42 Tasting Notes
This has become my go-to tea this month ever since I discovered how much better a 3 minute steep is! Savory, smokey, cocoa and bright citrus notes…I’ve had about 4 cups of this each day for the past week :)
Hopefully the snowy memories that inspired this tea will bring the snow soon!
Happy holidays, everyone!
Preparation
The Inspiration
Evergreen Spice was inspired by the pristine evergreen forests and deciduous woodlands of the upper peninsula of Michigan! We started with a complex base of traditional-roast tieguanyin and aged yabao before adding wildcrafted green pine needles and roasted red cedar leaves. This beautiful evergreen base is set on top of the perfect blend of organic spices and organic holy basil before being sprinkled with earthy spearmint.
The flavor of Evergreen Spice opens up with smooth green notes and the pine and cedar fuse with the spices for a very unique combination. They are so well balanced that the spices almost seem to be coming from the evergreen leaves, forming a beautiful layer of warmth. The middle of the sip carries creamy floral notes from the tieguanyin that are spun together with the sweet velvety freshness of aged yabao. The yabao naturally has pine notes, pulling all of these ingredients together as one. At the end of the sip, you get warm cedar, peppercorn, and earthy organic holy basil tied together with the earthy qualities of spearmint, and as the taste lingers on your tongue, you are left with the slightest hint of cooling mint — barely there yet vital to the beauty of the cup.
Both the green pine needles and roasted cedar leaves are ingredients only found at Whispering Pines Tea Company. The pine needles are sustainably wildcrafted by the owner and processed similar to white tea. The cedar leaves are roasted under low heat in 1 ounce batches to achieve a complex and sweet evergreen profile.
This is a perfect embodiment of the beauty of northern Michigan and will please any tea lover!
Notes
Pine
Cedar
Caramel
Roasty
Rosemary
Brown Sugar
Earthy
Warm Spice
Mint
How to brew the perfect cup:
Steep 1 tablespoon of leaves
in 8 ounces of boiling water
for 5 minutes.
2nd infusion: 5 minutes
3rd infusion: 7 minutes
4th infusion: 10 minutes
Ingredients
Traditional-Roast Tieguanyin Oolong
Sun-Dried White Tea
Wildcrafted Roasted Western Red Cedar Leaves
Wildcrafted Green Ponderosa Pine Needles
Black Peppercorn
Organic Ginger
Holy Basil
Spearmint
Organic Cardamom
Organic Cinnamon Pieces
Organic Cloves
Caffeine Content
Medium
Preparation
I’ve been working on this tea for quite some time now :)
My goal was to create a tea with cocoa, citrus, and smoke notes that had no bitterness or astringency that would be the perfect companion on full-moon walks in December, when the moonlight reflecting off of the snow makes it as bright as daytime.
This ended up being one of those teas that is so smooth that it’s hard to set down. It’s a rustic blend, perfect for outdoor lovers. It withstands oversteeping very well, making it ideal for the backcountry.
Enjoy! =)
December, you are the month of chills. The month of campfires that die from the bitter cold wind. The month of snowfall and of embers and the moments one cannot wish to describe. December, in all your bright white moonlight and soul-stirring knee-high snowdrift steps, I love you. You are hot cocoa and orange peels with cloves and the warmth of the fireplace dancing across my toes reminds me of nothing but the moments I spent last night shivering cold with snowflakes on my beard. How is it that the bite of your night is so painfully addictive as to keep me wanting more? Perhaps I will ponder your eerie charm with another full moon walk and a cup of tea.
Preparation
I hope your as romantic with another person as you are when writing about tea and nature Brenden! Just sayin what others are thinkin! You need to write Call of the Wild or something. (I hope you don’t mind indulging this old woman when I take liberties and speak my mind).
Oh, I try my best to love my girlfriend the same way I love tea ;)
I used to be pretty into writing poetry but that comes and goes with time. I have many ways of expressing myself — writing, tea, photography, slacklining.
Life is romantic. I feel saddened that not everyone sees romance in nature…I fall in love with pretty much any moment fringed with pine trees or wood-smoke in the air :)
Good for you!(and her!) I’m one of those most fortunate ones who have had the opportunity to live (sometimes for short stints) in the Sierra Nevada Foothills, a historic mining town before it was public land, rural interior Puerto Rico and now Colorado. I’ve seen many majestic places…Alaska, Peru, Kauai,Santorini and the Greek Isles. The redwoods smell the best,blended with ponderous pine, bay, laurel, manzenita and arbutis. (I think I’ve spelled wrong).
Yes, around Santa Cruz…Scots Valley CA has the best Redwood smell!
Mmm redwoods are amazing. I got the chance to highline the redwood forests in Arcata, CA a couple years ago. It was beautiful :) Here’s a video of someone up there from this year: https://vimeo.com/65440223
That’s where my mom was born in 1924. My grandfather went to work in lumber during the San Francisco dock strike. I have pictures of family felling redwoods with huge 4 man saws. (No chain saws back then). Great picture! Primeval! Redwoods have a way of making you feel small.
The Inspiration
Our goal for this blend was to create a unique synthesis of complex flavors reminiscent of all the hidden wonders in the deep forest — a chai for all the wonderers, adventurers, and naturalists!
Woodland Chai has layers upon layers of complexity created with a fantastic malty blend of premium black and oolong base teas. This flavor fusion is achieved with creamy, cocoa, and sugarcane notes from our Yunnan Bi Luo Chun Black Tea, spun together with our dark chocolaty Fujian Black Tea before finally being completed with a brandy oolong carrying barley and heavy apple notes. Steeped, this tea has the aroma of fresh baked apple pie and spiced hot chocolate! The base tea takes the stage as the perfect blend of organic spices form a beautiful background nuanced with warm peppercorn, sweet safflower, and earthy spicy holy basil.
This chai is best in its natural state — enjoyed plain without milk or sweetener. I would recommend enjoying this chai inside on a cold winter day or sipping it from a thermos on an early morning springtime walk through a deep deciduous forest.
Notes
Apple
Fruity
Malt
Cocoa
Creamy
Sugarcane
Earthy Sweetness
Floral Warmth
Balanced Spice
How to brew the perfect cup:
Steep 1 tablespoon of leaves
in 8 ounces of boiling water
for 5 minutes.
2nd infusion: 5 minutes
3rd infusion: 7 minutes
4th infusion: 10 minutes
Ingredients
Black Tea
Oolong Tea
Organic Ginger
Organic Cardamom
Organic Cinnamon
Black Peppercorn
Organic Cloves
Organic Holy Basil
Safflower
Caffeine Content
Medium
Preparation
This is one of my favorites out of our 9 recently launched chai blends! It’s very creamy and has lovely chocolate notes!
Our Chocolate Chai is made with expertly-ground 100% organic spices and our Fujian Black Tea, which has heavy notes of dark chocolate and a clean malty finish! This chai is smooth and energizing, and goes especially well with milk and sugar!
Note: Do not expect to be kicked in the mouth with chocolate flavor! There is no chocolate in this blend. The chocolate flavors in this chai are strong natural notes found in the tea itself. Adding sugar and milk often accentuates these notes. Enjoy!
The Perfect Cup:
Steep 1 tablespoon in 8 ounces of boiling water for 5 minutes.
2nd infusion for 7 minutes.
3rd infusion for 10 minutes.
Ingredients: Black Tea, Organic Ginger, Organic Cardamom, Organic Cinnamon, Organic Cloves
Caffeine Content: Medium-High
Preparation
This is slow-roasted at Whispering Pines headquarters! Roasty, creamy, and caramelly-sweet with a earthy, woody background, this tea reminds us of the redwood forests of northern California! This tea is very lightly bitter with a long lingering aftertaste and high energy level!
Notes of: Roasty, creamy, woody, sweet
Ingredients: Oolong tea
Caffeine Content: High
Because this tea is slow-roasted in very small batches, we limit the purchase to 1 ounce per customer per order.
Preparation
Trying this in the gaiwan for the first time! :)
I used 1 tbsp in a 4oz gaiwan, quick 2-5 second infusions in 180ºF water.
This is SO much better asian style! Every infusion I’m getting intense fresh pine notes, a touch of light jasmine and an extremely sweet body!
The tea leaves the tip of my tongue with a long-lasting slightly astringent tingly pine note…It’s lovely!
I think I’ll be getting at least 20 infusions out of this. It has some really strong energy too!
EDIT: I got about 20 infusions before i went to bed. Never went past 10 second steeps, either!
Preparation
A full-bodied black tea with notes of sweet fruit, dark chocolate, and malt!
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Michigan is full of wondrous little towns known for the things they have perfected and small spots of nature that will take your breath away. This tea is inspired by the entire northern area of Michigan, from Traverse City to the Les Cheneaux Islands.
Traverse City is in the northern lower peninsula of the state. They are widely known for their amazing cherries, which are sold alongside other fruits from roadside stands during the summer months. You can get anything cherry here, and it will spoil you for cherries forever. I’ll never be able to eat cherries elsewhere! =)
Heading northward from the cherry capitol of the world and over the longest suspension bridge in the northern hemisphere brings you to Mackinac Island. This island is full of little shops, cafes, and bakeries, and they are very well known for their fudge. Any flavor of fudge you can imagine can be found on this island, but you can never go wrong with a piece of dark chocolate fudge as Autumn is closing in!
As the north winds bring you higher and the first snow begins to fall, the Les Cheneaux Islands and surrounding area of the upper peninsula will send chills down your spine. The wind picks up, the lake begins to freeze, and a snowstorm will keep you indoors with a hefty cup of black tea as company. Looking outside at the winter wonderland, you can’t help but notice that you are in the most beautiful place in the world.
North Winds is the essence of northern Michigan. Fruity sweet notes bring you to Traverse City while heavy dark chocolate notes allow you to have that Mackinac Island fudge desert without having to take the ferry. These smooth, decadent notes combine into a heavy bodied tea with a medium-malty background that makes for a perfect breakfast tea — but you’ll want to drink this all day long!
Please note: You can get at least 5 full-bodied infusions out of this tea!
Preparation
Mmmmmm here it is, after many many many hours of blending and testing! :)
Dark chocolate notes with a light minty aftertaste, and all done with 100% natural tea and herbs — no additives, no fake!
Enjoy!~
you don’t have snow yet? we’ve had it twice THIS MONTH!! and we don’t get snow ever 80)
We had snow once in Arizona so far and it lasted about a day. :/
You know, for some reason, I thought you were based in the Pacific Northwest…
ditto what kaylee said, lol.
Which actually seems doubly silly since the website tag is “Inspired by the true wilderness of Northern Michigan”. But yeah I thought somewhere with forests because so many of your teas are forest-themed.
:) haha, nope! The business currently resides in northern Arizona, but we’re looking at a move back to my northern Michigan homeland next fall! :D