Whispering Pines Tea Company

Alright – my first Whispering Pines order, which I got during the Cyber Monday deal.

I love a good black tea. A good, malty black tea and some vanilla notes is even more up my alley, and the smell of the steeped leaf (mostly malty, potatoey yunnan notes) and steeped tea (mostly vanilla, but so much vanilla it’s almost chocolate…has this happened to anyone before?) is really promising.

I followed the parameters recommended on the bag, so 1.5 tsp., 3 minutes and 200 degree water. The first tasting impressions I’m getting are a very creamy vanilla/chocolate combination. Not so much black tea at this point, but I have the rest of the cup to go to find that. :)

As it cools the malty notes peek out in the scent of the steeped tea, but I still mostly pick up chocolate and vanilla in the flavor. I may try some milk just to see if I can tease out a little something different…and, no. This cup is just meant to be those two flavors for me.

I agree that this is a lovely winter sipping tea – and I definitely prefer it without anything added, after trying it both ways. I’m not as wowed as others seem to be though. I’ll enjoy what I have, for sure, and I like it fine, but as of right now it doesn’t rank as a must-have.

My last pot of tea from this sample. I am really enjoying it this rainy morning. It has this lovely, silky mouthfeel that I really like, and it isn’t over the top with the chai spices – it is balanced just right. I definitely want to reorder this in the future.

I have been a little askeered to try this tea. I have read in tons of other reviews about the smoke in keemuns. I didn’t smell any smoke in this, though. It just smelled malty and tasty. I could smell a light pine but didn’t taste it at all, which was fine with me. Tree flavor was another I wasn’t sure I wanted to try. :) But this was lightly fruity with some mild sweet maltiness. This is pretty good. Thanks, Veronica!

In addition to my giant Lupicia box, I received my swap package from Christina and it is packed full of tasty teas. This was one of those teas and it is one I have wanted to try for a while. I mean, when its referred to as “Wee Snaily Yums”, how could my interest not be piqued.

With my first sip, I can certainly see why so many rave about this tea. It is smooth and silky, like honey and caramel but also a touch earthy, like the taste one would find in a sweet potato. It is good. Really good. And has a perfect touch of malt. Yum! So, thank you Christina for passing some along and also thank you to Ost for being the original supplier :P. This is one I will be seeking out again soon.

When life gives you lemons, make lemon bars. But make sure to use the right sized baking pan. Decided to have this tea with mine. It smells like caramel and baked bread. The flavour is a bit more chocolatey. The bread taste goes well with my dessert.

So, I ordered a sampler pack… and it came today. This smells pretty good, like malty chocolate. In the flavour I get more fruit, and bread… along with the cocoa. So pretty much it’s chocolate covered fruit, with plums, and some really good bread. Seems a little out of place in the Summer though, I think this is an Autumn morning tea.

Flavors: Baked Bread, Chocolate, Cocoa, Fruity, Malt

[This note was originally posted to the older version of North Winds but is intended for this version.]

I’ve been interested in trying more black tea blends lately, so this is one of the ones I ordered. The blend is composed of two kinds of tea leaves, both spindly and dark but one with golden undersides—this is probably the dian hong. The aroma is an intense, pleasant waft of chocolate and malt. The taste is just what you’d expect from that too, a very welcoming combination of chocolate, malt, and nutty notes, and plus there’s that full-bodied, bready richness from the dian hong. The finish is clear and sweet, and reminiscent of apricot. It’s a wonderfully cozy tea for breakfast or any other time of day!

Brendan’s inspiration behind this tea is also great to read. Maybe we’ll see some lovely teas inspired by the Oregon wilderness in the future :)

Sad sipdown!

Finishing this off as my morning cuppa . I have enjoyed every cup of the bread-y, cocoa-y, sweet, malty, rich flavor of this lovely tea. Since it was my last spoonful of leaves I decided to be good and follow the brewing parameters Brandon sent. Half a tablespoon of leaves, 212 degree water, 3 minute steep. It was a delicious way to wake up.

Still a big fan of this one. Lots of chocolate with some cherry and bread notes. I’ll be a little sad when this one is gone.

Side note: During my 5+ year hiatus from Steepster I’ve diligently worked on using up my tea collection. I struggle to finish teas, especially the ones I love, because I don’t want them to be gone. But I was also overwhelmed by the sheer amount of tea in my tiny kitchen, so I put myself on a no-buy and started working my way through my 300ish samples and many purchases. I do wish I would’ve taken notes, but the overall experience has been fun. Currently I’m on track to finish all of my teas that are over five years old by the end of this year. I did get to a point where I started buying replacements for categories of teas I was completely out of (Moroccan mint, tisanes, etc…), but I’m limiting the quantity until I’ve finished my oldest teas. Heaven help my wallet once I catch up!

My tin of this tea was tucked away in a drawer, and when I saw it I realized I had not prepared this one in months and months. The horror! Fear not though for the situation has been remedied. This tea is full of chocolate and sweet, fruity notes along with hints of peppery spice. Delicious.

Tea of the morning. I actually also drank this tea yesterday while I hosted a tea party for twenty-five ladies. It was a lot of fun, and everyone really enjoyed learning about new teas. There’s already talk of having a garden party this summer which I think would be lovely.

Back to the tea, this is such a staple in my life now. It has delicious notes of chocolate, fruit, and bread. It’s sturdy enough for me to reach for it in the morning, but it’s lovely enough to make me stop what I’m doing and enjoy a quite moment with a really nice tea.

Yep, I’m a fan.

Tea of the morning. This is a tried and true favorite. I love the chocolate and stone fruit notes together. They make me a happy, happy girl. I also love that this resteeps beautifully and holds up well in my travel mug because I have lots to do today and zero desire to step out into the cold. The fact that this is called North Winds is not lost on me…. :)

Tea of the morning. I’m enjoying the new version of this tea. There are still nice chocolate notes, but I get more of a mixed stone fruit note rather than straight cherry. There is also a deeper bready note. It reminds me of good dark bread. The taste is noticeable in the first steep, but it really comes out to play in late steeps. Very yummy.

If someone had never tried tea before and I could only share one tea with them I think it would be North Winds. It’s delicious and simple in the very best way. The chocolate and fruity notes settle on the tongue, and the hint of spice lingers after the sip. It’s just good. It’s a tea you can have long conversations around – conversations that might have nothing to do with tea – but the fact that you had really lovely tea stays with you after the talking has ended. I adore teas that stay in my memory that way.

My Whispering Pines order arrived yesterday which means that this lovely is back in my cup today. The rest of my order is actually a Christmas present, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to hold out once I had this back in the house. Thankfully I bought a whopping four ounces, so two of those ounces are back in the tin where they belong. The other two will wait under the tree for me. :)

The tea… it’s full of chocolate notes as well as stone fruit, malt, and honey. Once the tea cools there’s a deeper molasses flavor. There’s also the taste of multigrain bread which is so good when combined with all of the other flavors going on in this cup. The tea is moderately thick, smooth, and not astringent. It resteeps very well with more bread like flavors coming out in the second and third steep. Delicious!

I received this tea as a free sample along with the Ailaoshan tea that I purchased from Whispering Pines and I actually like it better! The chocolate flavor is considerably more pronounced – deeper. Toasted rye, apricot and white pepper flavor notes as listed by WP were all present and accounted for. I also picked up on caramel and a pleasantly sweet carrot taste.
This is a cup that you just don’t want to ever end! North Winds is the newest must have in my tea pantry.

Oh man, this is so good. I mean, it’s not quite as ridiculously decadent as Golden Orchid (same tea, but with vanilla beans added!), but I can see myself just wanting to drink this every day. Damn it. Just as I am vowing to myself to stick to Canadian companies (why did I have to develop a tea obsession just as the Canadian dollar tanked?? the exchange rate is killing me here) with reasonable shipping costs (y’all have already heard my rant about shipping), I discover that I might not be able to live without this tea. Hrmph. Luckily I can’t even stay mad about it, because I have this warm cup of chocolatey yumminess to soothe me. :)

Tea of the morning. This is newly formulated version and it’s even sweeter and more chocolatey. So rich and delicious. I like this version even better and am bumping up my rating accordingly. This is a must have for me.

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It’s been a while since I finished what I bought from him last time. But I bought a little more in my last order. This tea has strong notes of malt and strong notes of chocolate. It is quite good and actually if I remember right one of Whispering Pines less expensive teas although still not cheap.

I brewed this once in a 16oz Teavana Glass Perfect Tea Maker/Gravity Steeper with 3 tsp leaf and 200 degree water for 3 min.

This is a very tasty tea. Yesterday I had the best of news from my lawyer in my worker’s comp case. For the last year the insurance company has not paid a single bill while the case was in appeals. Now that I have won the appeal, the insurance company must pay the bills, even if they appeal again. Also, because it was a unanimous decision on my part, their next appeal is not automatic. The board can refuse to hear it. Had the decision been 2 to 1, their appeal would have been automatic.

I get in this tea notes of chocolate, apricot and caramel, to name a few. This is a complex tea with a variety of notes.

I brewed this once in an 18oz teapot with 4 tsp leaf and boiling water for 3 min.

i know i reviewed this tea before. Steepster eats older notes… Sigh…
This time i’m tasting a new version. I liked the older one but this just blew my mind. It is liquid chocolate people. Without any sugar or maple syrup. You dont have to guess the flavors. Bold yummy chocolate, maybe some malt, but not much.
i still have an older one, and was hesitating if i should get another once. Im so happy cause this one is so much better and richer (not that anything wrong w/older one ;)

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This is a very tasty tea. Yesterday I had the best of news from my lawyer in my worker’s comp case. For the last year the insurance company has not paid a single bill while the case was in appeals. Now that I have won the appeal, the insurance company must pay the bills, even if they appeal again. Also, because it was a unanimous decision on my part, their next appeal is not automatic. The board can refuse to hear it. Had the decision been 2 to 1, their appeal would have been automatic.

I get in this tea notes of chocolate, apricot and caramel, to name a few. This is a complex tea with a variety of notes.

I brewed this once in an 18oz teapot with 4 tsp leaf and boiling water for 3 min.