Whispering Pines Tea Company
Edit CompanyPopular Teas from Whispering Pines Tea Company
See All 266 TeasPopular Teaware from Whispering Pines Tea Company
See AllRecent Tasting Notes
This one is really intriguing. The smell of the dry leaves was a little off-putting to me, because I could smell a LOT of smoke with a little lemon thrown in. I once had a horrific experience with a Russian caravan blend with Lapsang Souchong, and I’ve been leery of smokey teas ever since. Reminds me of roasted pork or barbecue meat smell…ANYWAY, getting sidetracked. This tea doesn’t smell like barbecue. Just smoke, like woodsmoke. Campfire smoke. The brewed tea aroma is more gentle. I can pick out notes of lemongrass, red berries, a hint of spearmint, and it’s all tied together with this light woodsmoke aroma. It all reminds me of wet leaves crushed underfoot. Like a forest after the rain. Very outdoorsy. It’s an absolutely fascinating blend, and it’s making my mouth water.
Lemon and mint are the dominant flavors for me. It’s a much brighter, more “cheerful” tea than I imagined. And it’s very calming. Like I said, forest after the rain. I barely notice any smokiness from the tea—it’s soft at the end of each sip, like an afterthought. (Note that I did rinse the leaves for 10sec before brewing.) Woodsy, earthy, no astringency whatsoever. It’s really nice. It doesn’t blow my mind, but I can see myself keeping it around for a cold, rainy day. It really seems to lie in the fall-winter category. I would LOVE to take this tea on a camping trip. I think it would be perfect.
Now that the tea has cooled off a bit, the berry notes are more prominent. The spearmint and lemongrass are more balanced, whereas before it was like they were having a loud argument and lemon was winning. It’s a LOT softer now. Silky and smooth, rather than bright and chipper like it was when it was piping hot. Wow. Wow wow wow. It’s so much better now. I’m going to give it a higher rating than I originally planned. (:
Thanks so much for the sample Veronica!
Flavors: Autumn Leaf Pile, Berries, Earth, Lemon Zest, Tobacco, Wood
Preparation
Thank you Oh! Mighty creator of this blend.
My lullaby tea.
I was thinking today about choosing ONE favourite tea from WP… And the winner is…….at least 10 of them!!!
I just can’t make up my mind…but this sleeping beauty is certainly one of them.
It smells like a forest, tastes like the rain, feels like a cloud. It’s a hugger.
That’s why I like to drink it at night, so calming and soothing.
This tea is a light in the dark…
Here’s a pic:
The different tea every day, think of the problems of different, the tea will be with you a beautiful life
Thank you Shutao for your wise words :-)
Now I want to see your light fixture!
Haha me too Marzipan!
i want to try this one sometime heh
Wait for next month’s harvest, Sil…It’s going to be AMAZINNNG!
this is the one that sells out like day one right? I’m travelling so not sure how easy it’s going to be for me to stay on top of that..
Yep yep. I could reserve an ounce for you :)
With so many truly exceptional teas in your cupboard and so many wonderful Steepester friends, I hope the only darkness is when your sleeping.
Lol, marzi and mj: try a simple flashlight ;-)
WP, it’s ALWAYS amazing to me, but I don enjoy the difference between harvests every months :-)
looseTman, thank you, what a nice and thoughtful thing to say <3
WP, I meant “I DO enjoy the different harvests”
Brendan – I’d love that
Sil, I really think you will love this one…
I’ve marked you down for one ounce, Sil! :-)
awesome. Did you want me to PM or email you so you have my info etc? CLEARLY i’ll be adding more to my order than that haha
Nah, I have a list pinned to the fridge for tea to reserve, so when the 1st rolls around, you’ll be guaranteed to have one ounce. I’ll send you a PM at that time to let you know how to order it. Generally I update inventory based on the reservations when an item comes back into stock. For instance, if there’s 16oz available but 6oz reserved, I update the inventory so reflect 10oz, and when someone that has reserved buys their 1oz, I bump the inventory back up to 10oz. Basically unless it’s all sold out by the time you place your order, you’d just add it as usual. Otherwise I’d set up a 3-letter custom order code for you to use here: www.whisperingpinestea.com/custom.html
It’s a pretty flawless and awesome system that’s easy on everyone involved :-)
I’m finishing a cup of this beautiful tea. My night cap.
Can I reiterate how much I like it? You already know that. Well, I like it. A lot. There, now you know even more.
Just want to share that like most of you, I would like to get some sleep now.
But…my dog Dexter has decided to land on my legs. What’s the big deal, right? Well, he’s kind of heavy and he’s playing rag doll. It’s like there’s no bones in that body. There’s no way I can move him. So, I tried to contort myself from underneath him, and now I must make myself as small as can be so I can fit on whatever space is left on the mattress. I do have a queen size. He’s not only big…he’s tall.
I remember when he was a few months old, a friend told me «don’t ever let him jump in bed…Dobermans are velcro dogs. They stick to you like glue…»
Sigh…he was right.
Aww that’s adorable. xD Haha I at least love when my dog is on my bed with me :P But he’s not as big or as tall as yours!
Your dog is such a cutie :-)
Can’t imagine – my cat can take up 2/3 of the bed when he sprawls out, your dog could probably take up the whole space and then some. It is funny that we will contort around our pets rather than just kicking them out of bed….
One of my cats can take up half of my half of the bed without a problem. Another one of my cats (only when the first cat isn’t around) likes to wait until I’m asleep and then climb on me and sleep sprawled out all crazy like.
My oregano bush is in bloom, and like every year, it hosts a bumble bee party. So cute to watch them working their little butts off.
Thank you bees for all your hard work…because of you, my oregano looks like a micro forest!!
I had Sleeping Bear in the middle of the afternoon. I usually have it at night. But it was raining and this tea reminds me how rain tastes in my forest, so it was the perfect companion.
I’m on a “monthly subscription” for this tea…meaning, I buy it once a month cause it’s that good and I get to have the newest harvest every time.
Out of the three different harvests I have tried so far, this one is the best. It’s a little more piney than the others, and the jasmine is just perfect. The scent is therapeutic, it elevates me…I feel like I’m resting on a little cloud made of jasmine blossoms and soft pine needles.
So good that I re-steep it. Yes, cause Whispering Pines has made a re-steeper out of me!
Teehee bumble bee party! http://tinyurl.com/n95df9w
We had two big fat fuzzy bumble bees wrestling inside an okra flower at my house yesterday, too funny!
I would imagine bumble bee wrestling to be similar to sumo… Lol!
Lol, most of them are actually regular working bees, but I like saying Bumble Bee, makes me happy :-)
Lol, Cameron, that pic is cute!
Stephanie, i think Cameron is right, two big fat bumble bees fighting together = sumo bee wrestling :-)
I usually think of the small “regular” bees as honey bees, and the extra large extra fuzzy variety as bumblebees!
They were totally sumo wrestling, LOL
Awwwwwww I love bumblebees! I got stung by one when I was two because I tried to pet it. Surprisingly not traumatized xD
Yeah, re-steepage!!!
Also, sumo wrestling bumbly bees is the cutest image ever.
I’m totally crashing that bumblebee party!!!!!
Haha! KiwiDelight, kudos for petting a bee, so cute!
Sami, except when I do gongfu sessions, I was never much of a re-steeper…now, with those WP teas, it just breaks my heart to throw them out so I can’t help re-steep most of them!
Sars, I was hoping you’d crash ;-)
Bees are so awesome! I went to an insect behavior lecture a couple of months ago (just for fun) and learned some about them. Did you know that all the bees you see outside the hive are female? They are the workers and soldiers. The males stay in the hive and care for the larvae. Fun facts :)
YOU GUYS if you like bees, you need to read this novel.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/25/books/review/the-bees-by-laline-paull.html?_r=0
TTF: You know I can’t resist a party!!!!!
Suddenly The Tea Hobbit has turned us into re-steepers LTF
I’ve learned here on Steepster that resistance is futile Sars…
MzPriss…let’s face it. We are total re-steepers. But only with tea hobbit’s teas… I still dump my other used tea leaves with no guilt after one steep!
The two I actually res-steep are GO and this one. I wih I had some right now. But it’s not long until the 1st. The Tea Hobbit is also lightning shipper
The firsssst…. it nearsssss…. Need teasssssss :p
Where do you get your “subscription” for this tea?
Lol, it’s a joke hippiechick, I said that cause I buy it every month, just can’t live without it, and I easily go through my 2oz within 30 days :-)
Oh ok I was going to order some, due to your amazing review, but it is out of stock. :(
This tea is available in small quantities starting on the first day of each month :-)
Usually sells out pretty quickly, so keep an eye out for it!
Thanks I will!
Not feeling so good tonight, I’ve had a really hard time sleeping this week end, worse than usual…running on just a few hours of sleep, I thought of drinking this tea. Cause it’s my lullaby tea, puts me in a gentle state of relaxation :-)
There’s something enchanting about this blend… From what I understand, Brenden the owner of Whispering Pines, goes in the forest every month to harvest a new batch of pine needles, just the right amount to keep it sustainable. The fact that he harvests his own product makes it that much more special. And every time I buy this tea, I can be sure it’s at its freshest.
When I opened my pouch of this month’s blend and inhaled its beautiful fragrance, I noticed something different. It seemed more piney and a little more earthy, also less jasmine scented than usual.
I asked about it and was told that the pine needles were now lightly roasted. I’m thinking this process might concentrate the flavours and make the needles a bit more fragrant. A new jasmine green is also in the mix. I like that I can smell more pine, but that the scent remains so soft.
The taste is as delicate and fluffy as I want it to be. The difference from before is very hard to describe though. It’s like rain in the forest. Have you ever opened your mouth while it’s pouring in the woods, and try to catch the droplets? You know it doesn’t taste like regular water, but how do you describe it?
This tea has an undulating texture, it just coats the entire mouth with something floral, buttery sweet and evergreen. It’s not exactly jasmine, it’s not exactly pine, it’s just the perfect fusion of the two…symbiosis, I’m drinking “jaspine”.
It’s sweeter than the previous blend. I don’t think I’ve ever tasted something so fresh and clean. It truly is wonderful.
Being already in love with it, I was skeptical about the change, cause I thought it was just perfect the way it was. Well I must say, it is better.
And yes, another WP blend I don’t see myself living without.
I hope you get some rest & wake up refreshed, my dear TF.
This is another one I’ll have to sample sometime.
Sweet dreams!
I agree 100%. This blend is perfect for me. I wasn’t sure if I should order it since I don’t really like jasmine. But it so subtle and it’s still there. And this combo with pine makes it kinda cooling sensation. I’m wishing you good night sleep. :-)
Aww, you gals are sweet….I’m chilling now, I should be ok <3
Terri, I can send you some whenever you want :-)
Boychik, the fact that you don’t like jasmine but appreciate this blend says it all!
I just need time to sort through all of my untasted WP, Mandala, and Verdant teas to try my SB. Sounds like I need to make time for this one. But…..so many choices, so many teas! :)
Haha! I hear you inranger!
ah you make me want to taste some Whispering Pines teas…I love the name of their teas and your reviews really exhort me to try them !
This sounds bear-rilliant. That’s another one to add to the wish list then.
Ysaurella, WP teas are full of magic :-)
Dr. Roughage, with bear-serker and now bear-rilliant, i officially declare you my favourite bear pun maker… Keep them coming please, bear puns make me beary happy :-)
Gahh I now want to order this iteration of sleeping bear! I’ve tried 2 in the past and loved them both, and if this one is even better…. :D I see yet another tea order in my near future lol
Truly addictive MissLena, but there can never be too many WP orders :-)
Don’t worry, Tea Fairy, I have bearly begun. ;)
The amount of awesomeness happening here right now is almost unbearable ;)
Sounds like I am not the only one with bear puns bruin! ;)
Awww, These bear puns make bears sound like the sweet things they are and much less barbearian.
Haha that one’s good…You got me laughing on the floor doing bear-a-rolls!
We should stop before I go into kodiak arrest!
Ok, that one is hilarious….but no worries, if you keep eating elder-bear-ries, no risk for Kodiac arrest…
Whew…bearly made it out of that alive!
Oh lord! Gotta love those bears.. Did you see the strawberry???
Hahaha yes!
You guys are unbearably cute, I can barely bear to be-hear, big bear hug to all!
<3
Those are awesome bear puns, Whispering Pines. I shall make sure to use them all as soon as I possibly can. My friends will hate you for this! ;)
This all started with Goldilocks Dr. Roughage, remember?
:)
I do indeed remembear, Tea Fairy. I still need to write the best-selling children’s book ‘Goldilocks and the Three Bearserkers’. Maybe I should make it a horror story instead …
Meme bear puns = all kinds of awesome! Super cute and funny and fuzzy. I can bearly stand it
Haha! Glad you enjoyed mandy :-)
I ended up just googling bears and annoying my boyfriend with my constant “OMG baby look he’s soo cute I could just die! Wait no, look at this one! Babe, get me one! Babe, I want. Babe, babe, babe”. I’m pretty sure he hates me now, lol
Ok, you know by now I’m a notorious insomniac.
Been drinking this tea every night this week and it has helped a lot sending me into Morphée’s arms. (Morpheus in English?)
I’m not saying I sleep all night, but it induces a certain sense of euphoria, calmness.
This tea was meant for me… I am the restless type, always doing something. I exercised today and did too much. Overachiever, I do pretty much everything “too much”.
This whispers “STOP” to me. Forces me to pay attention and let it invade me with its soothing effect.
It’s a a tea that says “relax, everything is going to be ok”, and I just let go…
It’s jasmine but with such a twist…who knew pine tasted so good. Now I want to go outside and hug all my pine trees to say thank you! Have you ever hugged a tree? If not, I strongly suggest you do.
I lost count of how much I ordered recently…did I get enough? Hope I did, cause I now NEED this, powerful stuff, really…
If you read my profil, you’ll see that music is one of the most important thing in my life with tea and art. Listening tonight to the beautiful music of Black Dub…that voice, instant shivers. (MzPriss, hope you enjoy ;-))
So notorious ;-)
Lol….that’s how we meet at night :-)
Can’t wait for mine to get here!
Mandy, you’re lucky, you’re in the States, it’ll get there in no time!! I have to patiently wait for Canada post to move their butts :-)
Good thing I’m a night owl then :-). Totally love to stay up late, but we can’t all be fairies so I also need my beauty sleep
Lol, I need it too, believe me, not such a glorious fairy after all!!
That sounds exactly like what a glorious fairy would say….your “hiding in plain sight” strategy does not fool me at all!
Hahaha! you are just adorable mj :-)
I got me an oz of Sleeping Bear yesterday. Lets see if it will work on me. Good night ladies;)
Hope it does boychik :-)
Go to bed!
Haha! Kaylee, doesn’t work like that!! How bout yourself?
Well, it’s 3:25am and I’m checking my dashboard every 5 minutes, so it’s possible that I have a bit of a sleeping problem myself.
Haha! Well, I feel less lonely already…although the tea did relax me a lot, it did not send me to bed tonight :-\
Aww, sorry to hear that. But hey, relaxed and not-so-lonely is good too! We should start a Steepster Insomnia Support Group. It will probably have some overlap with the Late Eating and Impulse Purchasing support groups.
Lol.
Reddit is good when you have insomnia, it goes all night.
(I LOVE that song!!) I did actually go to sleep for a change. I’m hoping all y’all are still sleeping
Good to know Marzipan, thanks..but I usually devour books during the night… And wander around Steepster a little :-)
MzPriss, So happy you got your beauty rest for a change!
MzPriss,
(Now it typed your name twice? What’s wrong with my posts lately? Steepster keeps playing trick on me!!)
my dogs are rioting all over the bed. I’m not all the way awake- only had two sips of tea and they’re play-growling and barking
Oh wow, Black Dub is Daniel Lanois and has Brian Blade in it too. This is good!
Black dub was kind of Daniel Lanois’s music project…The signer is Chris Whitley’s daughter. Im glad you know Lanois, not everybody does.
Lol, it must be quite a riot indeed with two dogs in the morning!
Oh yeah, I love Daniel Lanois’ Acadie record – his song The Maker is so beautiful. I love Emmylou Harris’ version and Willie Nelson’s but I love Daniel Lanois’ the very most. I really did like Chris Whitley as well.
Wild dogs.
thanks for sharing music teafairy. really enjoying this, this morning
Happy to give you some of my music vibes with Sil :-) nothing like dancing with a cup of tea in hand early in the morning!!
TheTeaFairy, thanks for the compliment of eight hours ago :-). I went to sleep and just saw it lol
That’s because you ARE adorable mj :-)
Oh wow, sounds like an amazing tea. I wonder if the pine needles open up the lungs. I have asthma and been looking around for alternative supplements and teas.
Ubacat, I don’t have asthma but I have severe year round allergies. I will let you know when I get it if it helps open up your air passages. You know also when I tried some sheng with camphor menthol notes, I felt so much better. White2tea White Whale was unbelievable. I need to write a note for it
boychik – really… hmmmm
Tea of the night.
This tea is a lullaby…
It’s comforting, soothing, enveloping, warming, reassuring.
This tea feels like the rain…
It’s calming, cleansing, refreshing, quenching, rejuvenating.
Fresh Michigan pine needles, paired with jasmine green. Brilliant.
Pure and crystalline, this infusion renders a light floral breeze and an almost indescribable fresh evergreen taste. It just sits there on your tongue long after you’ve swallowed. It might be a little more piney and resinous than the previous time I had it, which is fine by me, I love that taste! But it remains very delicate and sophisticated.
I had only a sample before, but now that I have a brand new supply, we’ll be spending a lot more time together…This is a unique handcrafted product, and I’m pleased to say it now has a place of choice in my cupboard.
Oh, my…what a calming review! I think I need you to come read me a bedtime story :)
I need to try this!
I’m jealous! I’ve been dying to try this but when it was restocked I didn’t know about it until it was too late. It’s on my wishlist so hopefully nexttime!
Same here Cavocorax, I just placed my first WP order and it was the one tea I wanted that was out of stock. :( Yes, next time.
The needles for this tea are harvested on the first of each month, and the amount of it available is based on how much I can sustainably harvest…There should be about a pound available on the first of the month :)
Gmathis, wouldn’t that be fun ;-) it’s hard for me to relax at night and this tea did the trick yesterday, it has a very claming effect, just made me feel so good.
Cavocorax and inranger, I sure hope you get the chance to try it eventually :-)
Brenden, the first of the month is maked in RED on my calendar!!
oh I was just thinking about how I had been trying to find a good jasmine before I got side tracked with travel (and some truly awful tea experiences). I MUST try this one! I often drink green jasmine until nearly bed time. this would be better.
bizbee, the base of this tea is our River Rain green tea, which I LOVE for before bed. It’s a blend of mao jian and jasmine yin hao teas from China. :)
well Whispering Pines as soon as you get more in I’ll be “there” I have a whole relationship with bears theme in my life, raising funds for the fortress of the bear is Sitka AK and avoiding bears during my AK swims (I was recently told this year’s proposed route ends near some bears that like to swim out to fishing boats) sleeping bears are a good thing!
So is pine for remembering the bears when I am amongst the palm trees working!
:) Bears rock! It’s too bad the Legend of the Sleeping Bear is not a happy one :(
Bizbee1, that sounds amazing!!!
(Brenden, If the bear dies in the end, I don’t want to know!!)
Well, it IS just a legend… http://www.nps.gov/slbe/historyculture/stories.htm
But yes, there are dying bears involved :(
well to counteract the sadness here is a happy place for orphaned baby bears (htough it has little to do with tea unless we make a tea and use it as a fundraiser). The family that runs the fortress have dedicated their lives to these bears but they give a lot in return! http://www.fortressofthebear.org/
Arrgh!!! I knew i shouldn’t have read the legend…it takes two words to make me cry: cub and death. What a sad story…but I’m sure the dunes created in their memories are beautiful…
Bizbee1, thanks for posting this, it warms my heart to hear about such amazing people :-)
Oh they are more than just beautiful! ;) http://abcnews.go.com/Travel/best_places_USA/sleeping-bear-dunes-michigan-voted-good-morning-americas/story?id=14319616
Awww! You’ve got it all my friend…it’s gorgeous.
And Mario Batali? And cherries, my favourite fruits in the world???
This will be available for purchase in an hour and a half!!! :D That’s 2pm EST, right here: whisperingpinestea.com/the-sleeping-bear-blend.html
ok I want to get some for me and some for a care package going out to a friend so I’ll waaiitt :)
Very limited quantity…so be ready! :D
@Fairy, yes…the best cherries you could ever imagine. I can’t even eat cherries from anywhere else :)
Also, I’m having my first cup of this harvest now. It’s AMAZING. I changed my processing slightly on the pine, so now there’s much more pine flavor and a light roasty hint in the background. Also, new jasmine in it, which is WAY better than the old one. I keep saying this, but I don’t think I can make this tea any better!
Have my order in :)
Yay! :) Congrats, and thank you :)
Oh, I’m SO tempted to grab this, but I just got my WP order in a few days ago, and don’t want to pay $12 shipping for 2 oz of tea. :P Guess I’ll have to wait until it’s restocked later on. Is it always the 1st of the month that you bring it in? I can plan a future order based on that!
Cavocorax, I’ll message you :)
And yes, to answer your question, I harvest on the first of each month. Usually there’s about 10 ounces available, but I’m trying to make that a pound in the future.
I could do a special harvest for anyone that wants 4 ounces or more though :)
First, thank you Brenden for including this sample in my order, I appreciate it.
My inner girly girl is really pleased when she looks at this blend. So delicate and pretty.
If the Bear is sleeping on a comfy cloud made of these mellow pine needles and this fragrant aromatherapeutic jasmine green tea, I’m afraid it will never wake up!
Since I had only one shot at making this cup as delicious as it should be, I followed Brenden’s parameters to the letter and it turned out perfect!
What a nice flavourful combination this is. It’s not an in “your face” piney taste, but rather a very subtle essence, rounded by the beautiful jasmine green floral notes. It is sweet and very soothing.
I’m listening to some music for the Gods while sipping , Viktoria Mullova playing Bach’s sonata…perfect afternoon.
(Oh, I really wish this hadn’t been out of stock when I placed my order…)
I can not WAIT to harvest the next batch of white pine for this! I’m going to give it a slightly longer oxidation and also work on bringing out more of the buttery flavors. Harvest time should be mid-June :)
Yay, that sounds amazing, I will definitely return for it :-)
That sonata was beautiful! Thanks for sharing :-)
Mj1851, as much as I love modern music, I also need my classical… glad you enjoyed, Bach is my favourite composer :-)
Aw! I almost bought this, but chickened out because of the pine. Now I know :)
I love a little of everything, but grew up playing classical, & still love to return to it often.
Virginia, I don’t think you will regret buying this one, now i’m sad I don’t have more!
Terri, I think classical is the only music that will bring me to tears. I,m mostly a fan of soloist work though. I love melancholy, big happy symphonies are not my thing…
This was my morning tea today.
It was a pretty good black tea, though I really didn’t get any cocoa notes in this one. Nothing like North Winds or the Fuijian tea from WP.
I’m too lazy to look up what the differences between all these black teas are, but of the three straight blacks that I’ve tried from WP, this is the one with the least amount of mind blowing flavour and excitingness. I don’t honestly think I was able to pull any specific flavours out of this, maybe a slight hint of fruitiness though don’t ask me to specifically name any fruit or you will be given a blank stare in response!
That being said, I’m still working on bringing my tastebuds up to speed, one cup at a time, so maybe this will blow someone else’s mind!
Thanks to Brenden for including a sample with my order :)
This tea is not in what I would have called my tea wheelhouse. I’m not a fan of black teas, really, unless they’re flavored. But I ordered a sample of this one just based on the inspiration from the website. (Seriously, read the whole description of this tea. I mean read it. Traverse City, Mackinac Island, bridges (although I have to point out that you can’t take the Mighty Mac to the island), yes, this tea is supposed to remind me of a trip Up North.
So I added this sample, because I’ve been wanting and needing a trip up north (we’ve got one scheduled for next month, but that’s sooooo far away!)
And wow, you nailed this one. It is sweet, almost like a cherry, not quite, but yes, and chocolaty, like good dark Mackinac Island Fudge. I love the malt in this one. Not too malty, but just enough.
This mug really makes me want Northern Michigan all that much more. If you’ve never been, I suggest you go sometime. It is peaceful and laid back in a way that I just can’t explain. And beautiful. I love Michigan. I love Up North.
I’m really enjoying this tea. Like I said, it’s not my normal tea, but it is nice. I would like to have this one occasionally, when I need an escape Up North.
Preparation
you convinced me. I’m going ;)
I’m finally moving back…in a week! I can’t even contain my excitement!!!
I’m so glad that you get the references in my descriptions…I feel like a lot of people don’t TRULY understand Up North. I know that before I lived there, if you had told me that the most beautiful place in the world is northern Michigan, I would have laughed in your face ;)
I’m sooo happy for you! If I could live way up there, I would, but my spouse’s job does not allow for telecommuting most of the time. (Mine does, so I can work from anywhere he needs to be.)
I’ve been to both of these places, and I just love it up there. At least it’s only a “short” drive to Traverse City or the UP and we can make long weekends or even week long get aways.
Yay, to returning to a place you love Brendan! Up north, what a term… Growing up, up north was anywhere North of Barrie(less than an hour from Toronto). I don’t know why because I’d been to Wawa on Lake Superior a number of times when I was little, but the ridiculousness of my perspective didn’t hit me until I worked in Chapleau for two summers and experienced the 8-12 he drive up there and entered the Arctic watershed while watching the seasons regress that my perspective changed and even then several members of Steepster live in places much further north than that. I lived in a Crown Game Preserve and experienced worse culture shock coming home than when I returned from India. There is something amazing about being surrounded by life! The furthest North I’ve been is Iqaluit but only for a short period of time.
In metro Detroit, the term Up North is loosely interpreted as anywhere “north” of here, although it can also mean west in some cases. It’s getting out of the Big City and into the “wilderness”. Where I grew up, Up North was my family cottage 45 minutes away, about 2 miles north, mostly to the west. But it was on a lake and out of suburbia. Interestingly enough, that’s now mostly suburbia out there as well, so I’m not sure it counts as Up North anymore.
It’s always changing isn’t it? How awesome to have a cottage only 45 mine away. My cousin’s is in a beautiful spot it’s on a finger bay off Georgian Bay. It’s private enough that it seems to be on a private lake but they have easy access to the Great Lakes watershed. There is a wildlife reserve on one side ( The first time I was there, I went jogging and saw a bear), but it’s @2.5 hrs to get there.
Yep! I don’t think I could consider any larger cities “up north”. I’m moving to a city of 450 people (White Pine, MI) right next to the Porcupine Mountains. Now THAT’S up north ;)
I haven’t been to the Porcupine Mountains, but it’s on my list of places I want to go in Pure Michigan.
Well if you make it up to that area, let me know and we can break out some of my reserve teas! :)
Definitely!
LOL I grew up in Florida, so up north was anywhere north of the mason-dixon line.
Funny you say that. I have a friend from Florida who is coming to visit later this summer, and he said that it’s his “first trip up north because it’ll be the first time [he’ll] be north of the mason-dixon line.”
That is funny! He definitely picked the right time of year to visit “up north”.
Scheherazade’s Super Sipdown (Long) Weekend #4
Another fabulous black that I’ll miss from my cupboard. Once I’ve finished off a couple more of my Whispering Pines teas, I’m definitely going to place another order. Primarily plain blacks, I think. This one pales a little in comparison to Teavivre’s Yun Nan Dian Hong Golden Tip, but it’s still pretty good. Fruity, malty, sweet. Genuinely lovely tea!
Preparation
I’ve been having a lot of luck with this kind of tea recently, so I pulled this one out to try yesterday evening. It’s the first Whispering Pines tea I’ve tried, although there are a few more in my cupboard. They’re next in the to-drink pile!
I gave 1.5tsp of leaf 3 minutes in boiling water, and added a splash of milk. The smell of the dry leaf is mildly fruity, and this carries through to a certain extent in the flavour. I wouldn’t say I’m getting melon and passionfruit as the description suggests, but there is a sweetness that’s reminiscent of raisin. The main note I’m picking up is cocoa, and it’s delicious! It’s sweet and malty, and the chocolatey flavour with the added milk gives it a wonderfully creamy edge.
I’m glad to have had the opportunity to try this one, although it didn’t wow me quite as much at the Teavivre golden tip version. It has made me curious to try more Whispering Pines teas, though.
I’m slowly coming to the realisation that plain blacks might be my absolute favourite, which comes as a surprise given that I discovered tea largely through flavoured varieties. I’m not sure that I would have been able to pick out all of the flavours in teas like this back then, or even that I would have appreciated them as much as I do now. How tastes change! I’m glad to have discovered this one :)
Preparation
Sipdown (163/169)!
Added milk to this one to sip it down with, and I have to say that I think the milk really brought out different elements. To me, this time around, the cup was a lot more apple flavoured on the first steep and the cinnamon was a bit muted (good in my books). In addition, there was a buttery, flaky pastry quality that I didn’t find present in my previous steeps of this.
It’s not surprising that of the three cups I made together, this was the first to be slurped down. If I ever put in a Whispering Pines order (which I’m sure is bound to happen eventually) I will absolutely consider ordering this! Especially if that order is placed around the fall; this would be a perfect fall tea!
Flavors: Apple, Bread, Butter, Cinnamon, Pastries
So this is a tasting note for my second steeping on WP’s Apple Cinnamon Oolong. I don’t typically bother to resteep things: more often than not I’d rather have something else and enjoy as many flavours as possible in a day. However, I do make exceptions often for oolongs and WP’s comment about this being especially good with subsequent steeps made me hold onto the leaf to give it another go…
I’m glad I did: this is much better the second time around! I’m wondering if that’s in part because I added on another minute to the steep time? However, all the flavours are much more front and center which was my biggest complaint yesterday so cheers for that! Most impressively is how strong the apple-y flavour has become! It’s almost cider like, but without that kind of tart “tang” to it.
Definitely an improvement and I’m so happy I resteeped (maybe I’ll do a third tomorrow?). I’ll be increasing my rating now…
Thanks 221tea for the sample! I think this is officially my first blend from Whispering Pines? I hope I made a good choice, heh…
The amount of cinnamon chips in this intimidates me a little bit to be perfectly honest: I like my cinnamon in moderation and this looks like it could potentially be fairly overwhelming. Steeped up though it seems harmless enough, inviting even.
Taste wise this is much more mellow and gentle than I was bracing myself for. I almost wish it packed a bit more of a punch because while the apple, cinnamon, and oolong components can all be checked off and marked as present they’re sorta those classroom “ruffians” who sit in the back row where the teacher can’t notice them as clearly. And, when that’s the way all the flavour notes in the tea are behaving it doesn’t really work too splendidly. Someone has to be in the front.
I guess if I’d have to name a more dominant flavour it would be the apple? It’s slightly more noticeable than everything else in the aftertaste as you swallow the liquor: but only fleetingly.
So to summarize: I’m finding this a touch weak and it’s not what I wanted or expected but it’s still pretty good – definitely drinkable. I have one more cup left and since it’s about the same leaf amount as this one increasingly the leaf to up the flavour isn’t as viable an option so I’m probably going to see if I can push the flavour out a bit more by slightly extending the steep time.
Cinnamon really terrifies me in tea, sadly. I love cinnamon, it just doesn’t work in teas. Do you want ALL cinnamon in moderation, though, in (for example) baked goods as well?
You can get 5+ infusions from the one :) also, i not sire if you knew this, but the apple notes are natural notes coming from the oolong, which is why they aren’t more intense.
^To add. Try steeping for 5 minutes instead of the recommended 2
Wow, my not-out-of-bed-or-awake yet comments are totally not helpful. Haha :)
What I meant to say is that because the apple notes are natural notes in the oolong, increasing the steep time would be a great choice because these notes will be accentuated by the longer steep time :)
A sample of this was included in my recent order. It was a good choice based on my other teas. :) It was a good tea. However, even with filtered water, I get smoke out of this. Smokey cocoa. Not strong enough to be bad, but too strong for me to want to keep it on hand. Glad to have had the chance to try it, though. It was one I was on the fence about maybe ordering more of.
Noooooo. I hope I don’t get smoke. :/
Smoke? Really? Hmm…I haven’t tasted or ever heard of anyone getting smoke from this…that’s very strange!
courtney… if you do i have a nice toasty seat waiting for the tea at my place lol
My taster is weird about smoke. I get it in all kinds of things that no one else seems to get it in. It is more than likely just me. That’s one of the reasons I follow lots of people – everyone seems to have at least slightly different taste buds, especially when it comes to tea! It may not even be my taster, it may be my sniffer, which is very hypersensitive to smoke of all kinds. So maybe I’m just smelling something that isn’t really there and that is coloring what I taste.
Sil haha! :P
Nicole I also get it in things others don’t. I guess we will have to wait and see. I’m glad it was just a sample for you, at least. :)
Hmm…I do sort of get warm pinewood in this one, but I agree, we all taste different things :)
This is my special tea to drink at work. I still love it.
Today’s my birthday, which I don’t even care about anymore. I’m getting up there, you guys. haha.
But anyway, this is one of two of my favourite black teas I plan to drink at work today. Likely tonight will be filled with fussier temperature sensitive teas that require more than the unreliable work kitchen kettle :)
Vanilla, silky smooth, really good. Makes me feel warm and happy.
uh you are NOT getting up there…. don’t even. lol Happy Birthday lady!
Happy birthday!!
Happy birthday!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!! :D
Happy Birthday ! i feel the same way ;)
Happy Birthday!!!
Happy Birthday! You absolutely should drink your faves to celebrate your birthday!
Happy birthday!
Happy birthday!
Thanks everyone :)
Hey, Happy Birthday! Enjoy the day!
Haha! Happy birthday! :)
Happy Birthday!
Happy birthday! What a great tea to celebrate with!
Thanks guys! :)
Happy Birthday!!!! GO makes me happy too.
I love this tea.
The other night I was cleaning out my craft/computer/junk room for a bunch of hours while watching Gilmore Girls on Netflix, and I had steeped two big cups of this. Both were delicious.
It’s silky smooth, chocolatey, vanilla-y…really rich and delicious.
This is my kind of dessert tea. I’m not big on the artificially flavoured dessert teas these days, for the most part.
I’d rather drink ones like this. Over and over again. SO glad I recently ordered more!!
Someday I will come up with the spare funds to try Cocoa Amore. Until then, this tea FTW!
Sorry for the spam of reviews.
I drank a lot of tea this weekend but weekends are bad for logging, too much going on.
I saved the best for last though!
This was my Saturday morning tea. I got up and knew that we had plans to go see a movie at 2, so I figured I had plenty of time to properly enjoy this tea.
There are two types of tea for me, the ones that are special and deserving of my time and attention, and possibly multiple resteeps…and the ones that I pretty much guzzle all day long. I can go through a cup really quick once it’s cooled down to an acceptable level.
Anyway, Golden Orchid falls into the first category. I haven’t been drinking these delicious favorites lately because I’ve been trying to sipdown my silly amount of samples.
SO – knowing that I had lots of time to properly devote to it, I made a cup of Golden Orchid. I even bought a jug of spring water just to use for my “special teas”. So I used it.
I’m sniffing the bag, just taking my time. Then inhaling my delicious tea, waiting for it to cool off so I wouldn’t burn my mouth (done that before, too often)….
Then my husband was all like “let’s go out for breakfast at Homestead (local place) before the movie! How fast can you get ready? We will have to leave in an hour tops”
Which doesn’t sound too bad, but it meant I had to chug my tea down while I got the baby ready to go and got myself ready.
Hardly the experience I had been hoping for.
Though, it was still delicious.
It’s almost good that I’ve been drinking an abundance of mediocre samples lately, makes me really appreciate teas like this!
Mmmmm I just ordered this one after trying a sample and I can’t wait to taste it again. :D
This is a total special occasion tea for me too even though I want to drink it constantly! SO GOOD
To all Golden Orchid lovers, I strongly suggest trying this:
http://steepster.com/teas/whispering-pines-tea-company/47589-northern-sweet-tea
Note that I did not have elderberries handy, so I used frozen blueberries and it tasted awesome!! Can’t wait to get some elderberries though and try it the right way :-)
Are elderberries a Canadian thing? I have never seen them for sale here in the US in my life.
Golden Orchid, I wrote a haiku for you:
Rich silky liquid
Flavours blossom in my cup
Indulge. Joyful mouth!
It’s really that good. Cocoa and vanilla, what a taste.
I loved the base tea as well (North Winds), but the vanilla is the secret. Vanilla makes everything taste better, literally, everything.
First two steeps were very rich and dark, third a bit weaker but still worth it.
I’d tried this yesterday in the middle of painting but didn’t have time to sit and properly enjoy it and take it all in, so I had it first thing this morning again, so worth it.
I also used bottled water, what a difference….
Definitely a restock!
Flavors: Chocolate, Vanilla
Preparation
:)
After reading this I am SO pumped to get my order! Well I already was. But now I’m on a whole other level.
You are a poet #_#
Dangit, man. I just get my first Butiki order after months of people raving about them and now everyone’s raving about WP and I’m so desperate to try them now. I CAN’T WIN.
Added to wish list.
I still haven’t tried anything from WP. I guess I’ll have to get with the program. :)
Memily Steepster is a dangerous place!
Yeah you guys all need to try some WP. I see another order in my future for sure. I love reading everyone’s reviews!
Terri how is it possible that I’ve tried a tea you haven’t?!
Haha! It well deserves its own inspirational haiku!
Can I quote your awesome haiku on my facebook page? You’ll get credit, of course :)
Yeah, go for it!! :)
whatshesaid, I have no idea! LOL
Aaaahh… I see we have finally received our WP order! I love this review. :)
:) IT WAS SO WORTH THE WAIT!
/capslock
I had two steeps of this earlier this afternoon.
I really really enjoyed both of them.
This tea is smooth and chocolatey with a nice thick mouthfeel.
And cocoa.
Did I mention cocoa?
It would be impossible to not have a good afternoon when you are drinking this tea.
It’s one of those “Serenity now” in a cup types of teas.
I’m so silly. Or I have major “mom brain” now, officially.
I was sure I’d ordered the Ailaoshan Black but it was this! D’oh. I think I had it in my cart but changed my mind. Regrets taste bitter.
I was painting my living room all day so I didn’t have too much time to sit and enjoy my tea, but my WP order finally arrived so obviously I made some :)
I need to have more Golden orchid before I review it, but I had this earlier and it was super fudgey and delicious. I did one resteep and it was great.
I even used filtered water because I thought it deserved the best, my husband is going to kill me when I figure out how to tell him that we need some sort of filter or water machine for all of my future tea drinking :)
Brenden – love your packaging, it seems so earthy and natural and simple. Rubber stamps make me happy. And so do handwritten thank you notes :)
I will be back at some point for that Ailaoshan Black!
Yay! So glad it arrived! :) Enjoy!
I ordered this one and the Ailaoshan Black, yay! I can send you some of the Ailaoshan if you like. :)
Oh no!! You must have been so disappointed not to find Ailaoshan…But I think this is a great one, i usually love Fujian blacks. I had the Mint Chocolate Chip yesterday and I think WP uses that same fujian as a base, it was really good and chocolaty.
I was disappointed for sure, but this was delicious so it’s hard to be too disappointed :)
Courtney I definitely wouldn’t mind trying a cup! :)
And by " wouldn’t mind" I mean “would love”
Haha! As soon as it arrives, I’ll send some along.
You’re the best :)
Just came back from a long hiking session with my dog Dexter. I let him chase all the squirrels he wanted cause they were mocking him. I’m not worried he’s ever going to catch them cause despite the fact that he’s super athletic, he remains a dog and can’t climb trees…even though he tries sometimes!
It was raining, and all the vegetation came to life with glossy bright shades of greens all around. I just love rain in the woods. Love the relaxing sound that each rain drops make when they land on the trees.
When we came back, I wanted to drink something reminiscent of all the smells we were still soaked with from the forest.
I thought Cedar Ridge would be appropriate since we have many large cedars in my forest.
This is a wellness blend. Really. With organic ingredients like cinnamon, elderberries, ginger, spearmint and roasted cedar leaves, it’s something I would want to drink if I was at the spa.
It’s relaxing and invigorating at the same time. The spearmint and cedar are upfront, and at the end of the sip, I get a spicy bite from the ginger and cinnamon.
It feels fresh, woody, earthy and “rainy”.
It’s everything I was hoping for.
The sun is out now, let’s try to dry ourselves a little!
What an awesome afternoon!
Awesome is right KS!
I need a walk in the woods…
I need to go camping…
I need to take a float trip too…
it’s been too long!
I probably need to sample this tea too.
Come on over then Terri, you’ll get all of it at once ;-)
Wouldn’t that be fun!
You should try the new version! :)