Whispering Pines Tea Company

I used around 5g with 90ml, 185F approximately.

Started this off with a quick wash. Because these leaves are small and numerous, they have a large surface area and will steep /very/ quickly, so gotta be fast.

The first thing I noticed is the absolutely incredibly sweet aroma. There was a very strong ‘butterscotch’ scent that came from it. Smelling the leaves directly was a strong buttery vegetable smell that contrasted the sweetness though.

Steep times were as follows: 5s, 7s, 8s, 10s, 12s, 15s, 20s, 25s, 33s, 40s, 55s

first steep was a rather sweet, creamy, buttery vegetable taste. There is a strong floral flavour underneath the main taste.

Second steep has a stronger taste of everything. Much stronger floral taste. Seems that this tea is pretty sensitive on steep times.

Third steep. I swear these are like little baby silver needles — massive amounts of ‘hairs’ floating in the tea resulting in that tingling sensation you get with silver needle. Creamy vegetal flavour with a strong floral hint. Current trend is an increase in the floral portion of the flavour.

Fourth steep. Tea remains creamy, vegetal flavour begins to fade whilst the floral remains strong.

Fifth steep. Took a close whiff and it still smells like butterscotch. The vegetal flavour is very faint now with floral being in the lead adopting a rose-like taste to it. The tea itself is now getting sweeter, which is interesting.

Water temperature drop between fifth and sixth steep. Guessing it’s around 170 or 160F now

Sixth steep. The lower temp did a charm. Floral flavour isn’t so strong and the sweetness is enhanced instead. This is my favourite cup of this tea so far.

Seventh steep. This is what I love about white teas — after several steeps the flavour just changes into something wonderful. Vegetal flavour is completely gone now, instead a really sweet fruity taste is coming out. Taste is somewhat similar to a mixture of apricot and plum, without any of the sour, bitterness, nor tart. Can’t smell that butterscotch flavour anymore but man, it’s almost like some sort of fruit juice now.

Eight steep. The creamy, fruity flavour is really strong now and it’s wonderful.

Ninth steep. Fruity flavour is now accompanied by an awesome creamy honey flavour. This tea just won’t stop giving me surprises. Keeps making me drag the rating slider to the right haha.

Tenth steep. Can’t believe this tea reached this point. Fruity and honey, can’t complain.

Eleventh steep. Jinxed myself, finally out of flavour here.

Wrapping up, the after taste is very very light and in a way, feels like your mouth is ‘aerated’. It’s like a nice mouth refresher. I still am impressed this tea lasted through so many steeps (and had full flavour until the very end!)

I do want to stress that this tea is one of the more sensitive ones when it comes to temperature and steeping times. I have used hotter temperatures and I have used longer steeping times, both of which made the tea to taste absolutely awful (I would rate it 20 out of 100). But when done properly it’s a quick, refreshing little cup of tea.

Meh. Clovey. A little soapy. Not terrible, but I prefer the classic (and cheap) Russian Caravan for a smoky tea.

mmmmmm sorry to see this one go. thanks evol ving ness this was a tasty time this afternoon. Steeped it a couple of times and enjoyed the brew thoroughly each time. Chocolate, vanilla and puerh! so nommy.

Final Count: 95

Sample from Evol Ving Ness i was really looking forward to this one…but man, the smell of the anise in this one was just too much. It doesn’t come through in the brew really – that i found to be relatively flat and uneventuful. The aroma though is just LICORICE! in yo face ANISE! Just not for me it seems. thanks though evol! love trying new teas

The PTA has returned! This tea made quite a splash about two or three years ago, and it is back with a vengeance! The leaves are long, wiry, and pitch black. They carry an explosive scent of sweet caramel, cocoa, roast, baked bread (waffles?), melted butter, and a dash of salt. Sweet and savory. I warmed up my shibo and dumbed them inside. A good shake and a sniff, and I am in heaven. The warmed leaf gives a firm kola root scent along with dark cocoa, burnt sugar, more melted butter, and aromatic roast. I washed the leaves once and began my steeping. The taste blasts off with a lingering, thick, sweet, lucky charms marshmallow taste. A light malt tone weaves itself in along with some lengthy vanilla bean notes. The base has a slight wood tone, and the brew is deeply oily. This tea is completely satisfying. The next steep backs away from the marshmallow tones and presents some more woodiness with a little throat dryness. A direct fruity note burst through; I would call it chocolate covered pomegranate. The next steeping carries some dark cherry and dry dark cocoa. The malt becomes a bit more pronounced towards the end. Honestly, this is a great tea, and it is something you have to try at least once. My only complaint is that the first steeping was stars and fireworks, and the next couple were good but a little too harsh of a contrast from the initial taste. Otherwise, this is a stellar treat.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BP5ZSVjAZ06/?taken-by=haveteawilltravel

https://www.instagram.com/p/BP5aYD9A81W/?taken-by=haveteawilltravel

This is a lovely cup. Flavorful, not too bold or over the top. It’s been a while since I’ve tried this one so I couldn’t remember whether or not I liked it before. I was thinking that I didn’t love it before, and I wouldn’t say I love it now, but it’s really a smooth and balanced tea. I taste a bit of caramel and some chocolate, but oddly enough I’m also getting some apple. Not candy apple, but more crisp autumn apple. It’s not a must-have for me, but it’s really nice so I think I’ll be adding it back to my wishlist once its gone.

In progress….
So far roasted overtones….not too vegetal….very juicy,
TBC

Prepared in a gongfu session with a porcelain gaiwan. Steeping times: 10 seconds, 12, 10, 12,15, 25, 35, 45; 1 minute, 2, 5.

I grabbed ounce with my last order. Just opened the packet! I’m met with a number scents when I test the leaf’s aromas. The dry leaf is pleasingly sweet, smelling of rich cocoa, mashed sweet potatoes, and a little bit of malt. The pre-heated leaf smells more strongly of cocoa and malt, and there is an addition of cinnamon. The wet leaf aroma is simply tannic.

The liquor is light orange, full-bodied, clear, and fragrant with notes of sweet potatoes and honey. For the first few cups, I mostly taste sweet potato and a bit of malt, with honey lurking in the background. At the fourth cup, there is still sweet potato, but when I let the liquor sit in my mouth for a bit, I begin to taste cocoa nibs. Following the fifth cup to the end, the sweet potato and malty notes have totally gone, letting cocoa nibs and cocoa shells take over. Someone else on Steepster commented it tastes like Laoshan Black Chocolate Genchmaicha, and I concur. Very chocolate-like, but without additional ingredients. Additionally, the texture is thick and smooth.

I expected to taste sweet potato for the entire session, but was surprised when cocoa completely took over in the middle. What a switch! In my experience (still very much exploring), it’s either this or that for Dian Hong. I thoroughly enjoyed every cup, from start to finish. Delicious and complex.

Immorally floral! Honeysuckle, gardenia and orchid with a buttery, creamy mouth feel balanced by fresh green watercress and butter lettuce.

I don’t drink many blends, but ordered this as a dessert tea. It was lovely while it lasted. I used a tiny bit of raw sugar. Yum!

Mastress Alita’s Monthly Sipdown Challenge
January 2022 → A tea with bean notes

After two failed attempts at finding legumes in my tea, it seems that I’ll be following suit and using vanilla bean for this sipdown prompt. I’m stealing this fabulous idea from the others who have already used it. Thank you, friends.

This is a really beautiful tea, as so many here can attest. The flavor and aroma are pure vanilla bean, not vanilla flavoring (though I like that too). Seeing so many vanilla bean specks swirl around in my cup reminds me how special this tea really is.

I’m buzzing from all the caffeine I’ve had today, but I want to sneak in one more cup before it gets too late. I might regret it by bedtime, but I’ll deal with that later.

Personal update on our TNR trap session – we caught our stray kitty! He’ll be off to the vet tomorrow and then hopefully released right back in our yard on Tuesday. Happy day!

The aroma is so distinctly vanilla bean, so much so that it’s as if I’d opened a pouch of fresh vanilla beans ready for baking. There’s such a difference between extract (unless it’s good extract) and the whole bean. I love that I get the real deal here. I first tried steeping for three minutes (as the label recommends), but the color was very light so I let it go for an additional two. The wet leaves smell deliciously of malt. The flavor is dark chocolate, almost like a hot cocoa light on the sugar.

Second Steep
8 ounces water + 212 degrees + 20 minutes

I had to give this one a second steep, even though lately I haven’t had much success with them. This one turned out just fine, probably lighter on the chocolate so that the vanilla comes through.

Yabao has always interested me, for the colour of the liquor is IMHO the most beautiful. These buds are large with a lemon zest scent. They have sharp herbaceous tones and hay with some oats mixed in. The mixture is a pleasantly sharp sour. I warmed my shibo and placed them inside. The tones open up to heady floral and zesty herbs alike thyme, rosemary, and tarragon. I washed the buds once and prepared for brewing. The stepped white nubs give off a fragrant scent of granola drizzled in honey with some nutmeg spice. The taste is smooth and filling with prominent lemon basil, tulsi, and soft wood. The next steeps bring on hay and sugar water with the same flux of herbaceous medley. This is a great easy sipper. The liquor is the classic translucent aquamarine color that stuns me. I was not able to pull too many steepings, and yabao always leaves me unsatisfied, but it was a nice and peaceful session.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BPIgfdSAfVJ/?taken-by=haveteawilltravel

I have a sizable stash of WP teas and finally got around to trying Foxtails. YUM. The leaves are tight, long and light gold, and I could smell the cocoa malt aromas off them. I love when light colored black teas deliver big flavor. Although I didn’t pick up the sites described mushroom notes, there was a savory element but mostly a toasty baked goods choco flavor dominant. I used 5 grams for a 100 ml pot and for a black, this was a decently long running tea with many steeps. Very smooth, comforting.

Since I haven’t reviewed too many blends this month, I motivated myself to finally break out the last of this one. A blend of three Chinese black teas, The Jabberwocky has become one of Whispering Pines’ signature teas. It is a highly regarded blend with a wide following here on Steepster. I found it to more or less live up to the hype.

I prepared this tea gongfu style. After a quick rinse, I steeped 6 grams of loose tea leaves in 4 ounces of 205 F water for 5 seconds. I followed this infusion up with 14 additional infusions. Steep times for these infusions were as follows: 8 seconds, 10 seconds, 15 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, 1 minute, 1 minute 15 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, and 5 minutes.

Prior to the rinse, the dry tea leaves produced interesting aromas of chocolate, honey, wood, and stone fruits. After the rinse, the honey and stone fruit aromas intensified and were joined by emerging scents of orange, toast, and malt. The first infusion produced a bouquet that saw malt and toast aromas continue to develop. In the mouth, a pleasant and robust mix of wood, brown toast, fresh bread, cream, malt, honey, orange, caramel, sweet potato, and indistinct stone fruit notes washed across the palate. Subsequent infusions produced a bouquet that was maltier, fruitier, and more honeyed. Aromas and flavors of raisin, apricot, nectarine, and peach emerged. I also began to catch hints of camphor, eucalyptus, and minerals on the finish. Later infusions were dominated by wood, malt, chocolate, brown toast, and citrus notes coupled with touches of caramel and stone fruits. The camphor, mineral, and eucalyptus notes on the finish were also amplified, producing a unique and soothing cooling effect.

This is probably one of the most complex and refined black tea blends I have ever tried. It was not quite what I was expecting (I had heard that this blend was incredibly strong, so I was expecting it to absolutely knock me for a loop), but I was far from disappointed. Though it mellowed a little quicker than I would have liked, it still had considerable staying power and a gorgeous layering of aromas and flavors. Definitely put this stuff on your wishlist if you have not yet tried it.

Sipdown!

I find this blend reminds me a lot of a lake or pond in smell and taste. It is Earthy, but more specifically wet Earth, sand, wet rock, petrichor. I like the hint of spices (pepper?), slight tang of sour and bitter, but overall really good. The soil + mineral flavour is also accompanied by wet wood/bark, and it makes me think of a lake’s shore lined with driftwood.

It has a thick mouthfeel, but no sweetness.