Whispering Pines Tea Company

Another sample from the Traveling Tea Box, this is a four seasons oolong. Normally I’m not a big fan of them. I love floral oolongs, and four seasons definitely are but they just fall flat for me.

Brenden suggested a 1/2 tsp, 5 min steep with boiling water to emulate the first and second steeps and get a sweeter tea. Sounded good to me so I did so.

It was sweet, and it was far better than the other times I’ve tried a similar oolong. I just haven’t given four seasons a try in a gaiwan or my yixing pot and that might be something I do with this one. Orchid is definitely very strong here, with just a little honey and cream depending on the sip.

Tea from last night…also during hockey…so far when I drink tea and watch hockey my team wins..hm.

I was tired of green tea so I decided black tea would be good, and when my friend went to make tea, there was a goal…so I thought I’d try. Didn’t work. Haha.

This is really good for a ceylon, I don’t tend to like them just because the briskness isn’t my favorite. But when you have a decent quality one like this you really don’t have to worry about it going bitter so quickly the way some flavored teas w/a ceylon base do. It’s sweet and brisk, but smooth.

I am such a smoke weakling I can’t even handle this tea.

Sad times.

So, my first taste of Pu-erh reminded me of mucking out the stables.
This Pu-erh gives me a horse-y memory too, but thankfully a more pleasant one.
Hubby gets fish from Pu-erh, and I get horses, so odd how one tea can appear so very different to each person.
I use one of these little cups for a 2 1/2 cup pot instead of for a 8 oz serving (as suggested) I also start with very short steeps.
I am finding with Pu-erh if I can let it sneak up on my taste buds, I enjoy the whole experience a lot more.
The smell of these tea reminds me of horseback riding with my big red Tennessee Walker,named Star, up on the mountain behind the farm where I grew up.
There is a tiny stable smell, but the good kind (if any of you have been around horses you know what I mean) that good, healthy horse smell.
That smell is mixed with a few other memories, like riding over the soft damp earth under the trees, some patches of the earth covered in a thick dark green moss, the horses hooves would be so muffled on the moss that sometimes we would come upon a deer and her fawn grazing or napping in the filtered sunshine.
Then, maybe we would ride around the other side of the mountain next to the creek where there was a beaver slide and in a small hollow in the shade, there would be a patch of wild mushrooms growing.
Woody,damp earth, moss, mushrooms and horses.
With the taste I get small amount of horse, moss and a lot of mushrooms with a tinge of forest.
It’s very interesting, and although to the new comer to Pu-erh, all of this sounds completely nuts.
But, This tea has fetched a memory from back in the dusty corners of my mind.
I am grateful for that.

Oh, Boy.
This is a long one, folks. So grab a big cuppa:)
Okay, I got this tea from Brenden at Whispering Pines Tea clear before Christmas with the rest of my order.
I had never tried Puerh tea and decided that with my next hundred tea notes I was educated enough in tea to start on something anew.
I was still secretly quite intimated, so I waited until a day when I knew I would be around most of the day to play with it.
So one day a bit before Christmas, I decided that I wanted to try it.
Set the kettle to boil, got out my little bodum infuser cup (8 oz), got the kettle up to a boil, performed a 15 second rinse and then infused the tea for 2 minutes and 30 seconds, per instruction on little tea packet.
The smell after this infusion was so strong.
I have cleaned a lot of barns in my day and this smelled exactly like that.
A deep manure and hay smell.
I tried not to let it deter me from tasting this, I had read enough of Puerh teas to know that it is common for these to scents to emerge, I just had no idea it was going to be so strong.
Then I grew brave enough to take a sip.
GAG! Oh my land! It seriously tasted like strong bitter manure (don’t ask…but yes, I do actually know how that tastes, growing up on a farm and then being a Vet Assistant for years,sometimes your mouth is just open at the very very wrong time)
I felt tears of disappointment prick my eyes.
NO! I must like this tea. I am supposed to be improving my taste in tea!
I gagged down the rest of the cup, determined not to waste.
I felt sick to my stomach, but still plowed forward and messed with the tea the rest of the day, shorter steepings and such, but every time I tasted it from that point on it just tasted so bitter and nasty, it was like that first tasting never left my tongue.
It did not help me when I read the previous tasting note on the tea is was from Bonnie my tea and life idol, giving this tea high ratings.
That was it. It certainly was not the tea, it was me.
By the time my Hubby came home, I was so irritated and angry and I hadn’t gotten half of what I had wanted to do that day done and he kept asking me why I was so upset.
So…I told him. He listened and gave sympathetic nods, then broke in and said “You don’t have to like this type of tea just because everyone else does” to which I responded like a 13 year old girl throwing a fit “Yes! Yes I do!” but I was seeing I was starting to lose him.
He spotted his new Diesel Power magazine he got in the mail and was browsing through it.
I started to walk away mumbling to myself when I heard the words “Make me some” I turned around “what?” and he said “yeah, make me some of this Poo-poo tea that ruined your day, I wanna taste it”
Okay… I was slightly shocked.
Starting with a new piece, I took a new look on preparing the tea.
I took a deep breath.
I was going to start with tiny, tiny steepings.
So, I did. I started with just a 15 second steeping. no rinse.
The water had barely even turned color.
It was so much better.
From there I would go up to like 25 seconds, then 30 and so forth.
This was so much more delightful of a experience.
And sharing it with someone too, we both held cups and talked about what we smelled and tasted.
It still has some barnyard notes to it, also deep woody notes.
But, I find it intriguing.not bitter at all.
I am not going to rate this tea yet, because I am still so new and still experimenting.
This was just a beginner at Puerh point of view.
For a expert review please read Bonnie’s review on this tea, it does it so much more justice.
But for me…
So, begins my journey with Puerh.

Yesssss 200 degrees makes Assam so good. Four minutes and 200 degree water, so sweet and tasty! Every other Assam I’ve had so far, I’ve had to only steep it for 3 minutes, add milk, or wait for it to cool way down. This is life changing.

So this is sweet, and malty, and actually helping me to wake up with its big burst of flavor. I am finishing it then for some reason going to Target, mostly because I got a stamping kit for my nails yesterday and really want to use it…but I only brought one bottle of nail polish with me. Oh well.

Had some of this again earlier with added chocolate, by way of hot chocolate mix. Soooo good, I know I should try it on its own already but chocolate and mint and I are really getting along right now.

I now need to go make tea for right now, as I was given a $50 Sephora gift card for Christmas and I can’t figure out how to not go too far over the total….I have to buy online though because LOOK AT THIS. http://www.sephora.com/very-colourfoil-manicure-trade-P377711?skuId=1491273

Yum! I added some chocolate mint coconut milk to this and it’s incredible. The Assam definitely comes through, and the real mint tastes even better than the flavoring of the milk on its own.

My original plan was tea hot chocolate, but I paid $3 for the quart of this milk, and it’s been extremely disappointing to drink on its own. I’m definitely finishing it up in this tea in the next couple of days because it’s so good this way.

I would also like to announce that I found my parakeet the perfect seasonal Songza station for him: http://songza.com/listen/acoustic-guitar-christmas-songza/ He is a very content feathery puffball now.

I really should have brewed this in the gaiwan but I was in need of tea ASAP after the peach fiasco.

My favorite part of keemun is how it has the most delicious honey notes, almost better than honey itself. Although, I just say that because keemun isn’t sticky and therefore is less messy to handle.

This one is really tasty, very sweet, and all around a good black tea in the morning to just drink straight.

I left a bit in my mug when I went to start prepping my spaghetti squash and it was even good cold, yay!

WOW! This tea is the essence of a chilly autumn morning, waking up to mommas fresh apple cobbler and the dazzle of the sunrise over your oak-frame bed. Crisp, smooth, and refreshing, we’ve blended cinnamon pieces with a highly oxidized Indonesian o’olong with unbelievably strong all-natural notes of Washington red apples! This is a tea you just have to indulge in to believe!

I’ve been drinking this nonstop for like a week, and I can’t wrap my head around how perfect it is. :)

Infuses 5+ times!

The Perfect Cup
Infuse 1 tsp of tea leaves in 8 oz of boiling water for 2 minutes

Infusion #2: 2 minutes
Infusion #3: 3 minutes
Infusion #4: 4 minutes
Infusion #5: 5 minutes

Ingredients: O’olong tea, cinnamon

http://whisperingpinestea.com/applecinnamonoolong.html

This is another one that came in my box from Azzrian. My husband and I certainly have different tastes in tea. We do like some of the same ones, but he never sweetens anything except the occasional iced tea. Oolongs are his favorite. I made this one up for him, double strength, since he likes his tea strong. He thought it was a winner, said it had a lot of flavor-he is not one to get into specifics though. I took a little sip and thought it had a light smokiness, but he didn’t pick up on that. Not sure if this is really to my taste, but I’ll try it again before I make a final verdict. It won’t go to waste because my husband will finish it off. You can get at least 3 steepings from it.

I had this last night and had to have it again today because it is awesome. This is the redesigned version of the tea, which was redone last month (other notes are months old).

Both times I have steeped it at 3 minutes. For me this is like the nice sweet spot for breakfast teas. With this tea, it means not even needing a splash of milk at all.

It’s slightly malty and sweet, with some nuttiness to it too. It’s bold, but not too in your face. No astringency at all.

Now to just actually have it in the morning. I’m struggling to get through this day so a little boost of caffeine now is just right.

Ok I can’t find this on the website so I guess it is no longer around.

It looks like it’s gunpowder with peppercorn, and it tastes like that too. I steeped it twice this morning and it was just really easy to drink. A little smoky, as you’d expect from its name I guess, but very mild.

It also had a bit of fruitiness to it, and I quite enjoyed it.

I went a little crazy and used coconut milk creamer instead of regular milk. After the fact I realize it was silly but it was going to go to waste. I think it covered a lot of the flavor of the tea.

I made a big mug full. When I was straining, the smell of peppermint was nice and strong.

My method resulted in a pretty creamy cup so I can’t say too much, but I did drink it all anyway. Just a little spice, could still taste some black tea, but the peppermint was definitely there.

Next time…the stuff that is considered milk instead, haha.

I really enjoyed this tea, I know I did. Trouble is, I opened this sample the other night when I was really really not feeling good.

Here’s what I do know: I strained one cup off for the bf but left the ‘bits’ floating in mine. This was Brenden’s suggestion and I liked it. Camomile flowers are awesome all waterlogged and juicy, they kinda burst like teensie sweet little teapods when you chomp them. But… I really didn’t feel good that night and by the time I finished my cup (and half of his) my stomach was calm and I was out cold. Can’t properly review or rate because brain was off and I was unconscious before my teapot cooled. I am quite certain however that it was an excellent choice for a self-pitying tummy-aching, whinging, whining, it’s late and I wanna go to bed but everything feels like poo kinda night.

Made this for on the way to school, except my travel mug wouldn’t open :o after messing with it while waiting for the professor to show up, I finally got to my precious mate.

I had felt pretty groggy this morning thanks to the weather. I wasn’t as bad as Sebastian, who went right back to sleep after I uncovered his cage LOL… Well I had turned off my 8:30 alarm because I woke up at 8:20, and slept until the 9:00am one. Still had plenty of time to fully come up with an answer to the exam’s essay question, check out Steepster, and make this tea.

I was so certain I was going to take a nap when I got home, but finishing off the entire mug has made that out of the question now.

This is still really tasty, though today it seemed to be more spiced elderberry than minty. Though I think I could have steeped it longer if I had enough time. I actually almost left without the tea.

Next, I really want to try it iced.

I am easily excited by the ability to sort of make my own blend without doing the real work. I thought it’d be funny to name it for Bruno, I figure bears must love elderberries, I love cinnamon, and the one panda bear here in Atlanta is a serious mint fan (the other loves Tabasco sauce, like rolling around in it and everything). So, here it is! After it went missing. But I found it.

I think Bruno hid it.

It’s a very autumn/winter blend, I’m leaning more towards winter. It actually does taste kind of Christmasy, it reminds me of a spiced cranberry candle but with elderberries instead and well, edible…errr drinkable.

Everything is in a great ratio of ingredients, there is not a single thing that stands out more than the rest, which could be a problem with mint…as I learned with a custom Adagio blend. Brenden wrote the ratio on the order sheet but I of course already have no idea what I did with it. I just remember the mate is 60%.

I just really love the combination of elderberry and cinnamon. It’s just the right amount of spice to go with the cool mint.

Also, you can pick this one out on the blend your own mate page, yeah!

This really truly tastes like rain, or “less salty ocean” for those of you like me who have forgotten what rain looks like and have no rivers nearby. After being corrected, yes, rain, I remember this feel.

You know how it smells when it’s just rained in a grassy area? That’s how this tastes. It’s really not grassy overall, there’s just hints of it. And the jasmine notes give it this freshness that I can’t even put into words. This is how I imagine, without any weird chemicals and the like in the air, collected rainwater that you immediately drank would taste.

It’s a very light cup, but even with just a minute it is bursting with flavor despite its physical appearance.

Second steep, +15 seconds: it’s still a very strong flavor, just like the first cup! I’d say though the one major difference is the jasmine is a lot less floral. But seriously it’s like it was never even steeped in the first place, that’s how bright the same notes are.

I can’t wait to try this one out in my gaiwan. And also have a third steep preferably much later on today, too full of tea already haha.

Firstly, I ordered samples a while ago and I think this one has been discontinued since then.
I was really excited to try this tea but was wary after smelling it, because the smell was nothing like smores. Reminds me of my disappointment with DT’s Toasted Marshmallow.

The taste of this tea immediately reminded me of sweet potatoes, but not in a good way. I just didn’t like it. :(
What I did enjoy about this tea was the pretty orange color. http://instagram.com/p/Q5xp9YLPB6/

I honestly haven’t had much luck with the rest of my samples other than Whisper of the Woods but I have not given up on Whispering Pines! Hopefully I will try more of their teas in the future.