Whispering Pines Tea Company

Very nice breakfast tea. I like the subtle flavors with nothing really sharp as you drink it. I get a nice grain/bread taste with a subtle cocoa aftertaste.

the berries are the main character but chocolate and fruits are there as well

This was a free sample in my last order. It also happened to be on my wishlist, so kudos to WP! The aroma has that Keemun smoke, but also a molasses raisin sweetness. It tastes just like chocolate covered raisins. Seriously! It is so sweet, almost too sweet, and I didn’t add any sugar. The smoke is extremely subtle. This might be my favorite black tea from WP so far. :)

This is very tasty. It is definitely chocolate plus fruit to me. A darker chocolate, though the first steep is pretty sweet. The second steep is definitely dark chocolate with fruit. Even though it is lighter, it is more dry for sure. I am really glad to have this and that I tried it, though I probably won’t be breaking my neck to keep it around all the time.

I am SOOOO sick. Went to the doctor today and it turns out to be flu. Because of the asthma and diabetes, she said I need to take especially good care of myself. To drink lots of fluids and get lots of rest. Ta Da! Made this tea. I liked it better than I did the last time I had it. Still not a favorite, but certainly drinkable. The doc said herbal teas might be a better choice than black teas or (and she made a face) coffee with milk. I think she may be a tea drinker too!

Upping my rating slightly.

My third tea of the day. I have a cough that brings up yuck … Sorry. TMI. I have a cough and a sore throat, so I thought I’d try this one again. It’s still pretty good, maybe better than the last cup I brewed because I was careful to not let it steep over 4 minutes. I think I;’ll do a 2dn steep and add maple syrup to it. I bought a teeny tiny bottle of maple syrup (3 ounces, approx 100 ml) and I keep forgetting that it would probably be marvelous in tea!

Since this @*&^#! sinus infection is hanging on I decided to try the Clari Tea tonight. It’s herbal and it’s supposed to help when you’re sick. I don’t know if it helps or not, but it was good to drink. I got the ginger flavor pretty well, even with no sense of smell. I got a slightly bitter after taste, but I did brew it for quite a while, so that might have been the reason for it. This will probably not be a re-order, but I’m glad I have it.

This is really spectacular, but I can’t help but feel like it could be even more. It is thick and dessert-y, but even when shaking the bag like a loon, I can’t help but feel like the chocolate notes overpower the vanilla. As a vanilla fiend, I want more. I am not sure if it was just my bag or what, but I think this would be perfection if the vanilla were intensified.

I got two good steeps out of it. The second being much more smooth than the first, and light. I could taste the vanilla more, as a lot of the intense chocolate was tamed. Latter steeps were alright, but not as good as the first two. I will definitely plan to keep this around.

nice but not wow

I accidentally oversteeped this yesterday, but it turned out tasting super delicious. Unfortunately, something about it hit me wrong and I wasn’t feeling super great after.

And yesterday Vancouver had a huge hazmat situation and my house is in the affected area. And today I feel like I have strep, only I don’t – but my throat is raw and blech.

So everything negative coming together like that, all happening after I started drinking this tea at work… Well. Needless to say I won’t be hunting it down.

But! It does taste really good! The long steep brought out a lovely spiciness. I’ll have to try it with other yunnan black teas.

The lovely Dexter sent a sample of this along to me!

There were no steeping instructions that I could find, so I searched notes and then decided… f-it. Western it is.

It’s strong. It’s nice. Sweet and smooth. Very carby. IDK that I adore it, or that the flavours are ones I’d crave all the time, but it’s nice. And she thoughtfully included something like 5 other snaily teas for me to try as well. :D

Edit: Oh, as it cools it goes sour. Weird. I’m stuffed up a bit so I can’t smell much, but the taste is definitely sour, not bitter or astringent.

Thank you to beelicious for sharing this tea in our recent swap! This tea isn’t something I’d normally gravitate toward, as I’m not big into herbal blends and the ingredient list looks a bit frightening (spearmint and cinnamon in the same tea?) But I needn’t have worried…it seems that Whispering Pines is incapable of selling a bad tea! This one somehow manages to be both soothing and refreshing at the same time with just a touch of warm, comforting spice. It was the perfect bedtime cup of tea!

We already know he’s a tea prodigy and does things like no one else does.

He decided that dried mushrooms should be incorporated to tea…and that’s exactly what he did, as if it should have been done all along. Cause this is what you’ll think of when you taste this little marvel for the first time: where have you been all my life oh mushroom tea!!

Don’t think this resemble Mirkwood, his other mushie tea, cause it doesn’t…not even one bit.

Mirkwood is more brothy and savory. This is desserty!

Candy Cap Mushrooms, who knew??? They smell like maple candies! My whole kitchen smelled like candy after I opened the pouch, to the point that it got me worried, I sure don’t want my tea to taste that sweet.

But just like all the blends he creates, this tea offers the perfect balance. Dried fruits plus woodsy and cocoa notes. The star here though: natural maple goodness. And no worries, this ain’t Aunt Jamaima type of fake sweetness. This is gloriously tasty, with only two ingredients: Premium Chinese black tea and mushies.

Having said that, I don’t taste mushroom so please mushroom haters, don’t deprive yourself from this little gem. This variety brings sweetness, woodsy notes and layers of complexity. No damp or earthy funk.

Brenden sure is Michigan’s National “Teasure” , he likes to think outside the box and it pays off. Bravo!!

Pics:

http://instagram.com/p/yaozePQh6k/

http://instagram.com/p/yarxVTwh-1/

http://instagram.com/p/yasoxHQh_2/

Such cute little tea leaves! Like golden snail but silver instead (bet you would have never guess that from the name, LOL). Super grassy tea, this almost punches your tastebuds with the vegetal flavor. Delicious! But be careful not to oversteep or walk away from the brewing leaves for too long or it has a tendency to take on a bitter aftertaste.

Thank you, Veronica for sending me some of this tea!

First thing you notice about the dry leaf is that it smells really chocolate-y. I was definitely surprised at the depth of this tea. Very full bodied with cocoa & malty notes and a slight bit of bitterness in the finish. Bittersweet chocolate? yummm. I actually enjoyed this one better with soymilk. If I had another sample I would probably steep this for only 2 minutes which might yield a smoother cup. Anyway I’m really glad I got to try this. It’s quite a good morning tea, however will not rate for now. I had to use some nasal spray earlier which might be affecting my tastebuds.

Happy happy birthday to meee! First tea of the day yayyy!

[side note, I may have underleafed this time. mehhhh]

Oh Elderwood, you.

Drinking this cup by cup and listening to the Hobbit audiobook on my decade-and-a-half old cassette/cd player combo while making Lembas bread. I love having days off from work. :D
The vanilla is incredible in this blend. They give something delightfully sweet to the creamy milk chocolatey goodness of the base blend. There is also a bit of oak and conifer that reminds me of the name of this blend.

I steeped this western-style, for 3 mins, 4 mins, 6 mins with much success in a 16 oz porcelain teapot. Elderwood is the best of the best out of Whispering Pine’s Vanilla Dreams Collection, IMO. I urge anyone to try it. Wait for a sale, it’s worth it.

This was pleasant enough but not really remarkable to me, particularly not after playing with golden orchid, Cocoa amore, and port. Those are a different type of tea of course but they are so rich and deep. This just didn’t give off the same strength. I think I might need to use far more leaf than I normally would to really enjoy it.

It is warm and spicy and fruity. I like all of those things. But I’m thinking it is an easy enough thing to find, which is why this one just doesn’t stand out to me.