330 Tasting Notes
Finally polished off this sample I got awhile back. I am drinking my last cup of the pot with a biscuit smeared with butter and apricot jam. Good pairing :D I would drink this again.
Packaged up the tea I promised TeaBrat. Just need to weigh it and slap on the stamps, and I will mail it out after work today.
This pot is the last of this tin. I am still liking this tea, I do prefer my Keemun a little more malty and tobacco-y, but it’s still pretty darn good. I brewed it up in my big Brown Betty pot, so I have a goodly amount for the moment.
Winter weather(such as it is in Texas) is here – today’s high is supposed to be 40F, we might get some sleet this weekend. So I might be out of hibernation more – it’s tea weather. Haven’t been posting much because of personal issues. But I need something to take my mind off things, so I’ll try to interact more, like humans do.
It’s me 5th day at sea, and stores are low. All I’ve got in the hold is Earl Grey and Jasmine, and a teabag o’ strawberry & rhubarb tisane. For me mornin’ brew, I choose the Earl Grey.
Tis gettin’ to the bottom o’ the tin, and the bits ‘r gettin’ smaller and smaller, and escapin’ from the basket. When I reach the bottom o’ the mug, it looks a bit like the bilge before pumpin’. If we had a gypsy wench on board, she could read me fortune.
I be enjoyin’ the brew, though. And bein’ Friday, the ship should be pullin’ inta port soon, and I can enjoy a little shore leave. Arrrr!
[It’s International Talk Like a Pirate Day… Arrrr!]
Preparation
Currently, this is my favorite herbal. I brought it back from England, so that’s why. Good memories. It would be nice to find someplace that sells it here, I like it.
What’s my friends’ favorite herbal teas? I think I am on the prowl for something good for when I run out, if I can’t find this.
Flavors: Hibiscus, Pineapple
Oh no! I am now confused and afraid. I ordered this, and it doesn’t say it has rooibus on the Whispering Pines website, but it does say it on Steepster. I am assuming/hoping the website is correct. I can’t drink Rooibos. sadface It hurts me.
I’m staring at my cup wondering if I should drink it now. Made a whole pot :(
The leaves are cool looking. It looks like someone spilled tea on the floor of a woodworker’s shop, and then swept it up and decided to brew it anyway. But in a good way. A much better way than that sounds.
The couple sips I have had taste good…
I don’t recall there being rooibos in this. The tea’s picture looks to be rooibos-free as well. Maybe Brendan can confirm for us. :)
Yeah, the leaves don’t really look like it has it. But a couple of reviews mention the taste of rooibus. I’m wondering if it maybe got reformulated at some point…
If you ordered this withinnthenpast ~3 months, no rooibos :)
Within the past* lol
Yay! Thank you! Now I can drink without fear!
Also… thanks, my douchebag brain for the psychosomatic stomach cramps after the few sips I had… ’preciate that. :D
Haha, brains can do some weird stuff!
I’m trying to phase out all rooibos. If the website doesn’t mention it, it’s definitely not in there. Also, the website is generally more current with other things like steeping parameters and other such things.
Just wait until the new website launches…hehehe
New website?? :D
Soon :-)
lol, I figured your website would be the most accurate, but I am a software QA tester by profession, so I know how browsers can sometimes not display info correctly or at all in some cases. I figured it would be just my luck to run into some browser issue that was hiding an ingredient from me :D I have talent for breaking things that I have at least managed to turn into gainful employment!
Hope your website re-launch goes smoothly!
Ahh fun fun :-) Yeah I’ve run into a few little issues along the way but my hope is that by rewriting it all myself and thus owning the code rather than being a “software hosted” site, I can figure out and fix the issues myself without having to wait days for a technician to get around to it. I’ve had a disappearing cart issue on my current platform that has lost me a large amount of orders…5 months later they still haven’t figured it out. Time to switch :P
This was included as a sample in my order. Feeling a bit blue this morning, so I decided to try it based on the name, which is an awesome name for tea.
It’s quite good, and very gentle for a breakfast tea. For some reason, I really want to add some cinnamon to it, so I might give that a try for the second cup. I wish I had some jam and scones or croissants to go with it. Or maybe some lembas bread…
Preparation
The lovely TheTeaFairy gave me a list of Oolongs that she recommended for my upcoming exploration of Oolongs. One of them was a Whispering Pines tea, and I have wanted to try Brandon’s teas out for awhile, as the folks I follow here seem to universally enjoy them . So I ordered an ounce each of 6, including the Oolong. This, obviously, is not a review of the oolong, as I’m going to wait until I have ordered the other oolongs on the list to do a series of tastings of them. Can I say oolong one more time? Oolong.
Anyway, since I am waiting, I wanted to try out one of the other 5 teas, and I choose this one to start with. I ripped open the envelope and the scent is lovely. Tried to scoop up a teascoop of leaves, and they were not cooperating, but the couple I did get were blue-black and nice looking. Tried again, and this time I got a nice scoopful and a very bedraggled… feather? Oh my. It was quite beat up and barely recognizable as such, but definitely was one as I peered at it under a magnifying glass.
I always did picture the Jabberwocky as a partially feathered creature…
The feather looks like it got roasted along with the tea, so I think it’s been in there awhile. Pretty sure that any mites that might have been able to hitch a ride would have passed away through roasting and lack of lunch by now, I’m going to pretend all is well and assume it probably will be. I am far less freaked out by this than the human hair I found in a mini-tuocha of pu-erh once. Which, I don’t know what that says about my own mental foibles… :D
Okay, it’s all brewed up, I’ve frothed my sweetener and half&half, and added the tea. The liquor was a nice medium brown. My cup tastes malty and I am quite enjoying it. It’s not a heavy malt, but it’s there, and I don’t notice any bird-like aftertaste. We will see if I start sprouting feathers later today ;)
There was a small sticker holding the “thanks for your order” note to the box, and I quite liked it. It’s from e.e. cummings: “Your head is a living forest full of songbirds.”
giggle The quote seems quite fitting now!
Preparation
So sorry that you found a feather in your tea! Unfortunately, this is a very common problem, even (especially) for very high-end teas. Because of the time consuming hands-on processing that goes into the tea itself, it’s nearly impossible to produce tea without foreign matter getting into it. I do try to inspect all of the teas thoroughly after arrival at headquarters as well as during the blending process, but as I’m sure you can understand, you can’t always get ‘em all! :-)
I hope that it won’t affect your experience with Whispering Pines! I can assure you that because of the high heat used in the processing of the tea, there is no need to worry of bacteria or anything harmful in the tea itself.
I’m glad you enjoyed this and look forward to more of your tasting notes! :-)
Well, I haven’t started clucking (anymore than usual), and I’m not sprouting any feathers, so I think I am fine! :D No worries!
I’m actually brewing up the packet of Second Breakfast which you sent as a sample right now. I think that’s the best name for a tea ever!
Well I’m glad you’re okay! But honestly, would you have been sad if you gained the ability to fly? ;-)
I’m glad you’re enjoying them!
I would not be sad at all! Hehe
Behold! My new mug!
http://instagram.com/p/shlY55FIQK/
I added a little extra plain Laoshan Black to this Chai, and it’s near perfect. I am really digging the flavor this morning. It may be 79 degrees at 8am with a high of 97 predicted, but my heart says it should be fall. Chai tastes like fall to me. The only thing that would improve it is goat milk, I think, but I hate buying a full thing of super expensive goat milk just for random cups of chai, because I don’t always want that taste!
