Whispering Pines Tea Company

While I was absorbed in my Smokey Mountain Mate, my S’mores was over in my infuser, taking a nice long steeping. Brenden from Whispering Pines suggested a 20 minute steep, though mine MAY have been more like 23 by the time I made it over to pull the basket up (THIS is why I need a Breville to automatically do things for me! #firstworldproblems)

Anyway, I added a little soy milk to this cup, because… well mostly because I wanted to. As I walked back to my stool, I smelled the cup and knew it smelled AWESOME but couldn’t place the scent. Then it hit me! Smells JUST LIKE graham crackers!!! Sweet cinnamon goodness!

First sip… I don’t know if I would place this as s’mores right away, but it certainly tastes good… I definitely get the marshmallow and graham cracker right away, but the chocolate doesn’t hit me as much as I would like. Maybe it would just muddle the mix if it was more prominent, though… The cinnamon/sugar flavor of this comes through more than anything. I might just call it graham cracker tea if I didn’t know better! I’m not complaining, though, I love graham crackers :) Overall, the depth of flavor is actually impressive and I’m left with a lingering sweet marshmallow flavor. I wonder if adding sugar would bring out the flavors or just make this over the top sweet. I’m not going to mess with it, though! Thanks for the free sample, Brenden !

Second infusion just as good as the first! I can definitely see myself drinking this on cold winter mornings waiting for that 4:39am commuter train to pick me up!

Yay! After (not so) patiently waiting for the mail all day, it finally arrived and I had my 5 samples from Whispering Pines Tea Company YES! As per *Brenden*’s suggestion, I brewed a hot cup of this tea while infusing S’mores for 20 minutes and cold brewing Blackmint overnight :)

So, Smokey Mountain Mate! I was drawn to this tea because of it’s description; individually pine smoked batches? Who WOULDN’T want to try that? And since I was unable to go camping this summer, this will have to do for now…

I don’t want to add soymilk to this, so I’ve been letting it cool longer than usual and the suspense is killing me! Let’s see if I don’t scald myself while I taste it… Nope, cup is even too hot… let me clean up my kitchen and I’ll get back to you…

Alright well I worked on tricks with my puppies instead of cleaning, but they now know sit AND lay down (though they more instantly lie down when they see the treat bag, but whatever).

Transferred tea to a NOT scalding cup and tasted… OMG YUM! Let me tell you a little story that anybody who has ever gone camping will relate to…. you know how when you go camping, you’re out by the campfire all night and you don’t really notice how you smell until you get home and shower and then pick up your clothes to put them in the wash and you’re like wow… I really smelled like campfire! THAT’S EXACTLY HOW THIS TEA TASTES. Except less gross. Because my description was a little gross. But my point is, this tea perfectly embodies camping and campfire and WOW. You can definitely tell this is actually smoked and didn’t just have smoke flavoring added to it. I don’t even want to drink it. I just want to hold it in my mouth and close my eyes and remember all my camping experiences (which makes me sad since I’ll never get to camp with my dad again :-/) Man! I was hoping this would replace camping for me, but now it makes me want to go camping even more! And take this tea and drink it by the campfire. I’m highly impressed! YUM!

Edit: It’s crazy how many emotions are unleashed through our senses. Drinking this reminds me so much of my dad and though it makes my heart ache and miss him like crazy, I welcome the experience…

One of the MANY things I am REALLY liking about Whispering Pines Tea Company is that the owner isn’t afraid to be creative! They are NOT afraid to try something new! They appear – to me at least – they are NOT interested in an ordinary or easy or safe tea. This…I LOVE. They enjoy taking a chance and I think it has really paid off!

Black tea, elderberries, lemongrass, spearmint, smoked pine-needle essence are the ingredients in this tea.

Dry aroma was earthy, herbally, woodsy, dark, and had a hint of lemon.

The color of the post-infused liquor is that of a Dark Brown/Grey-ish combo.

The ‘wet’ aroma is a gentle “in the woods” type smell – perhaps – next to a patch of fresh herbs.

The taste…is AWESOME. I really had no idea I was going to enjoy it as much as I am! The black tea base is what I would consider to be medium in strength but the pine, lemon, and mint flavor pairings are at the perfect-for-my-palate level of intensity. The ratios are VERY NICE!

It leaves a peaceful and minty-fresh yet hint of green-herbal goodness left over and behind.

I totally agree with the product description’s end note…

NAMASTE

Indeed!

I’m totally channeling my INNER-HIPPIE here. LOVE IT!

This smells amazingly tranquil. Just enough floral and mint hints to make you wonder…a lovely green tea and herbal combo. Not to mention the Gunpowder touches thru-out.

This is terrifically done in every way. A very pleasant surprise.

I really needed something to help me chill-out/nerve-wise and this is helping quite a bit but still helping me keep that more positive momentum to get thru today’s deadlines.

Yes! Hippie Haven…peace out, man.

11 different black teas? Awesome! Plus Rooibos? Cool! AND Spices and Orange Peel? Woot!!!

I’m excited!
Let’s try it shall we???

It smells smoky and orange-E. The color of the liquor is that of a rooibos but also a medium-dark brown combined.

It’s smoky but not overly-so…not like a straight-up Lapsang Souchung but still very nice and fitting to the name. The mesh of 11 black teas in the base are interesting…something I have never tasted before! That I like and appreciate all of the thought that went into it.

I can taste the orange and it’s lovely. Again, not overpowering but I’m happy it’s present. The spices seem to mesh really well with eachother as well as the black tea base. I can’t pick out one spice over the other(s)…it’s a nice combo – that’s for sure!

It’s earthy and woodsy…true to it’s name, too! It’s slightly sweet which is a nice surprise. It has a sweeter-maltiness to it, too! I REALLY like that!

It also has a very subtle taste of mineral/rock type taste…reminiscent of Wuyi Rock Oolong, perhaps.

I really like this because it is so different. Also because you can tell a lot of thought and work went into it. It certainly lives up to it’s name :)

This is my very first tea from Whispering Pines! I’m excited :)

This is mighty-fine medium-strength black tea! It seems to grow even more bold as it cools at room temp for a moment or two. It’s slightly sweet but rich and sturdy! I can taste a bit of orange on the end of the sip. The lingering flavor is very satisfying!

There are notes that point to the likeness of an Irish Breakfast type tea but THIS isn’t astringent or bitter in any way! A real winner!