Whispering Pines Tea Company

Even from the first sip, I get crisp ginger snaps in this blend, even with zero sweetener. A wonderful treat, and probably why this is my second order of it.

This is another sample from Brenden at Whispering Pines, and with my ginger-y, medicinal tea kick today, I thought this was my most appropriate choice before bed.

As it brewed, I thought to myself: there is no way this can actually taste like a ginger snap. I mean… there’s a certain feel to ginger snaps, so MissB, don’t get your hopes up!

Well, I should’ve gotten my hopes up. This is delicious, and even my youngest (who adores ginger snaps) said this was yummy. It has the same spice, bite, and breadiness of a ginger snap, and now I really want one…

No idea why this wasn’t in my cupboard; it’s one of those teas I “need”. Right now, it’s helping me fend off a tooth infection until I can get to the dentist. Swishing with this, and some oil (oil pulling, look it up) has made a world of difference.

Steeped this all night, downed it this morning, trying to fight off a tickle in my throat.

This is THE tea from WP that I’d order in ridiculous amounts, and it was never enough. I could drink it every day, it’s spicy and rough and tumble, blunt, this-is-how-it-is tea. In your face tea. I AM IN CHARGE TEA! I own you, tea. Yes, I love this stuff, because it’s so akin to my personality (which is to say, a bit abrasive with a lot of spice and passion).

This version of the tea (which I ordered prior to my six month exploration of Europe, but it only got here after I left) is VERY different to the versions I’ve had in the past. This version, and I don’t know what’s changed, is dark, dark purple, almost black. It tastes strongly of molasses and little else. I still drink it, I still feel amazeballs, but it’s less — me — than it was in the past.

A few cups of this tonight has definitely helped, as I try to rid my bedroom of bedbugs.

How did I get them? Zero idea. No one else has them in the house, just like when lice makes the rounds… I’m the only one who gets it. Sigh. Of course, the bites took over for a day or two, so I bought out the big guns: spray, some sort of earth I need to learn how to spell and write, new bed bug covers for all beds and pillows, bleach wipes, steam mop. Somewhere along the line, I inhaled and/or ingested some of the spray, called Poison Control, was told what I’d grabbed was the least offensive of the sprays available, and that I was likely allergic to the base of the spray — of all things, chrysanthemum. Cool!

So I drank a crapload of tea (of course, Clari Tea to the rescue!) had a really hot, long shower, and will be sleeping in the living room tonight while the fumes dissipate.

So, lovely Steepsterites — have I missed anything? Any suggestions?

Gosh I’ve missed Drop Dead Diva, my junk-food-for-the-brain TV fix. This tea went along with it beautifully!

Had several cups of this last night, and now another today. Every cup has varied considerably, although this one was steeped for close to an hour, it’s my favorite of the group so far. Still less gingery than the last batch, but I’m okay with that. :)

Reached for this last night as I’ve been feeling… off. Like I have a migraine and the stomach flu coupled with that-time-of-the-month crampiness. It’s a very weird body-place to be! Clari Tea always makes me feel better, so I brewed some. Still have some left over today (was too sloshy to drink more last night) and it’s less biting than normal, yet still really tasty. I will always have this in my cupboard.

This version, or bag, is brewing up much darker and thicker than my last one… and this is a good thing. I still love it, I have yet to mess this up no matter how I steep it, it’s just a solid, mildly spicy, sweet herbal that makes me feel like a million bucks if I’m feeling under the weather.

Yay! I have some again! So happy. :) The cup is already gone though, even though I just made it. I’ve really missed you, ClariTea. :)

A sad sipdown, however I have 4 ounces on their way, so really it’s very temporary. Gosh I love this stuff, especially to kick my immune system into gear when I’m fighting something. I wish I could portal some to all of you also under the weather!

Have a tremendous amount more of this coming because I love it so, so I decided to stop hoarding and drink a cup tonight. So yummy!

Steeped this for 40 minutes to get extra cold-fighting juiciness out of it. Yum! And holy strong batman.

When I want an excellent herbal without rooibos, this has become my go-to tea, especially when I’m fighting a cold. What more can I say? I love this, and am drinking it yet again this afternoon.

Had yet another cup of this tonight as I’m feeling under the weather, and it’s become my go-to tea, along with Throat Coat and Super Ginger. I’m alternating between the three at this point, sometimes adding Throat Coat in here. Solid, and will need to purchase more sooner than I’d planned for.

Consistently wonderful when I want something spicy to tame winter bugs or just need a bit of heat in my cup. Had a cup last night before bed and will likely have more again today.

I grabbed this today, thinking I wanted to stick with non-caffeinated blends in my attempt to try and get some real sleep tonight. Lots of getting to bed at 2am of late, just to have my youngest wake up at that time, raring to go.

I swear there’s some saffron in this tea, however the ingredient list says differently. All I know is, once I started brewing it I realized this is more for fighting colds than being clear mentally — and I love it.

The smell to this tea is new to me and difficult to describe. Best I can do is a herbal concoction a medicine woman gave me years ago that was filled with medicinal berries and ginger root to help fight off a nasty infection I had at the time. They both smell(ed) unique, healthy and lovely.

Steeped I smell mostly ginger, and drinking this also tastes a lot like ginger, with something sweet in the background. I can feel my eyes watering, and my sinuses clearing, but not from the heat. It does have a bit of bite to it… and I love bite.

All in all, a strangely pleasant cup. This may have surpassed my usual sicko teas – either Super Ginger from DAVIDs or a packaged cold/throat tea available at most grocery stores in Canada. I’ll definitely re-order more to keep on hand for cold/flu season.

Thanks to Brenden at Whispering Pines for this free sample with my order that came in the other day.

Dry and steeped, this smells like something my Dad used to call, “Hot Lemon Drink,” which is what we made each other when sick in my childhood: lemon juice muddled with honey, add some hot water, and voila! Hot Lemon Drink. As I’ve gotten older, I add ginger tea to this mix and whiskey, to make my own Hot Toddy. Usually whips my cold into shape in no time.

This smells so much like that drink, it’s blowing my mind a bit. Syrupy gingerness. I’m so excited to try this!

Again however, I’m worried my proportions are off. My bag says 1 tsp/cup, however on Steepster it says 1/2 tbsp/cup. I went with 1 tsp only because the bag is what I was looking at when I popped it all into the Breville. Well, it tastes lovely, if a tiny bit weak.. and I’m okay with that.

It’s subtly orange sweet with a hint of ginger kick (more ginger flavor than bite), with some tartness thrown in for good measure. I keep on smelling it, amazed at how great it is. Yes, I will definitely be ordering more of this; I will it will now replace my other (generic) ginger tea that I’ve used for years in my Hot Toddy mix. The only thing that’s throwing me a bit is the tartness of the blend, however it’s smoothed out nicely with a touch of sweetener.

Received my Whispering Pines order this morning – a full two weeks before I was expecting it. Awesome! Loved the hand written note and business card from Brenden as well; made me want to jump right in and start trying things.

My daughter was here when I opened the bag, and the first thing she grabbed was this. “Hmmm… Mom? Can we try this?” I had to explain to her this was a sophisticated tea, in that there was zero flavoring. Off she went to do something else. I decided to brew some up.

First up – One tablespoon per cup? Hm. I see on Steepster it says TWO tablespoons per cup. Jeepers, I would have used up my entire 50g with the liter of water I boiled up in the Breville if I’d done that. I decided to stick with what was on my bag (one tablespoon) and see how I fared. I should note that opening this bag was divine – smells just like mint chocolate chip ice cream.

Steeped, I just smell mint, and very faintly. My first sips were complex. There’s little at the start – I struggled to taste anything at all initially – and then the chocolate-covered espresso beans comes through. The mint is also surprisingly subtle, and only comes out a good few seconds after the sip. It’s delicate (surprising for a black) and quite amazing. I love this tea.

I’m scared to add any sort of cream or sugar, however I do want to see how the flavors change, if at all… stay tuned for that, if or when I do. For now, I’m just going to enjoy this 2 cups of bliss.

Thank you Brenden for this tea sample!

Lovely aroma that takes me to the childhood that few people have these days. Bobbing for apples, bales of hay for hayrides. Who does this anymore? Some people do…and I did.

One time when my daughter was a teen we had a party and put cooked oatmeal in the large steel tub with the apples, then food coloring. The girls with long hair had a terrible time getting the oatmeal out!

I baked apple pies and other desserts for the Johnny Appleseed Contest in our town of Paradise, California. I do love apples and cinnamon!

For an Oolong?!? This surprised me! What on earth?!?

My appreciation for creativity without using chemical flavors (cheating) gives Brenden a thumbs up!

As for taste…I thought the flavor was spot on but light. It wasn’t the fault of the cinnamon or apple though, the base tea wasn’t quite the right oolong. It should have been a more buttery/floral oolong which would have tasted like a sun-ripened apple (like a yellow delicious). Mountain apples (not store bought) are quite sweet. I picked the apples I used to win the apple pie contests so I’m just sayin… I think it could have been a sweeter oolong.

That said, I love the idea.

Thank you Brenden for the sample of this tea!

You must read Brenden’s discription of this tea no matter what. It’s charming! A genuine love affair with a place he should live forever! I’m convinced that we can all find our own special place that says “THIS IS HOME”! It has nothing whatever to do with money or power. It’s something in the heart.

I’m happy to have found my ‘Home’ for now. I always say ‘for now’ in case God has other plans for me. My heart happiness is portable.

Brenden has decided to create his tea’s without artifical flavors or the low quality tea’s found in far too many blends. Yeah! I’m a great fan of all the Tea Companies that don’t use artificial ingredients and who don’t compromise on quality!

North Winds: The wonderful Fujian Black Tea (which I bought from Whispering Pines already because it’s so Cocoa-luscious) base is cocoa and milky, not a dark chocolate. I didn’t taste cherry, mentioned in the description Brenden wrote,..but instead tasted sweet tea cookie (like animal cracker).
The tea was creamy, buttery with malted caramel, chocolate filled pastry.

Goodness! How on earth do you discribe how good this tea tasted?

Please try it with cream and sweeten. This type of tea is enhanced a great deal by both (brings the cocoa alive and a richness to dessert level).

I’d suggest having North Winds over the holidays with shortbread or sugar cookies with people who love you .