Daylon R Thomas Send Message

Tried to Gong Fu it, but messed up. Oh well. I got one 30 second sip and it was fairly peachy with brown sugar. I’m getting Amanda’s notes now plus some pecan. Definitely tastes like peach cobbler. I like it more this time. I need to finish Gong-fuing it next time.

Gong fu brings out so many hidden notes. First steep at 15 seconds boiling, then another 15, 25, 10 to try it , 45, one minute and thirty, and finally at four minutes. Honey, fruit, and malt. The fruit notes kept changing. At first, it was like black grape juice. Then apple juice. Or cherry? Raisins. Cocoa. Malt again. What?! Again, Assam at it’s best. Totally upping rating.

More experienced drinkers, please comment on whether I’m just imagining these tastes or if they are plausible.

I’ve wanted this one for a while, especially in the sachet from for between class travel. Now, I have a tumbler.

I tried it first in the Urban Tumbler. Nutty, grassy, toasty, coconut, sweet, green and creamy. Not nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be, but I know this tea has more to offer.

Second time in the Xiang Fu pot. Same notes, but way more balanced. The toastiness was stronger in the first steep which was at about a minute and forty five seconds. Like a piece of toast with coconut oil slathered on it for butter. I got six solid, really long steeps out of it. The later steeps were smoother, sweeter, and more like regular coconut. But these steeps were long steeps: closer to twelve minutes at boiling.

This oolong was actually a little bit darker than I expected, but got greener in the later steeps. I thoroughly enjoyed this one, though not the best coconut blend I’ve had. This is more for drinkers looking for darker coconut teas or something closer to an Almond Joy.

Accurate name. I feel like I’m drinking a Klondike bar. Mint dominates followed by a smooth chocolate taste from the flavored black tea (which I think might be a Keemum). The black chocolate tea was the best part of it. I kinda wish that I tasted more of it. Otherwise, mint almost overwhelms it. It’s so minty that the vapors rising from the tumbler made my mom’s throat seize a little bit. It also reminded her of her massage lotions.

Bottom line: a little bit more chocolate is needed. The mint is too powerful. Good, yes. Guiltless desert tea, yes. Tempted to get Andrew’s Peppermint Nom Nom? Yes.

Early Christmas present! Lord, I’m spoiled.

The chai spices are great, nice and bold headed by cardamom and cinnamon. Gold old Masala. I got bare hints of the vanilla, but more of the rooibos in the back ground. The rooibos they used in this had a bit of the weird citrus taste I get from red rooibos on occasion. I know that rooibos are normally described as woody, but with the spices, there is a weird citrus note. Maybe I’m crazy, oh well. My mom liked it and she is not a chai fan. Red Hot is a good description because it tastes like a watered down fireball. I think that it might serve better as a latte, and go incredibly well with sweetened condensed milk.

This did pretty well in the Urban Tea tumbler, and it can handle a lot of water. Only problem was the flecks of leaves sneaking through the strainer. I have that issue with rooibos anyway, which is why you don’t need to worry about it being bagged.

The container it came in is also a pretty nice size. I think it’s closer to an ounce. Fairly sturdy, too.

I could drink this tea straight, just not often. I think it would be better with compliments like honey, cream, condensed milk, and or sugar. The spices are so strong that it gives me a little bit of a headache, and suppresses my appetite…if that makes sense. If I’m walking in snow, this would be great. Now, not my favorite. I’m also being picky because I prefer the Climber’s High.

A few more leaves, and more really nice florals. It’s so floral that it tastes closer to a greener oolong than a darker one. Still juicy, but I get even more walnut with the orange blossom. I’m actually getting a little bit of jasmine note. And it’s so much sweeter this time, too. The water was boiling, the steeping time for the first one was around a minute, the second a little bit less than two. I wish I wrote them down. I was brewing by smell and color than by actual timing. When it peaked at a sweet floral, that’s when I stopped. When it smelled more like walnut, that’s when I oversteeped which I learned last time I brewed this. This tea has officially become one of my favorites.

This tea was meant for Gong Fu. So much better at a 10 second rinse, followed by 15 second steep, then 30, then minute. Tobacco, leather, and caramel notes play together in a nice balanced way. Malty with a little bit of cocoa and some definite pollen like tastes. This tea is for cigar and hookah smokers. If you add vanilla or cherry, you get those flavored tobacco. Adding those ingredients would make an awesome tea.

Way better in less time. 5-6 ounces of water with a smaller portion of leaves. I eyeballed the leaves and there were eleven balls at most, maybe less at eight. The ten second rinse was really sweet: it had the cream brulee note that a lot of ginseng oolongs are described to have. I got it again in the first steep at about 15 seconds. I steeped it again for near 20, then 30, then 45, 1 minute, two minutes. Midway, I get some herbs and woodsiness, and later I’m getting more of a peach note typical of a greener oolong. I enjoy this one more now despite my rating being but one point higher than the previous note. I will drink this one more often then before, but I think it’s more of an afternoon or morning tea. Still a great pre-workout.

I know this is a weird turn of a rating considering I gave it a 95 before. For whatever reason, I haven’t been able to get the same taste as I did the first time. The cocoa, mushrooms, leaf piles, broth, and creaminess are all still there. But the maple sweetness is gone. This is due to how I’ve been making it, but even when I follow the directions, I’ve gotten a much blander tea. Maybe I’m not using enough leaves, or drowning it in too much water, or over-soaking by few seconds. Another reason could just be preferences because I’m leaning towards oolongs now more than any other tea. Then I must be very picky with aged teas.

I still recommend this tea for those looking for a creamy, good quality pu-erh blend, but it’s otherwise been mediocre for me. I also don’t recommend it for new drinkers, because it may taste like the dish water of plates covered by chocolate chip pancakes. Unfortunately, both the romantic description of maple, nuts, wood, cocoa and the unappealing broth of dish water are equally accurate.

This remains as a good quality tea. It just require really careful brewing which you’d expect out of any Whispering Pines Tea. I’ve also become more preferential. Not snobby, just preferential. You’d think that I’m more snobby or persnickety for not enjoying a tea out of being harder to please. But I’m really not that hard to please in terms of tea, and I actually think that there’s an element of refinement and snobbery in enjoying aged teas (though oolong drinkers can be REALLY hard to please because their preferred tea type is so particular and complex, while black tea drinkers can become classical snobs-and I’m totally both).

Rant end.