Whispering Pines Tea Company

Oh North Winds, you really are quite lovely. Tbh this cup is more astringent than I remember the last one being but it does not mean this is unpleasant in any way. It is chocolate and honey that lingers long after the sip is done. Yum. Thanks again Cavocorax!!

Thank you Cavocorax for the sample. I am a fan of this one as well. This and Golden Orchid are probably both going to be stocked as this is a rich chocolatey blend while Orchid is a creamy vanilla. Both are delicious and both will probably find a home in my cupboard.

I purchased this from Shadowfall in her recent stash sale. Had to scoop up those Whispering Pines teas! I’ve actually never had a keemun before but I was willing to take the risk for such a reasonable price! :) The leaves are small, short, and extremely dark. I would describe it as “generic black tea” and I don’t mean that in a bad way. Dry, it smells a little musty with honey and raisin notes. Steeped for 3 minutes.

My first impression of the aroma was that it smells like an English Breakfast. There’s a little smoke and honey in there. The taste is quite bold! The strong flavor is the main event but it also has some very nice subtle accompaniments. There’s a lovely honey quality to it, and a very light smoke in the background. It’s a tad malty. I added about half a teaspoon of sugar and it brought out some lovely dark fruit notes that remind me of raisins or dates. This tea is a bit bold for me, but the sugar really helped the round out the flavor and I’m sure it would take milk very well.

A great experience for my very first Keemun! Thanks Shadowfall!

OMG this tea smells like CHOCOLATE! The taste too is roasty, toasty, smoooooth chocolate. Um. I can haz moar? There is no bitterness and no astringency. Just a little piece of tea bliss :-). The cool thing about this tea is there a wave of chocolate flavor that rolls over my tongue after the sip and it’s more intense than the flavor during the sip, at least for me. I still love Ailaoshan black a little bit more, but this tea is excellent! I used a full tablespoon rather than a half, which turned out to be a good decision.

Also, I had a weird dream that there was a communal Steepster refrigerator. MzPriss opened it up and opened up one of the fruit/veggie drawers and it was full of mushrooms and dirt. She looked at me and said “Oh look, Brenden teleported us some mushrooms!” I have no idea what MzPriss actually looks like, but this person in the dream was her somehow. What is wrong with me?

I’ve been looking forward to making cornmeal pancakes with fruit (started out thinking about ripe Texas peaches) and cottage cheese all week. One of my favorite breakfasts. I decided to use a different cornmeal pancake recipe this morning. And who better to go to for a good recipe than Mark Bittman? Apparently, in the case of cornmeal pancakes – almost anyone. I have no pancakes. I have a bowl of fried-ish polenta-ish cripsy globs with some AMAZING cherry compote I made from frozen organic cherries, some lemon zest, freshly ground cardamom and little maple syrup. I knew better than to attempt pancakes with no leavening. I started in my extremely well seasoned cast iron skillet that is basically non-stick because it’s been cooked in for well over 50 years as it belonged to my grandmother. I used a little oil to ensure success. My poor skillet has crunchy chunks of polenta-ish stuff clinging to it like I would be to George Clooney’s leg if he showed up. I decided to try in the non-stick skillet which I almost never use. I have chunks of crunchy polenta-ish stuff which was scooped into a bowl along with the yummy cherry stuff and some cottage cheese.

In need of comfort and reassurance and inspired by TheTeaFairy, I turned to this tea. Chocolaty, chocolaty goodness. It goes really well with my cherries (also inspired by TTF this morning), and I am getting less hostile toward Mark Bittman by the minute. A big chocolate bomb that is smooth and delicious with zero bitterness or astringency even when steeped around 5 minutes is something that makes my semi-broken heart happier.

This tea is so pretttttyyyyy! Is this the one that MzPriss called “wee snaily yums”? If not, I think this could also merit that term :-). To me, the smell is very bready and it greatly increased my anticipation of the first sip. My nose did not lead my astray; the taste is also very bready, with a big dose of honey dolloped on top. So good! The finish is really clear and fresh tasting- a characteristic I’m noticing with Whispering Pines teas and that I really appreciate. It looks like this one will be a repurchase as well. Brenden, we are all just putty in your hands.

Time for afternoon tea! I had a stomach bug for several days, so now that I’m feeling better I should be back in the swing of things! I missed all youse guys.

This cup is courtesy of the lovely Veronica. Brewed up, the tea is a clear shade of warm amber. I’m catching scents of wet wood, bonfire, dark chocolate, and sea salt as they waft from my cup. There’s some fruit tones there too, but I get “berry” while others have gotten “citrus”.

Each sip starts brisk, with a fruity sweetness that to me is reminiscent of Ashes of Autumn and its “longan fruit” flavor. Is this what longan fruit tastes like? I couldn’t say! It’s still not citrus to me. From brisk and bright it moves into a smooth roastiness with undertones of sweet, fresh wood. There’s some cocoa and some malt at the very end, but the predominant tone is a light honey-sweetness. What is that fruit…it’s not citrus, but reminiscent of citrus. Phooey. I give up. There’s a light, hazy smokiness that persists throughout the cup. It gets sweeter as it cools and it gains a sort of thickness in body. More malt—it coats your tongue. Delicious! I’d love to have a cup of this with an omelette or a plate of crumpets. That’s my fantasy and I’m content to live it in my head for now.

Thanks Veronica!

The leaves of this tea are long, dark, and twisty and when I see leaves like that I can’t help but think spider legs. And it’s all TheTeaFairy’s fault. Luckily, I’m a spider sympathizer, so it doesn’t bother me :-). Like, maybe spiders are just misunderstood. There’s even a meme about it (warning: contains spider pictures)
http://www.funnyjunk.com/funny_pictures/4501376/Misunderstood+Spider/

Anyway, this tea lives up to the level of excellence I’ve come to expect from Whispering Pines. It starts out a little earthy, which then gives way to a fresh floral quality. My favorite part though, is the end of the sip which just tastes unbelievably refreshing and pure, like I just drank out of a crystal clear stream. Is this what pine tastes like? If so, more of that please! Also, thanks to boychik for recommending that I use a full tbsp of leaf. It turned out great that way!

Tea of the morning. I’ve been curious about this tea for awhile, and thanks to kimquat I am finally able to try it. My recent experience with the Unflavored Traveling Tea Box has made me much less afraid of pu’erhs, so this made me doubly excited to give this tea a try.

My first thoughts with this tea were earth and smoke. I get forest floor and wet granite with a campfire smokey note. As the tea cools there is some honey like sweetness and a sweet/tart berry flavor. I like the berry flavor mixed with the earthy notes a lot. The combination is delicious. When the tea was close to room temperature the earthy flavors were a little too dark and dusty for me. This is a tea I’ll drink hot.

I’m so glad I got to give this tea a try. I’ll likely pick up more of this come autumn.

This was generously included as a surprise sample in my Whispering Pines order. Thank you!

I can see why this tea gets a lot of love. Not only does this have that delightful cocoa note that I adore, but the texture is also thick with a milk-like quality.

Although I drank the first steep too quickly to discern any other qualities past “creamy”, I’ve had more time with this second steep. The cocoa and milk are still present, but there is also a distinctive fruity note, like sweet, tangy plums.

It’s a delicious cup, and I think I’ll appreciate its profile even more in the fall or winter. As it was, it turned out to be an awesome rainy evening tea.

New blend! :-D

The Legend of El Dorado tells of a majestic place deep in the wilderness of South America. With streets paved of gold and sacred temples of silver, this mythical place was filled with riches…

Luckily for you, you don’t have to search the jungles of South America in search of untold riches, for you can find them in your cup with El Dorado Chai! With a base of our Bi Luo Chun Yunnan Black, hand-cut Madagascar vanilla, holy basil and the four classic masala chai spices, you’re sure to strike gold with your first sip!

This lightly-spiced masala chai is smoother than a street of gold and sweeter than untouched jungle spring water. El Dorado Chai opens with pure wildflower honey and creamy vanilla, giving way to a hint of pine. The body is rich like a fresh croissant filled with the finest dark chocolate. A warm, tingling spice lingers near the end of the sip, reminiscent of the sweet spices on an apple pie crust. The finish is mouthwatering, with a full honey sweetness and a touch of malt.

Enjoy the immeasurable riches of this golden chai fit for the Gods!

""Over the Mountains
Of the Moon,
Down the Valley of the Shadow,
Ride, boldly ride,"
The shade replied—
“If you seek for Eldorado!”

-Edgar Allen Poe

Notes: Honey, Chocolate-Filled Croissant, Cream, Pine, Vanilla, Malt, Apple Pie Crust

Ingredients: Bi Luo Chun Yunnan Black Tea, Organic Ginger, Organic Cardamom, Organic Cinnamon, Organic Cloves, Hand-Cut Madagascar Vanilla Beans

http://whisperingpinestea.com/el-dorado-chai.html

Sipdown (1462)!

I felt like there was a lot going on with this last mug; it’s such an interesting and complex tasting blend. Surface level vanilla (authentic vanilla) but then there’s this burnt sugar/marshmallow note with elements of char and mineral to it alongside deep bitter cocoa and a little natural smokiness. It’s so rich, and a little intoxicating. I’ll miss this one, but I feel like I have similar now in the Vanilla Osmanthus from Marika’s family shop and the newly discovered vanilla blend from The Silk Tea Co – so this was a well timed sipdown.

Sipped on this one yesterday afternoon and was just swept up in the deliciousness of the vanilla and cocoa notes; like a perfectly malty, sweet and fudge-y black tea combined with the most marshmallow-y vanilla. A deeply enjoyable mug!

Samurai Travelling Tea Box – Tea #38

I’ve had this one in the past & loved it in the past, but I wanted to revisit it because it’s been years since I last steeped it and my palate/tastes have changed and (I think) become a lot more refined. I’m glad I tried it Gongfu this morning because it absolutely blew me away!

For what is essentially a very simple blend of black tea and vanilla, this is mind blowing! The tea is quite sweet/rich. It’s very hard to describe the flavour as tasting like anything other than creamy milk chocolate and fluffy marshmallows with vanilla. The liquor is like velvet; as much of a “melt in your mouth” feeling as something that’s already liquid can have. I got about five very good infusions!

What a WOW start to the day!

Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/CDWXsg3AJzo/

This beautiful new teacup is from a local QC potter – I have another cup from her in green, but I couldn’t resist this beautiful blue one as well.

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1EpaboCERg

Sipdown (146/153)!

And here’s where the crazy weekend kinda begins. Sorry guys, mostly this notes not gonna be tea relevant; just sorta a heads up. I mean, there’s some tea relevant stuff but not a tonne. And I guess I’ll just get the tea relevant stuff out of the way first, sorta.

So Tyrell picked me up from work Friday night and we went to Lucas’s house warming party, which was definitely an unplanned venture. I pretty much didn’t know anyone there except Tyrell and Lucas/Gwyn (DT Friends) who actually didn’t show up until a few hours before we left, and it was their party…

So the first couple hours of the night I just kinda sat super awkwardly on the patio sipping this tea from my timolino. I’d made it for work but hadn’t had it yet so I took advantage of a hot beverage on a cold night. Tea is comforting. I added milk to this in the morning, and I remember the whole thing tasting very smooth and like cocoa/vanilla/malt. Definitely pleasant, and it helped me relax and feel at ease.

And now is where pretty much all tea relevant stuff goes out the window, because once I’d finished sipping down the tea I started to sip down other stuff. Yeah, I sorta refilled my 12 oz. timolino with 12 oz. of straight gin, which it turns out was NOT a good idea. At this point my evening goes really, really fuzzy.

Basically I remember talking to Tyrell’s friend Josh about film school which he went to in Regina! Turns out we have a couple mutual friends. I remember vividly wanting to cry because I miss my Regina friends, but not actually doing it. And then I remember just shouting “PETER CAPALDI” very loudly. According to Tyrell it turns out I had quite the in depth conversation with many of the ‘party goers’ about Doctor Who and my favourite Doctors and all the routes they could take with Capaldi. And apparently I insisted to several people that he is an owl. Ok.

…And then my memory jumps to being at Tyrell’s place where I ended up spending the night. I have vague, general memories of falling off the bed and flat out refusing to get back on it, searingly bright lights (the bathroom?), and making out before passing out. So I’m gonna go ahead and say it was a good night.

In the morning Tyrell basically tried to sum the night up for me because man do I have gaps. This is the first time he’s seen me really drunk and I guess I didn’t visibly look drunk at all until we got to the car (which I have no memory of; I have no recollection of leaving the party and getting to Tyrell’s) and at that point he was sorta just like “Oh shit, she’s really, really drunk”. Like, apparently I faked being mostly sober super well while we were around his friends to the point where everyone was/is just convinced now that I’m like pretty much an alcoholic because I drank 12 oz. of straight gin with “no effect”. Yeah, there was totally an effect.

But good for me I guess; I didn’t embarrass myself in front of a bunch of strangers, and according to Tyrell I’m a really fun/ny drunk so hooray! Man did I feel like shit in the morning though. Like, I definitely only got a couple hours of sleep after having passed out – after that I pretty much was awake all night because fuck beds. I don’t know how you crazy people all do it (and yes, I am aware that really I’m the weird one). Couches are so much better.

How I survived the drive home and getting ready for work (yeah, that’s right: I totally worked the day after – I am not a responsible adult…) without curling up on my couch and falling asleep is definitely a mystery to me.

Sounds like my tea twin VariaTEA had a cup of this one too this evening; it’s been a while since we both made the same tea during the same day I do believe. Although, I do have to thank 221Tea because she was the lovely human being who provided me with a sample of this one!

Mostly, I think my thoughts on this echo VariaTEA’s; a little malt, a little bread, a little cream, a little chocolate and a whole heaping bundle of vanilla! Gotta add in too that I thought this one improved the cooler it got; it was somehow smoother and richer at a lower temperature.

Overall I thought this was good, dare I say it very good. Would I order it? Maybe. But I don’t know if I’d need to get it in any sort of quantity. More than likely I’ll just occasionally swap other Steepster members who are obsessed with this one for cup or two sized samples of it. I feel like that would be enough to keep me happy.

Quite literally the best tea I’ve ever had.

No I am not drinking this right now and I didn’t just finish any. I’m SQUEEEEEEEEEING because I HAVE some now and will get to have it before bed.

Texas has been in a drought for quite a while now. It has been dry and sad. A few years ago, Texas caught on fire. I wish really hard for rain all the time.

This afternoon on my way home from work, I stopped at my local herb shop for some additional dried elderberries because of Northern Sweet Tea (ask Brenden). The shop is in a small stone house in a neighborhood and is a magical little place. In addition to herbs, they have tea and teaware. I got my elderberries and a darling little tea mug with infuser in a delicious green.

Just as I walked out of the shop it began to rain slowly at first but with great fat drops that increased in speed and decreased in size. I stood on the sidewalk and let the rain pour down on me for about 10 minutes. I’ve missed it so much.

As soon as I got home, I washed my new mug and brewed 2 teaspoons of this dainty looking little tea in 12 ounces of 180 degree water for 1.5 minutes. Now, I’m not a huge fan of green tea. It has to be right. I was not surprised to find that this tea is very, very right.

TeaFairy called it a lullaby and I agree. It would send you off to sweet dream land. But I can also imagine this iced on a brutally hot August day in Texas when it’s 109 and I’m in need of sweet cool salvation. The combination of sweet clean green tea with wildcrafted pine needles and a delicate jasmine is perfectly balanced. None of the ingredients overpower the others. Too often jasmine tea takes up your whole mouth-space with JASMINE – not this, it’s sweet and tastes like pure floral rain after a long dry spell. ADORE!

Brenden sent this tea as a sample a while back. I’ve been ignoring it in favor of all the other delicious tea I have. The other night I read a note on it by TheTeaFairy. It reminded me I needed to try it. Another new WPTC addiction.

And here’s the song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4N1DdwrsdTo (heh :)

Sad Sipdown (made even sadder because this was removed from my cupboard so my number doesn’t change).

Anyways, I decided to splurge since tomorrow I am starting a clean eating challenge and that means no tea. So, for my last day of tea (for the next two weeks), I decided it was finally time to break out the last of this amazing sample courtesy of Cavocorax. This tea is creamy, bright, fresh and delicious and I am sad to see it go.

What’s one of the best things about living near other steepsterites? Drive-by tea drops. Today I was able to pick up two boxes outside Cavocorax’s door (one for me and one for Sil) and deposit a box for Cavo in it’s place. I was so excited to go through the many samples I had to try and after four long hours of work, I was able to come home and brew up a cup. I went straight for this given the love it’s been receiving recently on this site.

I gotta say, I am jumping on the Golden Orchid bandwagon because this is delicious. It’s a little malty, a little bready, a little creamy, a little chocolatey, and a whole lot of vanilla. Mmmm tasty! Thank you Cavo!!! I now see a Whispering Pines order in my future but first to try the other samples Cavo generously shared.

ETA: I am not loving the resteep of this cup. The vanilla is gone leaving behind bread and chocolate but not in a way that the flavors are meshing as nicely as they did with the first steep. Usually I don’t resteep my teas anyways so I am not too bothered by a poor second performance (and by “poor”, I don’t mean bad…just not as good)

Drinking this “Laoshan style”… I used to drink only my Dragonwell this way, but a certain Tea Whiz of the Woods mentioned that method worked with pretty much all teas.

For those who are unfamiliar with the method, this is how I do it. I use a tall glass preferably, and poor low temp water on the leaves. When they sink at the bottom, I start to drink. When the glass gets 2/3 empty, I refill. If you are using good quality tea, it NEVER gets bitter.

I like using a crystal beer glass cause I don’t burn my fingers this way. Here’s a few pics:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/laafeevertee/14565779587/lightbox/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/laafeevertee/14751914512/lightbox/

Now the tea. It’s such a lovely pretty tea. (Aren’t WP teas all pretty? What’s up with that?)

The taste is so friendly, it’s smooth, not overly vegetal nor grassy. It’s got sweet tender buttery green beans notes.

It’s got that marine breeze saltiness I like so much, I’m eating macadamia nuts and it just goes so perfectly with that taste.

If you shy away from green teas because of their ususal grassiness, this tea is for you. Oh, and please don’t throw out the brewed leaves. They are so good and tender. Add them to green smoothies, stir fries or salads. They are delicious, not bitter at all!

Now, a long Story…skip if uninterested.

My dog Dexter has been a little nervous at night lately. We’ve had a possible beak in attempt a few nights ago…while I was in the house. The alarm company sent the police over, big commotion, could not determine what really happened.

My dog is a big baby, but he can be such a bad ass mofo (this word is a courtesy of MzPriss)

The police told me he does a better job than any alarm system will ever do. They say if a doberman lets you in…it won’t ever let you out.

So the next night, when I heard him growling at the same door from which the supposedly break in attempt happened, I got scared.

So I did what any bad fake blonde actress in a lame B horror movie would do. I did it people. I opened the door and got out on the deck. (Fake dumb blond reenactment) «Hello? Hello? Someone there?» Silence. Pitch dark, I don’t have city lights in my neck of the woods…but then I heard alien noises…hmmmm…was I about to have an encounter with the third kind? Flashlight time, pointed it towards the noise source. This is what I found:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/laafeevertee/14748863064/

Awwww…. Little baby raccoons feeding off my bird feeder!!! They froze and stayed there. I had time to go grab the camera, put it on night mode and get this amazing shot.

Now, was this dynamic duo responsible for the break in attempt? They would not tell me. But I’d like to think they were…and I’d say that’s a guilty look if I ever saw one!

Tea of the night…

I love my little green teas. Yes, they are my little ones. I don’t drink them as often as my blacks and oolongs but I do appreciate them. Yes, I play on the dark AND the green side!

This is like drinking morning dew. As if I had gone out at the first hour of the day to collect in my glass steeper enough little grassy drops to fill a decent tiny cup. In French, morning dew is called “la rosée”, I love that word, it sounds so soft and fluffy, just like this tea is.

I took a picture…

I know, I know, I often like to show…well see, I don’t have a blog but I take pictures all the time, especially tea pictures, so why not share them? Of course you don’t have to click, I won’t be offended… But for those who love to watch, here it is:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/laafeevertee/14377042107/

Isn’t it pretty and tender looking? Like beautiful seaweeds, moving in slow motion.

It tastes so fresh and vegetal, a bit salty and marine. It’s a pure and clean taste. The type I love to pair with fish.

I threw this one in my cart on last order cause ya know…my plan is to try ALL existing Whispering Pines teas!!!

Thanks Courtney for allowing me to steal a small sample of this from your stash! it was just as dark and rich and chocolatey as I imagined and I can totally see how this is the perfect base for the Chocolate Chip tea.

OMG. Just. It’s so good.

Thanks! (157)