Whispering Pines Tea Company

Ack! I love this tea. It has always been a reliable morning tea. But today it has a horrible taste. Like gasoline. That was not the tea’s fault. My coffee tasted like that too. The soda I made tasted like it. I have a sinus/inner ear infection. I’m on a new antibiotic. That’s the only think I can think of that would make something I love taste so gross. Sigh.

Oh boy, oh,boy! It’s quite COLD this morning. I really LOVE it! It’s such perfect tea drinking weather. I brewed up a whole pot of this and the first sip reminded me why I like this tea so much. Smooth. Rich. Warm. Just one of my favorite teas for chilly mornings. I know we’ll have warm weather again before fall really hits, and after fall is winter. But I’ll just enjoy this morning and not worry about those things. And drink tea.

Still one of my very favorite breakfast teas. This summer hasn’t been unusually hot. In fact, we’ve only gotten above 90 like 8 or 9 times. But it’s been consistently warm. Normally we’ll have a week of 75 here and there, or even some days in the upper 60s. This year it’s been in the mid to upper 80s just about every day. And I positively loathe hot weather. Add some humidity to it, and I am DONE. The last thing I want is a hot beverage.

But this weekend it is supposed to be low to mid 70s! And low to mid 50s at night!!! It will be very cool in the mornings in my apartment this weekend! See me? I’m the one with my cup ready to go. Tea drinking weather is coming!

(And winter. Yeah, winter is coming too. Sigh)

Oh, and though it wasn’t as cool as I wanted this morning—stupid humidity!— I had a couple of cups of this tea this morning. Nummy.

Gosh, I’ve had a tough week. I know it’s only Tuesday, but believe me, it’s been tough. Since it was one of those cold, rainy days in late spring, I decided not to cold brew a jug of tea. Instead I made a hot pot of this. I earlier tried Brioche from The American Tea Room. I know I like that one, but today it just didn’t hit the spot. I drank about half a cup, then poured it out. I’m sure it was me, not the tea. Even this one, one of my absolutely favorite old reliables, tasted bitter and a bit astringent. Still, I enjoyed it.

It’s darned cold here. I left my sewing room window open about an 8th of an inch, and my apartment was FREEZING this morning. I had my two cups of coffee, and switched to tea. This tea is superb. Malty, rich, and flavorful without ever getting bitter even when I re-steeped it three times. I know this tea is a little more expensive than some of my other faves, but the quality is worth it. And when you can get three or four good cups from one batch of leaf it pays for itself.

Dear God, in a meeting this morning we were informed that mandatory overtime has been extended through February and increased from 5 hours a week to 7. As soon as that meeting was over I headed to my drawer of tea. If it hadn’t been work hours it might have been something stronger that went into the cup!

This really is a lovely cup. Smooth and strong, just what a morning calls for, especially after getting news you really didn’t want.

I’m going to like that extra money on the check. Say it again: I’m going to like that extra money on the check.

(and just between us, my boss is a jerk. That has nothing to do with the overtime. It’s more about my teensy little raise. My 14.5 years in this position and the experience I bring is worth a he!! of a lot more than 1.2%)

This morning was one of those mornings when I just could NOT seem to keep my eyes open. I started with coffee. Two cups didn’t do the trick. I pulled this one out of the drawer and made a large, strong pot. It didn’t do the trick either, actually, but it was tasty. This remains one of my very favorite breakfast teas. It’s smooth but robust. When I get my tea drawer pared down to my 20 teas, this will probably be one that I’ll want to keep on hand.

I’m glad I ordered another couple ounces of this tea. I had my usual cup of coffee, but it was chilly this morning so I had a cup of this instead of a Coke like I often do later in the morning. I drank it out of a particularly ugly but dear to me cup. I made it myself in a potters class. I completely botched it. The potters wheel turned too fast. or maybe too slow? Anyway, I had to make several attempts to form a cup shape. Even when I finished it the lip was a bit wonky. But I made it myself, so it was a favorite. Sadly, when I took the empty cup into the kitchen to rinse it out and put in the dishwasher, I dropped it. Good bye ugly cup. :(

I woke lst night around 4am to the sound of an immense clap of thunder that went on and on. Scared me half to death. I thought maybe a jet was ready to crash on top of me. But it went away, leaving only the rhythmic sound of pounding rain on the pavement outside my window. It was very cozy to lie in bed feeling a little chilly, safe and tidy.

It ws still raining when I got up, and cold enough that a good morning tea was required. I’m almost out of this one! It’s so good in the morning. So warm, and smooth, and mellow, and just a little malty without being astringent or bitter. Just about the prefect morning cup! I’ve put myselt on a strict tea diet until Christmas. I have plenty of tea to drink up before I order more. But it’s going to be hard to hold off on this one.

We’re expecting snow tonight. glum face This was my mid-morning tea. Still really like this one. It’s not a weak tea, but mild and smooth. I approve! I’m just about out, so I think it will go on the Autumn Re-order List.

I made a 2 cup pot of this tea this afternoon, hoping for tea delight. I got soap instead. It’s so tempting to think it’s the kettle. But no, coffee tastes soapy too. Sigh. This too shall pass.

Dear God. My eleven year old niece is staying with me this weekend while her mother is out of town house hunting. I need caffeine this morning! Being single and childless, I am used to having everything stay the same. I mean, when I clean the kitchen, it stays pretty much clean unless I dirty it. Today there is a winter coat in the middle of the kitchen floor. One child sized boot is under the table, and the other is god knows where. I asked her and she got this blank look on her face and said “I don’t know.” She lost her phone twice in two hours. When she does have her phone, she’s on it texting her friends. She uses a different glass for each can of pop she’s had (she was supposed to have ONE) and leaves the glasses in the living room. As a treat I bought her PEEPS. (shudder. I hate those things) and she ate the entire package last night. She told me she gets up really early, so I showed her where the frozen French toast strips were and told her to help herself to breakfast in the morning. I got up at 7:30. She was dead asleep. I made tea (did I mention how badly I needed caffeine?) and took it and my laptop back to my room to let her sleep. At 8:30 she came to my room to tell me she was starving. I now have a far better understanding of my sister’s weariness. NO wonder she looks so frazzled all the time. I love my niece, but I am clearly not cut out for children.
WHY DON’T THEY COME WITH AN OFF SWITCH????!!!

Tea helps. A little.

My morning cup. So good in the morning! Today is supposed to be in the mid 70s. UN-believable! The average hi for today is 36, so that is almost 40 degrees above the norm. Too warm for hot tea this afternoon, so I put some of this to cold brew. We’ll see how it is cold.

This was my morning tea. It’s a great tea for the morning, robust and smooth.

Yesterday I went to an ENT for the first time in 8 years. I know I have nasal polyps. I’ve had 4 previous surgeries to deal with them. The last surgery was at the Mayo Clinic and cost $42,000. But polyps come back very quickly. Well, I’ll only have to pay about $6,000 of it probably. But guess who doesn’t have $6,000 laying around? Of course, this new ENT thinks surgery is a must. The polyps are so thick that on the CT scan it looks like I don’t even HAVE sinuses. No wonder I feel so blech all the time, right?

I have to decide if being able to smell my tea (and shampoo, and cat box, and food) for 3 or 4 months is worth it. Polyps are generally not fatal. In very rare situations they can lead to terrible complications, but generally they are benign. It’s just that you can’t breathe or smell, have continuous headaches, and pretty much feel like you have a cold all the time. For a measly four months of salary I can feel well for a little while. Is it worth it? That’s the decision I have to make.

Meanwhile, I’ll go brew another pot of this and imagine I’m smelling and tasting all those delicious flavors.

I had success this morning getting the liquid antibiotic into the cat today. At least, more went in her mouth than on me, so we’ll call that a win.

To celebrate, I brewed a pot of this tea. A lot of times I really love a flavored black, but this one really hit the spot this morning. It’s rich, a little malty, and smooth. Off to brew another pot.

It’s awfully cold in my apartment and I couldn’t figure out why until I went to the window and found it was open about a quarter of an inch. Hmmmm. It’s frozen in that position. Time for some hot tea, right? Brewed a pot of this, figuring it would be warm and delightful, and it is. I don’t know how to describe it, since I don’t taste much, but it’s a rich tea without being too strong or bitter, nor is it weak.

This was my mid morning cup. Delicious. Smooth. Just-right. I have acquired a nice variety of teas. Obviously, not nearly as many as othe Steepster-ites have, but very respectable. How in the world do people decide what to drink when??? Do things seem to disappear from view and then be re-discovered? It’s a dilemma, but a wonderful one to have.

Boy, this is becoming my Go-To tea. Brewed a full pot this morning. I have a dozen other teas in the cupboard, and another dozen little samples, but for the past week this is the one I want.

Ugh! I have a terrible cold. Really bad, and it’s aggravating my asthma. Right now I’d reach for Cold 911 from David’s Tea, but I’m out. Instead I brewed a pot of this tea. I’m still loving it. It’s warm and smooth and comforting on a raw throat.

2nd cup. Even better! I steeped it a little longer today, and the flavor is full bodied and smooth. I’m really liking this!

My package from Whispering Pines arrived today! I decided to try this one immediately as it’s a bit nippy in my apartment and I’m having a HELLISH day at work. This was great as a pick me up. As always, I can’t taste any particular flavor, but this tea strikes me as bold. Some teas seem weak or bitter no matter how you brew them. This one is just right, with a bit of something lingering in the corners of my mouth. I’m going to try a second steep and see how I like that.

ETA: Second steep was even better!

Mmm tasty. Very chocolately and fruity, with a bit of a red wine intensity. Sweet and smooth. A bit of baked bread on the nose.

I was worried I under leafed this initially, but an extra 30 seconds of steeping was all it needed.

Drinking this around room temp, since I got distracted by phone calls just as I finished steeping this.

I spent all afternoon with this one yesterday and it is my first pu-erh in probably 2 years or so. The only other experiences I’ve had were from David’s and a local store-bought one, both of which I PASSIONATELY DESPISED. Why would I want to drink stinky fish-dirt tea?!

Just wanted to give a background on my lack of good experiences with this kind of tea. The thing is, I love trying new things and I didn’t get how so many people love pu-erh when I absolutely hated it. I decided to give it another go. And this time purchase one that I had carefully screened for offensive fishy notes.

The dry loose (no cake on this one) leaves are tightly rolled, dried, almost powdery-looking. They are dark with lighter golden-brown hues mixed in. I don’t know how other pu-erh teas feel, but this one was heavier in my hand than the loose leaf black teas I am used to. It smelled a bit like a blend of dates and earth, but not in a moldy way if that helps (sorry!).

I brewed it with my lovely and delicate TeaVivre gaiwan and the steeped tea is a deep red-brown clear liquor. It is very aromatic with more of the prominent dates and earth fragrance- almost reminds me of piles of leaves after the rain.

The initial flavour is straight up walnut (with the shell and all) blended with a brown sugar sweetness. It still has the earthy background, but it makes it feel thick and full-bodied on the tongue instead of like a dessert. I followed the brewing directions exactly for this with 30/15/30/45/2 min/5 min and each time I was able to enjoy the walnut, brown sugar, earth combo, though it became notably weaker towards the end. I didn’t give this a higher rating only because I was desperately looking for the vanilla/cream/camphor notes described on the WP website and I didn’t find them. That said, I still really enjoyed it. Next time I am going to try Western style brewing and see if I can find those missing notes. As many of you know, I love true vanilla and even the faintest taste would be wonderful in a tea that is already a pleasant way to spend a rainy afternoon.

TLDR version: I used to think I hated pu-erh. Now I don’t. This one tastes like walnuts, brown sugar, and earth. :)

So the cold I thought I’d got rid of came back for a second swipe, and this time it’s a fair bit worse than it was originally. Yesterday I had a conference at work between 11.30 and 4.45 (with only a 10 minute tea break and no lunch), so I drank virtually nothing all day and unsurprisingly felt like crap when I got home. After a shower, which made me feel at least 1/4 human again, I made up a cup of this one. On its own it restored another 50% – the rest won’t come back until I finally shake this off.

I don’t usually drink my “better” teas when I’m sick because often there’s just no point. I found that I could taste this, though, maybe because the chocolate and fruit notes are so strong, or because it’s so thickly malty. Either way, it was A-MA-ZING. I’ve gone into the specific taste of this one a couple of times before (once very recently) so I won’t do it again here. The point of this note is purely to say “I drank this one and it rocked” and the fact that I felt better as a result is just a happy bonus.