493 Tasting Notes
recent order from Whispering Pines. Leaves are gorgeous long twisted mix of pale green, green and dark,almost black.
my first steep i made according to instructions: 1TBSP 190F 8oz 3min
it produced pale yellow green brew. Very nice,complex flavor. Kinda hard to separate into notes. I’ve noticed that i prefer to drink white tea as it cools. more flavors become noticeable. Also i remember that Lee brews her whites like 165F and long steep. So i decided to try my second steep 165F set my timer for7 min, and completely forgot about it. I’d say it was steeping for good 45min. Gorgeous dark golden brew, flavors are delicious. i got some peach, grape, honey, hay, nuts. no trace of bitterness. i love it this way. it kinda reminded me Oriental Beauty. From now on this is how i’m going to treat my whites. Thank you Lee !
Preparation
TheTeaFairy ’s note about Ailaoshan from Whispering Pines encoraged me to try this tea.
thru Wiki i found that longan and lychee are cousins, they are in the same soapberry family. people say that lychee is more fragrant and potent. by looking at the pics i realized that i probably eat longan thinking it was lychee.
i did make this tea gongfu style before. for some reason i didnt record that which makes me think it wasnt right method for me. i prepared the same way as WP recommends. 1/2 TBSP 205F 8oz 3 min
the tea tastes very fruity(lychee kind),sweet,juicy, some nuts and white rice.
i havent detected any chocolate, caramel, or plum. it does taste like Taiwanese black tea style.
And i came to the conclusion that i need to get a sample fr. Whispering Pines because these teas sound different
Preparation
I need one of those samplers, too. I stalk their page a lot looking at their super unique blends.
sadly, this tea is not offered as sample choice on WP;(
Interesting boychik, we seem to be having a VERY different experience, lol. Longan / lychee sounds pretty neat, though I did not find any in my cup. I saw after that it was in the description, along with plum. My interpretation of plum translates into dried fruits I think. Thanks for reviewing yours :-)
Tabby, too bad WP doesn’t offer it as a sample, but if you are a black tea lover, I doubt that you would regret it, one ounce is very little for such a tasty tea :-)
I know, i just have to have it. Just for comparison sake
i have various travel mugs, cheap and expensive, original Timolino I got fr Davids Tea, but i find I use this particular one daily. The main reason is slide-tab closure. i dont have to open it in order to drink. its especially useful in a car. It doesn’t retain flavors fr previous teas, i try not to forget and clean it every time. My cheap mugs tend to smell no matter what. i use baking soda or Efferdent, but they still smell.
I received my order today. i was so excited to try this tea. its the most popular fr Whispering Pines and i was curious to try. prepared according to the WP instructions. this blend is unbelievable, i didnt imagine how amazing could that be . its chocolaty smooth, bready, vanilla, in other words, perfection in a cup. Nothing artificial. its notes remind me Verdant’s Laoshan Black on steroids. bold and smooth. i made 3 steeps. 2nd and 3rd were pretty good, maybe a little less vanilla, but still were close to the original. I’d say more bread came out. I kept sniffing my empty cup, it smelled like handmade fudge.
i’m very happy that i ordered from Whispering Pines. i placed an order last Friday, got on Monday. And i really love to get handwritten notes. Thank you Brenden
Flavors: Bread, Cocoa, Cream, Vanilla
Preparation
this is a sample with my recent purchase.
205F 3g 8oz 3.5min
the brew is light golden brown. its malty rye bread,some stone fruits, cherry, but its not over the top. dont get me wrong, its very flavorful but delicate at the same time. has some muscatel notes, some sips had sour note. No smoke detected.
in a blind test i probably wouldn’t recognize this tea as Chinese, more Darj/Nepal type. Very pleasant. i love it. but its soo expensive. $45 for 2oz. i’m glad I picked this sample. i would buy it only if some crazy BF sale 40% off would happen on H&S which i doubt.
Preparation
I think I liked resteep even more. It was bolder and smoother. Glad I tried.
I have the same want for a sale on their Panyang Golden.
Now I have to try Panyang Golden;)
Sample size. I hoard them. :)
Too bad they don’t sell samples in store. You have to buy 2oz min. On the other hand, last time I went there I asked if they can fix me a cup to try and they did. You know in this white tasting cup covered. It wasn’t busy they just opened the shop. So they didn’t force me to buy a cup in cafe area. It’s cheaper to buy 2 oz than a cup.
It’s cheaper long term to buy the 2 oz of Panyang than the samples, but I just can’t make myself do it all at once. :) And good to know about the 2 oz min. in store. I am planning to visit there on my trip in June and I’ve offered to bring tea back for people. That’s a helpful piece of information to know!
And I only see the Panyang Congou on their site at the moment. So that means I’m really hoarding the samples I have!
This is a surprise tea from TeaTiff – thank you. It’s been on my wish list and my wishes came true. This tea is soo good. Bursting with flavors, makes my mouth watery. The Lychee flavor is true. Last night when I had Lychee tea fr H&S I wasn’t sure I remember that flavor . Butiki version is true to its name, nothing artificial. Brewed according to Butiki’s directions 1 tsp 180F 4 min
I split the cup in half and added 1/2 tsp of maple syrup. I like them both sweetened and unsweetened . Maybe sweetened a little more because its just like real lychee, juicy and sweet. I bet it would be great chilled.
Thank you so much TeaTiff, it was a great experience.
Preparation
This one is soooo juicy :)
I just love it. I’m on my second steep. The base is stronger. I kinda miss oolong. All fall and winter I had blacks and puerh. Nice for hot weather. It was so humid and hot today.
Hot and humid here too. Woohoo air conditioning is back on :D
You make this one sound really yummy!
It is yummy. I think hot and humid weather we had last few days demands something light and juicy. Thank you again!
I was browsing Lupicia . Their exclusive to SF Golden Honey Dew is on website. Tempting
Uh oh. I have seen that one blowing up my dashboard lately….
Now it’s your turn to inspire me to drink a tea…I have some of this as well! Maybe later tonight or tomorrow, sounds wonderful!
Not tonight. It has some caffeine. I was almost asleep then after 2 cups I’m like wide awake
Lol cool :) UR welcome
Boychik, the good part about being an insomniac is that it doesn’t make any difference whether I have caffeine or not, I don’t sleep anyways!
Lee, I will also try your method, sounds too good not to ;-)
Yes I baby white teas. But I do 185 on white peony usually for 3",,,just depends on the tea I have I guess.
Ok Lee, now you have to make a chart for us which temp for which type of white. I’m real dummy when it comes to white tea.
Lol I like them bc if you can burn your mouth,,,you burned the tea. I like green tea too bc of that. But that’s just my own rule,,,I’m no expert for sure.