Whispering Pines Tea Company

Beautiful tea – not a beautiful taste
Taste very dusty, almost like chalk

Yum! Another hit for the day. In ordering this chai, I was hoping for a chai that didn’t need milk and sugar, since those are off limits for the time being. This fit the bill perfectly. Even though I am not crazy about the base by itself, in this tea it is perfect. The combination of spices and base are magic. I love it. The balance between base and spice is exactly how I like it. Strong spice.

Enjoying this, received in a swap a while ago. Good complementarily of flavors with the ginger having the perfect level of just-beyond-mild intensity to give flavor and warmth without much bite. Such a well-blended tea.

I fell in love with this tea in Summer of 2014. I believe that batch was a combination of Fujian Black and Dian Hong. The first sip of this… damn the FB is not there. It is way more smokey/savory without the sweet deep chocolate note that I loved from FB. I quickly went to the website to see what was replacing the FB. Xiao Zhong, yep that would explain the smokey/savory note. I like it, but I am not as in love with it as I was with the Summer 2014 version. This is missing the sweetness of the other version and it seems a tad thinner than before, but without a side by side comparison I can’t say for sure. Still a wonderful tea, just a little different.

Still gathering my energy back after a bug this weekend. I took a night off from the gym and sat and read and drank tea. I enjoyed a gong fu sessions with this tea. With my expectations set right for the tea it was much more enjoyable for me. There is a spicy sweet flavor that I honestly have no idea how to describe, spiced raisin maybe? It was warm and calming. I am not sure that I would repurchase this one, but I am looking forward to enjoying the rest of the oz that I do have.

My WP order is here! Woot Woot!. So I ordered this tea not fully educating myself on it. I was thinking it would be a TWMBish tea or a PTAish tea. It is not. I have had a tea similar to this and I believe it was called a Red Jade. The spices in this are different, very different than your average tea. I am on the fence about whether I like this combination of flavors. My expectations were in the way this morning. I will try this gong fu and see what becomes of it with this method. This morning it was a cross between tomato soup with hints of cinnamon, mint and anise.

OMG! Amazing. This is like drinking silk. It is smooth and creamy. How does tea do that? It has a slight roast to it, in other words slightly less roasty than a few other DHP’s I have had and it is screaming with juicy flavor. I can never pick out the exact fruits, but juicy works for me. I really wanted to try the WP autumn jade and golden lilly so I might just have to order those and more of this. Yum.

From the Here’s Hoping TTB R5,

I don’t know if this tea is just old or not to my taste but I didn’t particularly enjoy this cup, which is sad in a way because I’ve been looking forward to trying WP vanilla teas.

There’s also something in this tea that made my throat very scratchy and swell up. It was not fun. I didn’t even attempt a 2nd steep. =(

Dripping grey clouds coat the sky in chilling wetness and muck. No rain, snow or hail for now, but the wind blows tenaciously to get water on someone. If it doesn’t, then it can savor the accomplishment of keeping the fine people of Michigan State University cooled and determined to profit Starbuck’s. I, however, am an agonizing nonconformist with his glass travel mug and an over sized tea ball. And thus, Harvest Chai becomes the Excalibur against this weather and the horrendous onslaught of blind consumerism. It aids me well and tastes so, so good.

This is officially my favorite Chai. I really hope that Brenden releases this tea again, and I would highly recommend it to chai lovers or people wanting to try something from his company. My mom actually liked it and she is not exactly a chai person. I can only see people being detracted by the price and how mellow this oolong is compared to the vivid descriptions you get on the website….or what I’m writing. In short, it tastes like a chai with a smooth, crisper tea that is closer to a black, but not too robust. It is as mild as fall, which is the season this tea caters to. It’s also the bane of winter rain.

I have one last serving before this tea is gone. Yes, I’m being melodramatic. I’m a 20 year old Social Studies major reading Plutarch and Livy in a modern art museum, all while wearing a grey heathered cardigan, black, glossy workout pants, a black and grey designer scarf, and a black v neck lounge shirt one size too tight. What more pretension can you expect?

More oolong leaves made this tea perfect for today, and I am so glad I snatched some before it sold out. Got four great cups out of a heaping teaspoon. The oolong is so good and so crisp, almost like an apple dipped in a thin layer of caramel. The chai spices really bring out the natural notes this time making this one of the best chai blends I’ve had yet. But that’s just my personal opinion, and I am biased to the brandy oolong.

One of the better chais I’ve had. Overall, fairly crisp and the notes on the website are accurate.Refer to his website for how to brew and the other notes. I just wish that I could taste the oolong a little more, but when I do, it tastes like a cooked, dark red delicious. The chai spices, especially the ginger, the tart tellicherry pepper corn, allspice, and cinnamon take over. Nevertheless, the oolong base is awesome…and I’ve always wanted to try an Oolong as a chai. I’m not sure If I like the Elder Grove or this one more. Elder Grove is more like a dessert cinnamon roll, while this is for the fall. Specifically, for Michigan’s fall which is the precedent of true cold. I’ve got to be prepared. Winter is coming.

Thank you so much Whiteantlers for letting me enjoy this tea two cups more. Michigan is a cantankerous Goddess, and she decided to snow and keep the snow in April after a few weeks of blooms, sunshine, and breeze. And of course my blood sugar is high this morning, so coffee is not an option. Even black, the caffeine from coffee raises my insulin resistance and renders my veins throbbing with sugary sweet blood. Fortunately, I can enjoy this tea on this white Saturday morning of “spring” getting the roasted profile of coffee I love.

I reread some of the notes on here, and I forgot how people contended the chocolate or cocoa notes of this tea. Then, there’s the “chocolate notes” debate that I’ve recently been a part of and have complained about before with certain oolongs-I’m looking at you Dahongpao. I’ve been able to pick more up on them lately, but for this tea, the cocoa is more in texture and the tea’s bitter-sweetness. But barley and carob are the things that I personally taste more, maybe with a hint of toasted coconut. I’ve had this in conjunction with a carob-barley coffee replacement and they are pretty darn close-only this tea is naturally smoother, lighter, and less bitter (still bitter sweet anyway).

As much as I like this tea, I’m not sure if I could get a large quantity of it. When I crave it, I crave it, but when I’m not in the mood for it, it’s just bitter and roasted. And I noticed that I liked it on cold days. So this tea might be a seasonal one for me. I still have yet to come across a Dark Roast Tie Guan Yin or other dark roast oolong that quite compares.

I’m hesitant about dark roast Tiegaunyins because they typically taste like char and wood stain. This one had a little bit of a char taste, but only when it was oversteeped. That’s why I was afraid to try this one, but Brenden was generous enough to include a sample with my order. It is by far one of the best oolongs he has given me. Again, I followed instructions on his website, and got the following: caramel, spiced coffee, barley, oats, brown sugar, and cocoa. Translation of the tea notes: a really nicely roasted tea with a dark element to it. The second time I brewed was not as good as the first, but I was having issues with the water. Unfortunately, this tea does take care to brew, though not quite as finicky as other oolongs can be. The only other criticism is the price-if I wasn’t over budget already, I would buy 4 ounces of this and replace my morning coffee with it. This tea really does appeal most to coffee drinkers because of it’s roasted character and pleasant caffeine boost.

Sip down of the little I had of this. The cocoa nibs fell to the bottom of the bag and dominated the cup. It was quite lovely. I also really like it cooler. My earlier reviews pretty much some up what I think of this tea.

I know this is a weird turn of a rating considering I gave it a 95 before. For whatever reason, I haven’t been able to get the same taste as I did the first time. The cocoa, mushrooms, leaf piles, broth, and creaminess are all still there. But the maple sweetness is gone. This is due to how I’ve been making it, but even when I follow the directions, I’ve gotten a much blander tea. Maybe I’m not using enough leaves, or drowning it in too much water, or over-soaking by few seconds. Another reason could just be preferences because I’m leaning towards oolongs now more than any other tea. Then I must be very picky with aged teas.

I still recommend this tea for those looking for a creamy, good quality pu-erh blend, but it’s otherwise been mediocre for me. I also don’t recommend it for new drinkers, because it may taste like the dish water of plates covered by chocolate chip pancakes. Unfortunately, both the romantic description of maple, nuts, wood, cocoa and the unappealing broth of dish water are equally accurate.

This remains as a good quality tea. It just require really careful brewing which you’d expect out of any Whispering Pines Tea. I’ve also become more preferential. Not snobby, just preferential. You’d think that I’m more snobby or persnickety for not enjoying a tea out of being harder to please. But I’m really not that hard to please in terms of tea, and I actually think that there’s an element of refinement and snobbery in enjoying aged teas (though oolong drinkers can be REALLY hard to please because their preferred tea type is so particular and complex, while black tea drinkers can become classical snobs-and I’m totally both).

Rant end.

One of my hit list targets, and one of my favorites from Whispering Pines. I’ve never had a Pu-Erh that has relaxed me. The scent is like a twist of cocoa, leaves, walnuts, cream, and desert mushrooms if that is possible to describe. The taste resembles the scent, but with a stronger cocoa, moss, and hinted caramel note. When I brewed it lighter, the taste distinctly reminded of agave or maple syrup in later steeps Gong Fu. The times I’ve brewed it, both were 5-6 ounces, one time with 3 grams, the other 4 -closer to five. The more of the blend, the more chocolate. The less, the more pu-erh and the more maple and mushroom. And of course, I followed the instructions both times at a 10 sec rinse (which was really chocolaty!), 15, 15, 20, 30, 45, 1 min, 2 minutes.

I highly recommend this for Pu-Erh newbies. This lacks the fermentation odor that many do, and is incredibly smooth. Again, there twisted desert mushroom is there, but it is a smooth, fall forest sweetness.

Yes, first to review!
This was an interesting session. I’ve had a few offerings of this type of tea, and I had no idea that Sun Moon Lake was the actual name of it. I assumed this name was a brand or something. Anyways, I was very excited to give this a shot. The leaves are massive! These long black tendrils are highly aromatic. I opened the pouch, and I was greeted with an intense sweet brown sugar scent, warmed bread, and mild spices lingering in the background. This was going to be a treat! I placed a bunch in my warmed gaiwan, and I prepared for a heavy brewing session. The warmed leaves gave off a pronounced tone of sweet potatoes and ripe plums. I washed these black beauties once and got ready to do some steeping. The steeped leaves have the most unique scent. This aroma begins as a light red wine with smooth notes. Then, there is warm baked bread in the background. Furthermore, the unique scent is that of camphor. This peculiar cooling scent follows throughout the entire session. It is prominent in the aroma and fills my tea room. The drink begins with a slight peanut flavor and wooden tone. The camphor scent appears in the flavor, and it makes itself known. The unique tone fills the mouth and follows down the hatch with a brisk cooling sensation. I also noted a mild chocolate note that filled the tongue, and this taste ends with spices. This brew is intensely stimulating and carries a thick mouth-feel. The spices in the liquor narrow to cloves or allspice. The flavor lasts long after sipping, and in further steeping a burnt sugar aftertaste follow. This smooth and flavorful session lasted quite some time. This was a wonderful brew, and it was such a special experience. The other Sun Moon Lake’s that I’ve had are quite different. This tea certainty makes an impression.

https://instagram.com/p/86STb6TGba/?taken-by=haveteawilltravel

This is such a relaxing and contemplative cup of tea. I am so tempted to brew it so many ways, and have enough left to do just that. I’ll be reordering, although I’m not sure what I’ll be reordering along with, as I haven’t been a huge fan of the current incarnation of North Winds. But I imagine there will be some other really good blends coming up, so I need not worry.

This tea. Still lots of lilacs and fresh, pure air.

When brendon said this tea was vacuum sealed, he wasn’t kidding. I had to pry the package apart and my efforts only became more savage when the package wouldn’t open. With a combination of teeth and some grunting, I broke into it.

And. Honestly? I don’t even care how this tea tastes. The smell alone is worth buying it again and again. It’s literally like being in a wind-swept garden just overflowing with lilac bushes. I told brendon I wanted as floral a tea as possible, and his words were “my TGY tastes like a thick lilac soup” and I cannot tell you how spot on he was. I fell in love with tea all over again this afternoon, guys. And isn’t falling in love the best part?

It really does taste like a thick, creamy lilac garden, complete with a hint of fresh air if that’s even possible. Brendon, please say there’s more of this. I added a bit of rock sugar to amp up the florals and it was perfect.

I drank this tea while listening to a podcast that I’ve subscribed to for years now (dan savage’s lovecast). A girl had called in, and was crying. A few months ago, she’d told her parents that she was a lesbian, and they’ve since stopped talking to her except to share literature with her about how people have been cured of their homosexuality. Her desperation and heartbreak was so palpable, and I cried with her. Regardless of how well-intended people can be, it’s so devastating to think that some people would actually rather die than be who they are. I don’t think there is ever an excuse to isolate your children, even if you whole-heartedly believe they are sinning. I have been extremely lucky in my life: I’ve made life choices that I imagine my parents would rather I’d not made, but they loved me so much more than they disliked anything I did, and because of that, were always a soft place for me to land. I just wish that were the case for everyone.

Anyway, enough of that. everyone who loves drinking flowers should get this tea. And everyone who doesn’t love drinking flowers should start thinking about loving drinking flowers! I would rate this tea in the high 90s if the rating scale were accessible, but alas it still isn’t. But there you have it!

Nearly finished this now, and while it’s been fine, it’s not nearly strong or flavourful enough to warrant a reorder. I can definitely taste hints of all the suggested notes, but would be so much happier if they’d been amplified to about twice their strength, as I typically expect that from my unflavoured blacks. That said, it was certainly worth it, and I’m saving the last little bit for indigobloom for when I next see her, which will hopefully be sooner than later!

Also, I have a most unsightly cold sore and kind of hate being out in public (at work) with it right now. What a dumb problem.