another hint of the fruity, cherry like note. Love, love, love it.

Super smoky chai. I had this a few weeks back when I was still fighting off the worst cold of my life, and even then I could taste every really clearly — which surprised me. I ran out of my free sample (thank you so much!) before I could get home again to grab some marshmallow leaf and add it, to see if this could be more of a s’more chai than just a smokey one.

Our newest limited availability tea! :)

Expertly roasted in-house in very small, select batches, our House Tieguanyin is one of our most prized offerings. This tea begins its journey in the tea fields of Anxi, in the Fujian province of China, where it is picked in the springtime and processed completely by hand by skilled tea masters. After the long and masterful process of processing the tea, it is exported. Its next stop is at our headquarters, where we carefully select a small batch for additional processing.

Our slow-roasting technique is done in-house by Brenden, the owner of Whispering Pines. By using low heat and basing the roast level mostly on the aroma, he is able to produce a traditional-style tieguanyin with absolutely perfect flavor balance. At first, the aroma of the tea morphs into melting butter before filling the room with popcorn, toasted rice, and finally the sweet aroma of salted kettle corn and oven-fresh wheat bread. The heat is slowly reduced at this point and the tea is covered until cool.

The taste of our first batch of House Tieguanyin opens up with a smooth, juicy body with brilliant light floral notes and the signature mineral notes symbolistic of the best Chinese oolongs. The middle and end of the sip carries the thick and warm sweetness of caramelized bananas and the finish is long-lasting with notes of salted kettle corn and oak!

A truly beautiful roast of an already perfect tea, our first batch of House Tieguanyin won’t be around for long!

Due to our extremely limited batches, we have decided to limit the purchase of our House Tieguanyin to one ounce per customer per order.

http://whisperingpinestea.com/house-tgy.html

Sipdown! I can’t decide if I’ll restock this one or not. This was is malty and smooth, which are some of my favourite qualities. The LB/Bailin mix is interesting for sure.

I enjoyed my experience with Whispering Pines, so I’ll keep an eye on the website to see if enough teas stand out to me to place another order in the future.

[Comparison Fujian & LB]

I’m sorry to post similar notes, I’m hopefully making it easier on myself if I need to scroll back through my notes and check something out.

In comparing, I see how different the Fujian is. It’s still by far the closest to LB I’ve ever experienced, but there is a hint of Bailin, which I’ve found in the Ailaoshan as well from Whispering Pines. Yes, more Bailin than LB perhaps, but still LB-like.

I always try to sit back and enjoy my teas (granted, that doesn’t always happen), but I don’t generally attempt to decipher each and every note in every cup I enjoy, unless I’m doing comparisons.

Yesterday was my first full day back to work. I got a Starbucks card in thanks from the most adorable elderly couple, and I had a personal trainer tell me I should compete. I chalked that up to a successful first day back haha!

I start late this morning, since I work late. I always prefer to start early, but the one upside is that I have a chance to enjoy a cup of tea before work. Yes! I chose this tasty tea, which still reminds me so much of LB. It’s chocolately and malty and delicious. Here’s to another great day.

This one is delightful!

At first sip, I thought Laoshan Black! But subsequent sips revealed a hint at Bailin. It was subtle, and not there at every sip, but very intriguing. And very tasty.

So far, Whispering Pines is 2/2.

My Whispering Pines order has arrived! Yes!

I thought I would steep some of this up since I was measuring some out to share with whatshesaid anyway. The steeped scent reminded me, pretty near perfectly, of Premium Taiwanese Assam, however the taste is much more akin to Bailin. Very tasty, either way!

It’s a bit lighter than PTA and has that great Bailin taste I love, but with much less maintenance (in terms of Bailin). This one may be a keeper.

cavocorax sent this one my way and i was glad. I sort of went off trying mint chocolate chip black teas because i really love stacy’s herbal version. Sadly, this one wasn’t a win for me. it’s a nice enough mint chocolate chip, but it’s not strong or enticing enough for me to pick it up in favour of the herbal version. still though, decent cup of mint chocolate chip tea :)

Upping my rating yet again because this is chocolatey perfection.

PERFECTION.

Wow, did this tea get better? I’ve had it once or twice since my order came in a couple of weeks ago, and somehow it seemed…lacking. Maybe it was because I wasn’t in the right mood, maybe it was because I had different expectations. (It does seem different from the old version but it’s not just the vanilla bean.)

Oh! I just realized, the last few times I brewed I forgot about drinking it until it was lukewarm. It could be an issue of temperature…I’ll take note of that. It’s much better when it’s still hot.

The dry and wet leaves smell absolutely decadent, like cocoa and sweet sparkling vanilla. The tea liquor has an aroma of chocolate fudge, whipped cream, and cherries. Mouth-watering delicious. The taste is very similar, too! It tastes like dark chocolate! Thick, rich, wonderful dark chocolate. I for one think that the darker the chocolate, the better, so this is heaven. It’s so smooth too. Mmmmm. The vanilla bean adds an element of sweetness and smooths out the tea base. Makes it velvety soft, creamy. It’s like a liquid chocolate dessert. I’m noticing fruitiness but it’s not quite cherry. I was thinking plum, then I second-guessed myself and read the tasting note. I guess it is plum! Neat. It’s not very strong, it’s just a subtle hint beneath the chocolate and vanilla. After sipping there’s a slight nutty aftertaste and caramel sweetness. The notes of cocoa carry through. Oh my, my, my. This is so good and I can’t get over how SMOOTH and RICH and VELVETY it is! It’s a keeper. I was unsure, but I’m convinced now. AND it’s good for resteeping. I am so on board.

Upped my rating.

(From the UTTB.)

Backlog from a few days ago! Jotted down notes but never posted them. I need to stop doing that. I’ve been on Steepster for almost a year and I’ve only written 50 tasting notes, what’s up with that? I want to get to at least 100 before end of summer! I’m getting there, slowly and surely…but I digress. (:

First sip of this tea was fruity, then it morphed into something thick and malty and chocolatey sweet! Exactly like the way it smelled. It was like chocolate graham crackers. And it was very distinctly NUTTY and RICEY for me. I’ve seen very few other people comment on those flavors, so maybe I’m crazy?! It reminded me of Verdant’s LBCG so MUCH. It tasted like it had puffed rice in it. All of the sudden it had me thinking of Cocoa Pebbles and Cocoa Krispies cereal, transporting me right back into my childhood.

The second steep was smoother with less astringency, not that there was really any to begin with. A caramel-vanilla sweetness peeked in. Less fruitiness and a thinner texture. It doesn’t coat the mouth as much. The predominant flavors for me were rich chocolate and toasted rice. It was an absolutely decadent cup. Like dessert, but not. BETTER! I was going to add this one to my next WP order and trying it beforehand only affirmed it for me.

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 cherry, 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!

Finishing off my last bit of this chocolate-cherry-molasses-malty goodness today. It’s as delicious as always, and, while sipdowns of my favorite teas usually make me sad, I know I’ll be ordering more of this as soon as November rolls around.

Still drinking this. Still loving it. I feel like I’ve settled into a set of teas that I really enjoy which makes for happy sipping but terribly boring tasting notes. Not sure what to do about that. I can say that I have enough leaf left for one more serving of this, and then I’ll be able to order the new version of this tea. Yay!

Comfort tea. My son and I were in a car accident earlier today. We, as well as the driver of the other car, are fine (thank goodness!), but it still rattled me. I’ve been extra jumpy and sensitive, so I decided to calm myself with this lovely tea. Right now it’s everything I need it to be – hot, soothing, delicious, and easy to resteep. Sigh.

Tea of the morning. I feel like I’m in a loop with my breakfast teas, but I like them all so much that drinking them over and over again is a pleasure. Today it is North Winds, and the molasses note I tasted last time showed up today, too. I’m not sure if I missed it in all of my previous cups or if the flavor is stronger in this particular set of leaves, but regardless it is really, really delicious. It lends a fall flavor to an already full bodied tea. So, chocolate, cherry, malt, and molasses… is it any wonder that I’m happy to wake up to this tea?

First tea of the morning. I woke up at four o’clock this morning because my brain decided it need to keep thinking about a couple of big projects I’m working on. If I have to be awake that early I’m going to have really, really good tea in my cup. That would be this tea. So many layers of flavor – malt, chocolate, and cherry as usual, but there was also a deep molasses note today that was super yummy. The second steep didn’t have the molasses note, but the stone fruit note (cherry and plum) was much stronger. Also super yummy. I steeped the leaves a third time, but my daughter asked for tea on her way out the door, so I put the last steep into a travel mug for her since there was no time to make her a cup of her own. If I had to guess I’d say that was also a yummy cup.

Tea of the morning. God bless Brenden and the Whispering Pines Tea Company. They really do make the start (and often middle and end) of my day so much better. I didn’t even realize how much I wanted this tea until the first sip. It’s all chocolate and cherries wrapped it a nice thick tea. Such a nice way to greet a Friday morning!

Tea of the morning. Chocolate-y, baked bread, malty, molasses-y deliciousness. This was such a wonderful way to wake up. I’m sipping on the third steep of these leaves, and each cup is equally good. I’m thinking I need to have this tea in my cupboard always and forever.

Well, today went downhill quickly. In fact, I decided rather than bang my head against a wall I’m going to to give myself the day off (something I rarely do). Maybe I’ll post some notes that have been sitting in my queue, or maybe I’ll sit around and read others’ notes. Regardless, there will be much drinking of tea today because tea makes me happy, and life is too damn short to be unhappy over things I can’t control.

Speaking of tea, this tea rocks. It’s all rich dark chocolate with wonderful bready notes and honey at the finish. Yum. The second steep has the same flavors of the first with a slightly stronger biscuity flavor. Again, yum.

Thanks you, Whispering Pines, for adding this sample to my last order. One more tea that I love!

Oh my, this tea…

Ok, I have to admit: this is hands down one of the best friggin Dancong I have had to date.

It’s all citrus essential oils. Orange and clementine’s breeze, rounded by a roasted nutty cashew creaminess.

There’s a peppery finish, the way a good olive oil can be. I also get cilantro notes.

(Ok, note to self: make an orange, cashew, cilantro olive oil salad and drink this tea next time)

The citrus lingers forever and ever. Amen. Get this.

In other news, it’s that time of year here when tons of dragonflies gather above my rooftop, forming a big cloud. There’s literarily hundreds of them. It’s quite a phenomenon. They are so beautiful and whimsical. Iridescent blues and greens…just stunning.

This will last for about a week, every evening just before it gets dark.

You’ll guess, I have a thing for dragonflies. There’s just a mystic aura about them, so intriguing and fascinating.

I’m not superstitious, but I’d like to think they bring good luck. If not, at least I know for sure they bring me joy and happiness, just like this tea does :-)

Pic:

http://instagram.com/p/rqMh2mwh8R/

Before I start playing with this tea, I have to say I’m pretty sold on it, as I usually love Dancong oolongs.

It’s always interesting to see how very light and clear the infusion of such dark leaves produce.

Oh, if this tastes half as good as it smells like, I’m in for a treat!

It unmistakably smells like unsalted cashews, really, who doesn’t love cashews?

The taste is also very nutty and creamy, think marzipan. That nutty richness is cut by a brisk orange citrus taste, a characteristic flavour of this tea.

The second steep doesn’t smell as nutty as the first, now the orange blossoms are really shinning, taking control of the cup and it really lingers in the mouth.

On third and fourth steeps, I get citrus, peppercorn and cilantro. It’s a different tea.

I stopped at the fifth infusion cause I like a strong tea and to me, it was getting watery.

You can easily get to 15 even 20 infusions Gongfu style with this type of oolong, but I promised myself I would follow the WP recommended brewing method this first time around.

I am happy I did, I got many good cups western style, but I can’t wait to spend a full afternoon with it using the Gaiwan.

Another lovely tea from Whispering Pines…my experience with them has been flawless so far :-)