Whispering Pines Tea Company

This tea is quite interesting. The first brewing had a nice woodsy taste to it and would be ideal to sip inside during the winter. The second brewing has that mild puckering taste that comes from the plum notes, which I picked up and my friend did not. This is one of the better black teas I have had thus far but there is still a desire to have a stronger aroma and taste to come out of steeping. I used about 5g of this tea and brewed it for about 5 minutes with water around 208-210 degrees. Overall it was an enjoyable tea to drink between steepings as the flavor changes but I still find myself with a somewhat of a dry taste after finishing cup even when the woodsy notes are gone which is an odd feeling.

A sample from the lovely Sil. Thank you!

4g in my 100ml pot of cuteness. Everything is a disaster because I just went for groceries and haven’t put them away, so no photos. :) (I found gluten free ravioli!!! I’m going to make baked ravioli lasagna mmm…)

Anyways. One rinse. One flash steep. It’s very earthy and mushroomy, but not quite in the damp pine forest way. I think I really prefer mushroom when it’s accompanied by pine or cedar or camphor…

This first steep also smells a little fishy. I drank it anyways.

Second steep is just pure mushroomy forest. Mmm. This is steeping up super dark as well.

Third steep is very similar to the second steep. A touch of freshness now at the end of the sip – camphor? Mint? IDK. But I’m liking it more and more.

I’m really enjoying this, although I’m not sure I’d buy more. I know they have a shipping deal, but the dollar is just SO bad right now. :/

I will update with how many steeps I got.

Amazing. I’m used to black teas from India or Nepal so this one was a surprise. It’s tasty and complex. The sweet flavour is really complemented with some rock sugar (and even milk, why not?). I think I’ll need to buy more of it because the pouch I got is so tiny… I was not overwhelmed by the Jabberwocky but this one is a win!

Another hit from Whispering Pines. This tea has depth. Honey, malty bread, cocoa and a mild earthiness. It’s very forgiving as well. I accidentally brewed the first steep for almost 5 minutes. My cup was still smooth and delicious with no signs of bitterness or astringency.

This was one glorious week of tea: received my Republic of Tea order on Monday and my Whispering Pine Teas order today, right on time for breakfast. I was a little puzzled by the fact that most of their teas are constantly out of stock but I guess it’s a good sign? And they sell small quantities which is perfect for me considering I always have a hard time finishing all the teas I order…

I’m not really used to Chinese black teas so this is going to be interesting. The Jabberwocky has a very comforting smell. Muscatel and warm bread. I can see myself drinking this for breakfast with French baguette and jams :)

Really good tea, one of my favorites of the Whspering Pines samples I got. Chocalate, malt, baked bread. Just to keep tabs on my drinking, I’m gonna need more of this, as well as some of the Golden Snail and Yunnan Gold Tips. They’re all fantastic black teas. I like this one far better than Laoshan Black, but in fairness to Verdant Tea, I had a cold the day I drank that sample and probably missed the complexity others noticed. I’m also pretty sure I under-leafed on that one. All in all, a really really good tea. No complaints. I am on the first steep, and others complain that it doesn’t resteep well. That’s disappointing, but not a dealbreaker or something I always expect of black teas. I continue to pick up peanut notes in many of these teas, but I seem to be the only one.

Edit: Brewed this Western style and the second steep is quite good. I did 3 minutes on the first, then 6. I probably could’ve done 2 and then 4 instead. It definitely has a lot of flavor left. So I don’t agree that this doesn’t work for resteeping. So far it’s working quite well.

from the Sheng and Shou TTB

I did not follow the directions from the website. I didn’t even think to look until after I was almost done with this tea. I went for short and sweet.

It’s got nice flavor. I enjoyed it. It just didn’t last nearly as long as I would have hoped it would. Oh well.

I also apparently didn’t like this as much as everyone else reviewing it did. It was nice, but I’ve had way better shou.

This tea is one of the best I’ve ever tried. I’m not exactly an expert on tea but I know quality when I taste it and this is quality. The smell upon steeping, heavenly. Almost like a baking cake with vanilla and chocolate notes. The taste is malty, raisins, with a hint of chocolate undertone. 3 steeps and each one was wonderful.

It’s a good tea. I made it in my gaiwan as god intended. I’ve had a few different da hong paos at this point, and this is definitely the best one. Still, I don’t really think da hong pao has my favorite type of flavor profile. The roasted barley flavor is a bit too much for me. More natural sweetness would balance this out a bit, but I don’t really detect it as others do. I know this is a good one, but I think I’m done trying to like da hong pao. I have a few remaining samples of it that I’ll try, but after that… I don’t dislike it. I just don’t really need it in my life.

Edit: You know, as I drink more infusions of this, I realize that it’s not the barley I dislike, but the oak. I don’t care for oak in my wine or tea, as it turns out. I think that’s what I don’t really like about da hong pao, so if I could find one with no oakiness…

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

This was the most festive tea I had, so I served it up in my antique cream white and green teacups, a la a Irish breakfast.
I may have underleafed here, because the flavor was lacking. It was thinner in body than I had hoped, and there was not much to it. Maybe some wildflower honey and bread crusts? But all very subdued.

Sigh. I will have to try this again at elevensies.

Thank you blodeuyn for this perfect sample!

I heard about Port from various tea friends and was intrigued by the name. I then saw that the company had named this its “greatest achievement”, so I knew I needed it in my life, hahah. Luckily, a tea friend came to my rescue, again, and I was able to indulge in this discovery.

This is truly the most unique blend I’ve ever had. I peer through my package at the strange assortment of leaves. I can spot long ceder with creeping black tendrils surrounding it. Then, scattered about this smokey mixture are small wisps of fiery saffron. I opened my small pouch to inhale. I am tantalized with an array of scents. It reminds me of this old italian shoppe my father used to take me to when I was younger. I remember in the back room there were large wooden casks filled with wine and various liquor. The room had an enticing erie scent. I used to just stand back there to inhale the soft wooden aroma. I remember there being a light leather scent in the background. I class this aroma as pure ethnic. I am already flooded with memories and can’t wait to brew. I pour my steaming spring water over these dry leaves and it hit with a slight sizzle. I can describe the scent as if one of the casks in the back room of that italian shoppe had burst open. My tea room was flooded with a deep cedar smell covered by brandy and wine. It had a slight undertone of a robust vanilla. The liquor was a golden brown with a tinge of crimson. I took a sip of this aromatic beverage and was greeted with a smooth wood tone and hearty vanilla. It calmed my tongue and left me with an eucalyptus feel. I drank heartly and whisked my mind away back to that italian shoppe. My favorite attribute of good tea is its ability to let you travel. I enjoy being able to travel across the globe without even leaving my tea room. I’m not sure if others do this, but I do. This is another superb blend by this company! I’m very happy I was able to experience it.

https://instagram.com/p/0VPQfTTGRS/?taken-by=haveteawilltravel

I adore this tea. I was gonna write something poetic and gorgeous, but if you take everything that TheTeaFairy said and add everything that MzPriss said, and then multiplied it times Pi, because it’s Pi Day, then you would have my feelings on this tea.

Oh, and it’s fruity. Like very juicy fruits. I super dig it!

Love mob, coming through! <3

This is delicious. I love a good white tea. It tastes like hay smells. Good, fresh hay. Sweet, a bit like syrup/honey, and floral while also still a bit of green and fresh. Good for a few steeps, too.

The first thing I have to say about this tea is whattttt thhhheee haiiiillllllll this is so goooodddd!!!! This tea is unbelievable I can’t even begin to describe it. So many complex flavors going on. The one that really stands out to me is how incredibly floral it is. On the Whispering Pines website there is a description of gardenia…. That could not be anymore accurate I seriously thought that I had accidentally poured my scented oil into my cup (oil burner sits very close to my tea cups) but I didn’t, trust me! But wait, it gets better. On the initial sip my mouth is happily greeted by a smooth mouth feel and intensely sweet honey and malty flavor. Incredible. So good that the flavor is giving me euphoria and setting off endorphins in my brain! Whispering Pines deserves a trophy for this one. Like every tea I have ever order from them is another amazingly delicious, flavorful, and high quality tea from Whispering Pines… Oh yeah, and did I mention how beautifully gold the tea is?

Ambitious?

A little pretentious?

Sure…you don’t name something Ambrosia if you’re lacking confidence. And this tea is everything…and then some.

The look, the color, the smell, the taste, it’s all heaven. Angels signing in my cup. Mozart’s requiem. Powerful stuff.

The brew is a crimson liquid gold…Oh Dian Hong, how I love you.

The addition of handcut vanilla (side bar: did I write “handcut”? Yes I sure did! This is no vanilla flavor, it’s vanilla. Period. No extract, no essence. Vanilla. Pure. In its original form, just like in all the WP blends. This fact needs to be mentioned and appreciated. End of side bar)

So yeah, as I was saying, the addition of vanilla brings undeniable distinction and sophistication.

The first sip and I’m like “hello, maple syrup”! If like me you’ve added a tad of maple to your black tea from time to time, you’ll get what I’m saying.

It’s sweet and malty. A maltiness that makes me so happy.

It’s a bit woody, and fruity…I get some cherry notes, but it’s very subtle.

If you wonder how it compares to the other Vanilla Dream black tea blends, this is what I have to say in a nutshell:

Golden Orchid is gooey fudge, Cocoa Amore is chocolate covered cherries, Elderwood is floral vanilla and Ambrosia is maple malt. There.

B-Boy, you couldn’t have chosen a better name for it…this is tea for the Gods, it’s blended to purrrfection.

Now I need to hit the “shitload” order button again….sigh.

http://instagram.com/p/0JrjyJQhw8/

So. I really never thought I’d be saying this to be honest. Well, at least not this soon in my tea journey. But…guess my journey is full of surprising discoveries!
I really like this white tea. I totally would buy this white tea.
I really don’t get why some people love white teas. Like they aren’t amazing. To me, most of them taste like hay. It sure beats how most green teas taste like grass, but still, hay??? I never really got the appeal of hay flavored teas.
I was kinda just expecting this to taste like hay like the other white teas did.
While this one did have hay notes, there also was a lot of malt in it, which doesn’t seem like a white tea at all! It kinda felt like a black/white tea combo. And to make it even more weird, there were sweet melon notes in the background of every sip!
Seriously such a weird tea-I don’t even understand! XD
But it was good. I tried this yesterday and I’m STILL surprised by how much I enjoyed it! :D I think I might have to buy this one :O
Shocking, right!?
So so weird. My likes/dislikes are just so out there sometimes haha!
Anyway, many many thanks to the lovely Cookies for sending me a sample of this! :D

Thank you Blodeuyn again for this :) This will be the last sample.

I was saving the best for last. This tea was promoted to be the classic of the company, and this is what put them on the map. I knew it would be good!

The aroma coming from this package was amazing! These leaves carry the scent of a true vanilla. I define a true vanilla as one that is not a sugary sweet flavor that is often associated with the color white, but a bold dark taste that is a balance of sweet and malt. I brewed this dessert in my glassware western style. I didn’t wish to use gongfu on flavored teas. My glass gave off an enticing cloud. It was a floral vanilla but with an undertone of oiled fine wood. I took a sip of this delectable treat, and I now know why this is so popular. The flavor started as a smooth syrup with a honey mouthfeel. The flavor was dark mahogany with a sugarcane sweetness. This flavor continued into various others, ever changing. I could hint at dried plums, black cherries, and a slight floral. This bouquet of flavors was wrapped up in a complex blend. The finishing taste was that of the true vanilla side by side with a tone of milk chocolate. I also indulged in my shortbread cookies (website recommended) which maximized the flavor. This brew carries some amazing flavors, and it lasts well into multiple steeping.

I am never a person for flavored teas, especially when they are sweetened. I think they taste too artificial, or the flavors masks the actual tea. This blend I believe was done right, exceptionally right. I guess I should never say never :)

Thank you blodeuyn for this beautiful tea!

This is a strange (in a good way) brew for me. I saw these gorgeous curls on the website and knew I wanted them. I love Yunnan Blacks! I especially love the golden ones. I was lucky to have been given this, so I brewed with anticipation.

I opened the package to take in the scent of these snails. I was hit with a whiff of an anise sugar cookie, or an italian cookie for those that know what I’m talking about. It reminded me of the ones my nannie used to make when I was younger. I used my mini gaiwan for these little guys. I washed the leaves and then brewed in 15, 30 alternating second intervals (5,15,30,60,75…). The aroma of these critters was amazing! I was surrounded by sweet maple and malt syrup. I poured out my cups and drank it in. The initial sip was surprising. I expected a Yunnan malt and with a background of sugarcane sweetness. Instead, I was greeted with a crystallized honey mouthfeel and slight undertone of maplewood. This brew was incredibly light and fluffy. I expected the malt to come out in later brews, or I thought even the baked bread flavor would show. I never experienced these classic Yunnan flavors. I loved the atmosphere this tea created. This is why this brew was strange to me. I am in no way complaining haha. I actually added more leaves in my gaiwan in mid brew. I thought I might have underscored it the first time. I guess thats just how this brew is. The wet leaves gave me my dose of malt that I needed. The malt and bold flavors must of been trapped in the steam; because my tea room had a heavy mood. I love this tea, and I think it would be a perfect crowd pleaser. I’ll have to break this out at the next gathering :)

Included as a sample in my last order. Thanks Brenden. (:

This tea opens with notes of wildflower, fruit, and mild chocolate. The chocolate notes intensify mid-sip, joined by cream, malt, and a light grain flavor. There is fruit again in the finish—apricot or golden raisins, maybe—along with notes of wood. The mouthfeel is silky and clean with no astringency. It doesn’t feel heavy in the mouth. It’s light, mellow, and “fresh” feeling. It’s perfect for this time of day, because I think something heavier would unsettle my stomach. The second steep brought out some thick honey notes that reminded me a bit of WPT’s Golden Snail. I think I prefer Golden Snail, to be honest. It’s a bit thicker tastes more like buttery bread. This is certainly a good tea, and very high quality—just not my favorite from WPT!

Method:
~2tsp/10oz
Preboiling
First steep: 3min
Second steep: 5min

This is new. Thank you Tea Hobbit for letting me try it.

I know it’s a mission at Whispering Pines to search for the finest teas, the best among the best.

This tea represents just that. Mission acccomplised.

First sip and I’m in awe.

So sweet, it reminds me of barley sugar candies.

It’s a malty cup, creamy smooth with no astringency. It tastes a little bit like wheat to me.

It’s woody but not smokey at all wich I appriciate a lot.

It’s slightly fruity, I get stone fruit at the end of the sip.

It feels powdery and syrupy in the mouth, nice body.

It’s so good, I need to buy a shitload of it. Yes…more. Please and thank you.

Don’t be afraid to get this one dear tea lovers :-)

On a side note, a friend brought me to this amazing Chinese gift shop today and I found the most beautiful statue to decorate my tea table…she blessed my tea session today I think.

Pics:

http://instagram.com/p/0G0D7lwh0F/

http://instagram.com/p/0G0_ZQwh1V/

http://instagram.com/p/0G2bFvQh3e/

Thank you Bloeduyn for this spectacular blend!

I received this by accident actually, hahah. This blend was confused with Elderwood, which I will hopefully stumble across someday. Upon tasting, this was a wondrous mistake and I’m very glad that it happened!

I brewed this in my glassware and prepared for what I assumed to be a chai. I gave the dry leaves a light whiff and was surprised by a dark fruit chai. I could hint a currant tone. The boiling spring water hit this leaves with a light sizzle. My cup released vapors of a autumn walk in the woods at dusk. I could scent a sweet caramel and sap aroma. I took a testing sip and analyzed my senses. I thought of an early morning breakfast in the forest. I could taste the buckwheat pancakes stacked high as the sun rose. The hot syrup poured over these caked wafted in the air. This sweet maple tone then turned into a slight spice. It was a hearty clove and brisk cinnamon. The finish was the currant I had noted earlier. It was a ripe berry rush that surrounded the aftertaste. It has a deep undertone of root and moss. The second steeping had the flavors swapped. I tasted spice dominant with undertones of the sweetness. I enjoyed this brew and the places it took me.

I think I have a new favorite company. So far, I have vocalised a “wow” sensation every steeping of each blend. I had a feeling that this company had some choice tea, but I didn’t quite know until I experienced them. I am fascinated with their creativity and description. I love the work that goes into these and the thought that follows.

I like it :)