Whispering Pines Tea Company

First sip…. ahhh, comfort. Notes of honey, and a spice that while mild feels like it would relieve congestion. It has some flavor I can’t place but reminds me of something familiar… I could see myself drinking this all day when I’m not feeling well. A perfect tea for a gloomy, rainy day in the District.

Let me start out by saying that I have been a fan of Verdant’s black tea’s for a long time, and of course my favorite from the teas they offered was the Laoshan Black, but the Laoshan always lacked a certain something to it that I found in this tea! This tea is maltier, more chocolatey, and all around a more flavorful, full bodied tea. The smell of it when you first pour water on it smells delicious and makes my mouth water! I have been enjoying Whispering Pines tea for a couple of weeks now and both of the teas I ordered(Golden Orchid and Ailaoshan Black) are amazing and are very very flavorful.

This is quite possibly one of the tastiest teas, if not the tastiest tea I’ve ever had. The grade A Madagascar vanilla beans in the tea really help bring out and complement the malt flavor that the tea has. Drinking this morning, day, or night this tea always brings a smile to my face and is perfect for enjoying on a nice fall day outside. The tea has flavor notes that are malty, fruity, and an almost sweet vanilla that isn’t so strong that you lose the taste of the black tea, just complements it. I can’t wait to buy more!

Miss Dexter was generous enough to send me a sample of this rather expensive tea (along with Port) because it’s one of the Whispering Pines teas that sounds amazing but costs more than I am willing to pay just to try it. So thank you, amazing tea friend! The leaves are a mixture of fuzzy golden Imperial Dian Hong buds and darker, twisty Ailaoshan Black leaves. Dry scent is very sweet and vanilla-y with a touch of cocoa.

Mm, the steeped tea smells fantastic… A lovely creamy mix of sweet vanilla custard, milk chocolate, caramel, and dark dried fruit. Wow, the taste is much earthier than I expected! I can definitely taste the described oak and morel notes, and they blend amazingly with soft cocoa and sweet vanilla flavors. There’s a caramel sweetness that becomes creme brulee when mixed with the vanilla, and just a touch of fruity sweetness that the website describes as cherry. Very delicious!

Delicious. Smooth, with a slight grassy flavor and a natural almost-caramel sweetness. It doesn’t really seem like black tea… more like green, but with the sweetness of a high quality black.

Update: then I steeped it too long and it definitely tasted like more normal black tea. It is MUCH better steeped correctly.

I received this one as a free sample with my WP order. It was one that i had considered ordering, so i was happy to see it. Brewed, this is a smooth tea, with hints of cocoa, malt with an almost fruitiness to it. It’s not my favourite of the WP teas, but i can understand why so many folks love this one. I throroughly enjoyed this cup, but i’m going to pass the other half of my wee sample over to a friend to try as i think this one might be something they’ll enjoy too!

I brewed this tea correctly this time, I think. It is slightly bitter, just a little. It has a strong roasted barley taste, very strong, and not in a real pleasant way. It has long black, twisted leaves that look really tasty. But it doesn’t taste as good as it looks to me. I do not always like roasted barley flavored teas. Next time I will add honey instead of sugar, that may mitigate the roasted barley flavor a bit. This tea might improve steeped gongfu style but it is morning and I am too lazy to steep it gongfu style.

I brewed this once in an 18oz teapot with 4 tsp leaf and 190 degree water for 1 min.

I won’t give this a rating today because I inadvertently over brewed it. I gave it the standard 3 min steep and afterwards noticed the directions said a one minute steep, oh well. Its still not bad but not as good as others have said. I will try it again another time with a 1 min steep and see how it is. This way I get a strong sour taste and a mild roasted barley taste.

I brewed this once with 5 tsp leaf and 190 degree water in a 18oz teapot for 3 min.

OH MY!!!
First sip and I taste mushroomy notes Yay!!!!!!
Extremely smooth and Silky, almost creamy.
Nice subtle earthy note that is very clean tasting almost mineraly.
Some woody types notes also in there, slight sandalwood.
Raw cocoa notes.
At times I got almost toasty nutty kinda of notes.
At times it was also kinda savory and broth like, mushroomy broth.
This Tea is great hot, warm, cool or cold; it’s great with long steeps, short steep or any steeping method.
It is also Long Lasting, I started off saying this was an all day tea because it yields so many steeps, it just wont quit.

View my Blog post Please
http://toadsteablog.blogspot.com/2014/10/2012-huron-gold-needle-puerh-by.html
Thanks :)

Thanks for the sample Ost!

This is a rich, complex black blend. I like it but I feel like it needs something. Like it is missing a top note or needs more natural sweetness? Anyway, this is good but I strongly prefer Golden Orchid and Cocoa Amore :D

I did a short steep (2 minutes), and the result was a nice light Keemun that’s full of plum and honey notes. When I say full I mean full. The plum notes were juicy and sweet, and the honey could be tasted throughout the sip but was strongest at the end. It was really, really good!

The deeper notes of grain and malt you can get from a longer steep are nice, but the brightness and fruitiness from a quick steep was delicious, too. I’m starting to think this is one of those teas that’s tough to mess up. No matter what I do to it the flavor is excellent!

My first cup of this was fairly sweet with lots of plum and date-like notes. There was also cocoa, malt, and honey. Really nice. The resteep was much more earthy with lots of wet earth and grain notes as well as something else a wee bit dark that I’m having trouble identifying. Again, really nice. I may go for a third steep in a while just to see how the flavors play out. Right now I’m going to go plant bulbs. It’s December 1st and the high today is 60°F. There’s no way I’m staying inside!

Tea of the morning. This is an unusual Keemun. It’s light and fruity with underlying honey notes. There might be a little chocolate, but the plum, raisin, and dried date notes are at the forefront. I pick up the pine – very light and clean – in the smell, but I don’t taste it. There’s no smoke even at the end of the sip. Overall, I like this a lot. For me, this is an afternoon tea. I think the lighter body and soft sweetness of the tea will be wonderful as an afternoon pick-me-up.

Just finished my sample of this tea. Definitely getting some chocolate notes in this one, quickly followed by a sharp sweetness. These flavors are brought together by an earthy, slightly malty body. I did perhaps notice a tiny bit of bitterness and astringency, but trust me as somebody who dislikes those things a lot – they are not a problem due to the boldness of the fruit flavor here. In fact, this tea may have let me develop an appreciation for how a hint of bitterness and astringency can sometimes work with the flavors to produce something good. In regards to that it reminds me of dark chocolate, where the bitterness is sort of a necessary evil that eventually grows on you. Currently I’m unsure if i would re-order this and I find it hard to rate this tea because I am still kind of ‘exploring’ the spectrum of various black teas… but I would not be surprised if, at the end of my journey, this tea ends up being one of the highlights.

3min/1.5tsp/210F/8oz

Really delicious black tea. Loved the vanilla and chocolate notes in it. When I smell the dry leaves it smells like vanilla. When I smell the brewed tea it smells strongly of chocolate. Goes down really smooth. I taste no astringency. This would be a perfect tea to sip around the fireplace on a cold winter night.

I’m not a huge fan of jasmine, but wowser, is this a good tea! Most jasmine teas overdo it – I feel like I’m being assaulted with the flavor. This one is a solid green tea with jasmine very much present, but not overwhelming. I did six steeps in my gaiwan 20/15/20/30/45/90 at 180° and was not disappointed by any of them, though it was pretty faded by the last go-round. My wife and daughter really like jasmine pearls, so I’ll be interested to see how they react to this one.

Lewis & Clark TTB #15

Deep tarry aroma. The initial taste reminds me of walking in damp woods, but underneath is a rich mix of tar and tobacco and wood. The finish is long, but not overly powerful. As the tea cools, I’m left with mostly just the damp woods.

There is a lot going on here, but it doesn’t seem well-integrated: just a mix of flavors that don’t coordinate all that well. I’m not that fond of the leafy/tarry taste, though some of the other flavors are appealing.

While I’m not excited about the tea, someone whose tastes are different from mine might really like it, since it does have several things going for it.

I received this sample from Cameron B. Thank you for sharing!

I have been in a huge chai mood lately. I have been making a huge mug of it whenever I am home at night. I blame it on the fall. I have been drinking a standard black masala chai. This is nice upgrade. The blend of spice to tea was pretty good, the spices seem to hold up to the addition of milk and the base shines through enough that I know that I am actually drinking tea. The base makes this a think mouthful with the milk that I added. I am really enjoying this mug. I have a few chai’s I have to finish up, but an ounce of this may show up on my next order depending on how long the chai cravings last.

Oooh I love the smokiness. It really does taste like the smell of a campfire, which is somehow an adventurous and yet comforting flavor. The rooibos is not at all overpowering – it just melts into the background, and the aroma of the tea is much stronger than it tastes. I really enjoy this and can see myself drinking it again and again – maybe even having some on barbecue nights!

This tea had a minty scent when I smelled the dry leaf, but upon brewing it it tasted like a smooth – yet pretty normal – black tea with sweet notes. I still like it though! I just didn’t find it to be what the aroma promised.