Whispering Pines Tea Company
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It’s heading towards noon, and this is my first tea of the day. Must. Have. Tea. I didn’t even need to think about which tea I wanted because this is one of my no fail/I-will-always-love-it teas. Today there are lots of floral and honey notes along with a good biscuity note and… molasses?. I don’t think I’ve ever tasted molasses in this tea before, but it’s yummy. I love how the flavors in this tea can morph from one steeping to the next, but it’s always delicious.
Back to work… right after the next steep….
Preparation
Goodness, this is an excellent tea. It’s biscuity with deep cocoa notes. There’s also a nuttiness and a smooth, sweet caramel finish. I lowered my water temp to 205° F, and it kept the tea from having any astringency. This is probably the way I’ll prepare this one from now on. It really is delicious. I think I fall in love with this tea a bit more each time I drink it.
I’m bumping my rating up to 100. This is a tea I adore.
(previous rating 98)
Preparation
I love this one too
I have four teas rated at 100, and three of them are from Whispering Pines. I might be addicted. :)
Yeah, it’s a problem. I have the same problem with Mandala and Verdant too
This makes me smile :) So happy that you’re all enjoying my stuff! :D
Good stuff.
I need this one!
@Brenden – I totally agree with MzPriss, good stuff. :)
:) I’m excited for the good stuff that will be released on July 1st! :)
@MzPriss – You and kimquat have me hooked on Mandala. Thank you. ;-)
You are very welcome. It’s good stuff too. And Garret is awesome.
Stuff that was out of stock or new stuff? Or both?
Both.
Marzipan – you really do. Reeeeely
Oh mercy. I made a new deal with myself that I will only make one online order a month. Looks like July will go to Whispering Pines. :)
WOOOOOT! :D
It was out of stock last time there was a % off code. :(
That’s because it’s so f-ing good
Truth! I have never sold out of a tea faster than this one!
Yeah, I have no doubt there will be a rush on this one again. Too many of us only bought one ounce last time. Won’t make that mistake again! I want to try the Bi Luo Chun, too!
Hehe…that’s why I hoarded on it…muahahaha!!!
Tea of the morning. This tea is insanely good. Today there is malt followed by a sweetness – kind of a non specific frutiness – and then salted caramel at the finish. So. Very. Yum. After I get my youngest to school I’ll resteep it. One thing I like about this tea is the flavor profile changes ever so slightly from cup to cup, so tasting it is always interesting.
I have been hoarding this tea, but I’m giving myself permission to drink it with the belief that I’ll be able to order more in the near future. Brenden, please tell me that’s true! :)Preparation
Soon! :)
Is this tea related to the Laoshan Black that Verdant has? Or is the name similarity a coincidence?
I don’t think they are related though I could be wrong. I believe the Laoshan Village is in the Shandong province and the Ailao Nature Reserve is in the Yunnan province.
^ Spot on! :)
Shan means mountain. Laoshan is named after Mount Lao I believe, and Ailaoshan translates to Mount Ailao…the nature preserve is quite perfect for tea production :) http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BAFuwKa5zMo/Um4UtKhvo1I/AAAAAAAAVCM/TfMwMMwWlKo/s1600/yuanyang-terraces-2.jpg
Wow, that picture is gorgeous! Visiting China is definitely on my bucket list.
Oh, this is good. Really good. There is a definite salted caramel flavor that I’m loving. There is also a rich fruity note that floats around between sips. It lends a lot of depth and sweetness to the tea. I keep sipping and trying to place the flavor, but I can’t quite put my finger on it (ok, I cheated and looked at the tea description – caramelized plum. Yes.). I keep sipping and trying to think of how best to describe this, but all I’m coming up with is Wow. Yum. Amazing.
This one is a keeper.
Preparation
It would be a good idea if I stopped using cups that are too big without adjusting the serving size of the leaf. It really makes a difference to follow directions. Often, I pull out any random sized cup and put in the same amount of leaf regardless. This tea is still pretty good when under leafed, though. It gets a fruity note to it that I don’t detect otherwise. However, the chocolate and malty notes are only there when I use more leaf.
I am raising the rating on this tea because Ive had it several times now and can safely say that it is a favorite.
This is one of the few teas that I get legitimate cravings for. Speaking of which, I think the kettle is still warm :)
Hey Shelley!
I was just commenting to Ms Theresa the other day, “I haven’t seen Shelley around for awhile.” So glad to see your face! ;)
Ive been around! I just haven’t parked my stuff and unpacked recently ;)
I was able to just barely get three cups of tea out of this sample that I got. the first two times, I used about 10 ounces of water with 1.5 tsp of leaves. This time, I didn’t have quite enough leaf for 1.5 tsp, so I used an 8oz cup (which is technically what I should have been using to follow the instructions perfectly, but anyway. . .)
This time around, I detected very strong chocolate notes that I hadn’t before. The proportion of tea to water shouldn’t have been so different (since I used less of both) but maybe it was.
Ill have to get some more of this tea to experiment with it. I think I could end up liking it quite a bit. I don’t know why I have such a hard time making my mind up about black teas (and it really is just black teas that provide such a dilemma). shrug
This tea was included as a sample with my order. I like it better than the black tea that I did order (go figure :p).
This is maybe not may favorite black tea, but its pretty good. I was afraid it would have too much of a smokey or woody flavor (I can’t always differentiate between these flavors). I don’t like either of these and I am so sensitive to them that I can even detect them when no one else can. yay me (note sarcasm). This tea does hint at it, but the blend as a whole comes together nicely. Its bold and malty which is what I like best in a black tea. Usually, with black teas that I seem to like alright at first, I need to try them several times to decide that i either really like them or really don’t (you’d think I’d at least figure out the latter the first time around, lol). So ill probably be writing an updated note for this one in the near future.
Preparation
I love this white tea so much! I’ve been trying not to drink it too often because I can’t afford to buy too much tea these days :(
I got some Whispering pines tea for my father for Father’s day. My parents don’t live near by anymore, so I don’t get to be there when he tries them. so sad!
Other sad news is that it looks like I might have to move to Boulder, CO without my pets and husband temporarily. We are trying to sell our current house and can’t make an offer on a new one until this one is under contract at least. I need to be in Boulder or somewhere not too far from there by Aug. 18th. I really don’t want to have to go by myself. I need some super good luck with the house sale and purchase!
I haven’t had any ‘real’ tea in my cupboard for a while. I have some Bamboo leaf tea blends that I really like, but I was starting to miss real tea. Especially a really good white tea.
When my package from Whispering Pines arrived yesterday, I put on my happy face and opened it right away. Yay for new tea! But when I saw the little handwritten note with my name spelled wrong, I made a sad face. (′︿‵｡) Everyone is always trying to run off with my second ‘e’ lol
Fortunately, the big fluffy leaves of this white tea improved my mood again. I love big fluffy white tea leaves! And even more so when they brew into a tasty tea as these do. This is now my favorite white tea. It is similar to an old favorite I used to get from elsewhere, but recent batches of that one have been disappointing. I’ll have to hope that this one will be available for a while so that I can stock up (but hard to do while Im on a budget!).
The flavor is pleasantly complex. I pick up the honeydew and Eucalyptus honey notes for sure. The rest I can’t describe so precisely, but it’s all yummy.
Shell-E-y (see what I just did?? I gave you a big fat second “E”!)
I just ordered this tea a few minutes ago, so happy you liked it, now I can’t wait to try it for myself!!
oh but no, my second ‘e’ must always exist in harmony with the rest of my name. ;) I hope you like this tea too! It’s so hard to fine really good white teas.
I realized that I had spelled your name wrong like 5 seconds after I taped up the package…and I was out of tape! So it was either I run to get more tape, miss the post office cut-off time, and you spend one more day waiting for tea or I publicly apologize for mis-spelling your name on Steepster but you get your package a day earlier ;)
Dearest Shelley,
I deeply apologize for mis-spelling your name. I assure you that it will not happen again. I, too, know what it’s like to have my name mis-spelled often. Most people mess up the second e in my name as well!
Peace, love, and an extra E,
Brenden :)
pfft, out of tape! I dunno if I believe that. haha. But anyway, I was only adding the details about my name to this note for dramatic effect. So, in a way, it is somewhat fortuitous that you misspelled it. :p
:) Hehe, totally out of tape! I’m finally moving back to Michigan, so lots of tape is being used for packing too!
In fact, I want to thank you. Right now is crucial time for orders for me. Over the past two years (the life of my company), all I have wanted to do is move back home. Whispering Pines was created as a way to fund the move back but has become so much more than that. This move is monumental in my life, both for personal reasons and for Whispering Pines. Moving back to the land of the inspiration is bigger for me than I can even explain. I left my heart and soul at home and you and everyone ordering here on Steepster are helping me get back :)
Alas my vacation is over and I have to go back to work today :( I’m fortifying myself with my favorite cup of yummy vanilla fudgy comfort. I have a bed full of dogs and this tea and it’s gonna be hard to get up and get ready this morning. Maybe if I keep drinking this….
So happy to be home. Because the GO lives here. nomnomnomnom
Yay, reunited, at last :-)
Yes! Home is where the noms are.
Hahaha, home is where the noms are. So much winning :-)
I’m so jealous. This tea did not make it to me in the (M)UTTB.
I can send you a little Cheri
Only if you want, and if I have something you’re interested in in exchange.
I am so happy that I have this tea at this moment.
My middle of the night tea again. Made in my Vanilla Dreams seasoned yixing. Sipping and shopping the Teavivre sale.
As much as I already loved this tea, I love it so so much more having it from this yixing, it makes more happiness.
And what, my dearest, did you get from TeaVivre?
(i might have placed a middle of the night Teavivre sale order myself..oops…)
And yo, little VD pot!!! Do you have yours yet sarsy? Any of your 100 clay gaiwan dedicated for it?
I am using one of my banko houhins as my vanilla teapot. I’ll snap a pic for you. :)
Oh, yes please!
TTF you might be in so much trouble.
MzPriss I love that you have a Vanilla Dreams yixing. YUMMY!
Lol, cheri, I’ve been in trouble pretty much all my life, so bring it :-)
I got some Bailin Gongfu (a LOT) because I <3 it and the yixing that is on sale and something else, then I went back to sleep
This was my 3 am middle of the night tea and I’m having it again at 6 with a little break for morning Special Dark (mmmmm) ritual. I was going to switch it up it, but it’s hard to mess with perfection so…
This is from my stash of the “old” vanilla, and while I do love the “new” vanilla just bit a more, I have to say that in the unlikely event you can let your stash of GO lounge around for a while, it just gets better and better – even more vanilla fudge flavor. Just so smooth and lovely.
Oh, MzPriss, I don’t know how you do it. I would DIE with only that much sleep. But this is an excellent tea for the middle of the night….the morning….the afternoon lol
I can’t believe I haven’t reviewed this one yet…I love the new vanilla too! ( 3am? We are creatures of the night…)
@mj – I don’t know how I do it either, but I’ve been doing it so long, it is just how it is – but hey! at least I have good tea to do it with
@TFI can’t believe you haven’t reviewed it either!!! and yeah 3 am – we really are creatures of the night. I get some books read that way though :)
Yep, thank god for tea and books! Lol, I went to bed at 5 and it looks like I’m up now! Oh well, at least I don’t have to go to work, so no complaints here. And I,m like you, been going on for so long, I’m used to it!
It’s impressive! My brain does not work if I get less than 7 hours of sleep, which makes lab activities pretty difficult….plus it makes me pretty cranky. I guess I’m just a big baby when it comes to sleep haha
You know, for the most part, I love my life pretty well. I am fortunate to have a job that while extremely intense and stressful, I love it, I’m good at it and I work with really great people, I live in a place I love, have sweet little house with a HUGE yard and a great garden and I’m really lucky with my the friends I have – but seriously – not being able to sleep reallyreallyrealyrealyreally SUCKS it and I envy those of you that can. I would give up a significant amount of things to be able to sleep.
I had a serious struggle with insomnia for about a year. It is an awful feeling and I sympathize with you MzPriss. All you want to do is sleep and your body/mind will not let you. My husband could fall asleep in 2 mins once his head hit the pillow so he never understood. I hope you are able to find ways to get as much rest as you can.
Awww thank you. It’s been going on for years and I manage it, but I’m really envious of people who can sleep. And having GO in the middle of the night and a good book helps :)
@MzPriss, are you reading anything good lately?
I have been a Creature of the Night for most of my life. When I was 6 I was prone to wander in the middle of the night. It started with wandering around my house (mom was a very heavy sleeper & dad was in the navy). I’m hypersensitive to a lot of things, including sounds, so I loved (& still love)the silence, plus everything looks so amazingly different in the dark, there is a soothing quality to a lack of color. My wanderings took me into my back yard, then into my front yard. All around the neighborhood. I laid in the damp grass, looking at the stars. I became life long friends with the moon. It came to a screeching halt when my friend Jill spent the night & we went for a full moon stroll in our PJs. We played on the school playground, walked all over the place, then some lady asked us why we were out at night.
“She was spending the night & got scared, so I’m walking her home” I replied (creativity has it’s perks…including the ability to make stuff up, just like that!).
She kept driving around the block, so I slipped into stealth mode & we went into my next door neighbor’s backyard, thinking we gave her the slip. When she was gone, we silently crept back into my house, & tried to go to sleep.
Next thing you know, the doorbell rang, then Mom’s voice, “Terri…”
Busted! That lady had called the cops!
I go through periods of late nights activities, & if I start to do anything, especially of a creative nature, after 10pm, I’ll be up til 3:00. But I have noticed as I’m getting older that I require at least an average of 7.5 hours of sleep. I can get by on 6 for a few nights, 3 occasionally, but my body really needs the rest.
Oh terri, we have so much in common…I’ve been that little girl too…still am I think. You were right, you do have some fairy blood! LOVE your story, thanks for sharing :-)
OMG this kind of freaks me out that we all have this in common. I used to do what my vraother called “waking the house”. She had an old house with creaky floors. I believed that I knew where all the creaks were and that she didn’t hear me when I did all my roaming. Although she thought I stayed IN the house and just walked around – I always always went outside and walked around her neighborhood. It was a small town and I would walk around, climb up into the big oak trees, play in the park and I spent hours upon hours upon hours looking up at the moon.
I have no idea what a “vraother” is. That was supposed to be grandmother. I hate doing this from my phone :)
@mj – I’m reading a yoga book right now called “The Subtle Body” and I’m also working my way through that tea shop mystery series. The Indigo tea shop one. I do ’t think her writing is all that great and she gets a few tea things wrong – like the being stores in glass jars – but they pass the time OK. What are you reading?
Ok…this is freaky. My story is at my grand parent’s farm. Acres and acres of land. I’d go bare footed also in my nightgown with the dogs and climb the the apple trees. I’d just stay stay there and look at the moon.
You gals, your stories are amazing :-)
(And I can’t get passed vraother, I’m snorting out loud!!! )
Yeah – bless my heart, I’m laughing too.
Seriously? You girls are the only people I’ve ever known that did this besides me! Unless you want to count adults with Alzheimer…
ROFL!!!!
My vraother (I decided to embrace vraother) wanted my mom to take me to the doctor because she was worried that I “walked the house” all night long and thought I was sleep walking and might hurt myself. I was totally awake and I like outside at night. When we lived in the country, my hub and used to take futon mattress out onto our top floor deck and sleep out there if the Mosquitos weren’t too bad.
My own vraother would sometimes join me :-) no wonder I,m an insomniac, I got encouragement!
Awww, the futon thing is adorable…
I go sleep outside in the Gazebo all the time…especially when it rains.
LOL I sleep on my back screen porch when it rains. It just never rains here enough anymore :(
And I LOVE that your vraother did it with you! That is awesome!!!
I never night-wandered, probably because my parents put a healthy fear of being abducted/and or murdered into me (you can’t blame them; they both worked in law enforcement and saw a lot of terrible things). I did, however, like to go out and swim in the pool late at night, but my mom or grandma was usually with me. I got away with NOTHING lol and even when I thought I got away with something, I found out years later that my mom knew and just let it slide.
MzPriss, I’ll have to check that tea shop series out! I just finished the second book of The Kingkiller Chronicles by Rothfuss. It was ok, but not great. I needed a stand in for game of thrones and it’s kind of like that.
My mom started giving me a nightly ‘hot toddy’ of warm milk with a bit of brandy in it, to get me to go to sleep. Of course, this is before they realized that alcoholism is genetic, hahaha.
Pretty soon I was coming to let her know I was ‘ready for my hot toddy’, & she realized maybe it wasn’t such a good idea. When the brandy bottle ran dry, that was the end of hot toddies…
Round three of the MzPriss Mood Adjustment Project of the morning (after Special Dark and Jun Chiyabari). I brewed this cup from my “oldest” bit of Golden Orchid – which doesn’t last long around here. It’s interesting to see the way it changes over time. The vanilla becomes more pronounced and opening the beautiful little jar I have it stored in releases an aroma of vanilla fudge. It is so very smooth and silky and lovely. This tea makes me very happy. Maybe one more cup of this and some Golden Fleece and I’ll be ready to face the world with some grace today.
You’re going to wish you could still bump your rating up when the new batch arrives ;-)
I can’t wait :D
I think this one can fix any “mood disorder” :-)
Especially when followed up with Golden Fleece! :) I have been waiting and waiting and waiting for the spring harvest of that stuff…can’t get here fast enough!
I’m having the Golden Fleece now. I’m waiting for my Verdant Spring shipment too. I have to say though – I have an absolutely PIGGISH amount of Golden Fleece – which suits me just fine.
@TeaFairy – yup – I’m happier already :)
This time last year I bought an ounce of it…sadly it pretty much went on un-touched for about 6 months because my palette wasn’t refined enough to do it justice :/
It’s actually crazy what your sense of taste can do in just one year when you spend every day refining it :)
So true, taste buds are like little puppies, they need proper training ;-)
I fell madly in love with it (much like the Golden Orchid and my beloved Special Dark) immediately and I hoarded it shamelessly. And yeah, I feel like I’m able to pick out more things now than I was when I started.
@TeaFairy – I WISH my puppies were as well trained as my tastebuds
Haha!
I bet puppy owners everywhere wish that! ;)
being a wallflower, enjoying eavesdropping…
I need a mood adjustment…
I need a bitchface mug… ;)
@Terri – isn’t that bitchface mug awesome???? I neeeeed it!
My attitude DID get better after all that awesome teaness yesterday.
I want a mug like that! :)
The ONLY reason I don’t already have it is that its for decorative use only. You can’t drink tea out of it :(
oh…in that case, never mind…lol
I have to put the song for Golden Orchid up front for the soundtrack to this review: Miss Etta. At Last: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQ45Q7ZuTEs&feature=kp
In the beginning, there was the truly delicious North Winds blend. Mz Priss tasted the North Winds and found that it was good. On the second day, WPTC lofted it to the stratosphere with the addition of a simple vanilla bean. This is one of the most groovealicious blends of tea I have ever tasted. And I mean groovealicious in the George Clinton-One Nation Under A Groove way and not the 60’s hippie way.
Sticking my snoot into the bag is a delight. This is all yummycreamy vanilla cocoa malt. I want to bathe in it. With North Winds as the base it has all the same coca malt notes, but the alchemical addition of the vanilla smooths it out even more than it was already was. It is almost like a vanilla caramel taste – though I don’t really detect a load of caramel. There is a very slight astringency on the tip of my tongue with a faint background of tobacco in the best way.
More on this at: mizzprissy.wordpress.com
Flavors: Cocoa, Malt, Vanilla
Preparation
SSTTB
So I took a sip and all I could think is “this tastes like a tree”. That sounds weird but really it is pretty fitting. This tastes like evergreen trees smell: crisp and refreshing. It really is an interesting blend and one I would never picked up on my own so I am grateful for the teabox because once I got the chance to smell it, I was sucked in!
I looked, but this tea did not seem to be entered into Steepster database yet.
If it already is, I apologize.
I am very tired from staying up all night with a sick kitty.
She is currently at the Vet, getting some tests done.
I am pretty sure what they are going to come back with since this has been a reoccurring issue with her since she was young.
She is such a trooper and I hate seeing any of my animals in pain.
So, to soothe my nerves and boost my spirits and get some caffeine in my system, I am drinking this tea this morning.
There is something quite delicate and lovely about this tea from first sniff of the dry leaf.
It has a brisk, dry aroma.
Yet, when brewed I almost get a baked goods note, something warm, right out of the oven, like a fruit tart with honey.
It is also a lovely golden colored tea.
Taste is light and sweet.
Crisp, yet smooth, honeyed fruit notes, maybe a smidgen of toasted nuts.
It ends light and sweet on the tongue.
Quite nice.
This tea is quite good company to me while waiting by the phone for news about my fur-baby.
Preparation
I’m sorry to see that you have a sick cat. It is always terrible to see them not well, or even just ageing as one of ours is (17 and fading). I hope the vets can help.
Thanks, Roughage. Yes, aging kitties can be hard too.
This Vet has been so good to all my animals, I am sure they will come back with something to make her feel better:)
Yup. It’s decided. I am not a fan of smokey teas. I was hoping for graham cracker/marshmallow/chocolate goodness with maybe a HINT of smoke…
This is definitely less smokey than their “Campfire” blend, but still too much smoke for me.
If you like smokey tea, ask me for a swap…I’ll gladly pass it along.
smokey + maple syrup = good time.
Have you tried Della Terra’s S’Mores tea? It’s got the chocolate and marshmallows and not the smoke. Pretty sweet though, though the base is nothing fancy
Also the graham, it’s got that too
By tomorrow this will be available with a checkbox to opt out of the lapsang in the blend :)
Both Autumn Foxtrot and S’mores are now available as unsmoked blends :)
O_O BRENDEN! THAT is music to my ears. I just got my newest order in from you, but when it’s time to restock again, I will definitely be picking up a sample of the unsmoked version!
@whatshesaid…I’ll have to check that one out!
Sil if you want it, I will happily send it along. Let me know via PM if interested :) No charge…happy to share the wealth :)
Oh now a non smoky version sounds delish!
would love to do a little swap with you, if you’re game. I know you’re just getting in to things, so happy to send a few things your way as well. OR if you want to send that my way, i’m happy to pay it back in a future swap sometime too haha
Is there any chance you still have some of this to swap? I was going to place a WP order soon and am on the fence about adding this tea. (:
Wasn’t sure what I’d think of this, as it’s just spices and zero tea anything. Still, it’s exactly what I wanted today/tonight, so I brewed myself a cup. Oh, yum! Okay, so it’s missing the thickness of a black tea, which I’m sure would be quite lovely if added. Still, it’s a decent chai-like blend when I’m needing/wanting zero caffeine.
Yes, this one never fails :-)