Whispering Pines Tea Company

It looks like I have the original version of this tea, with a gunpowder base rather than bancha. I’ll press on anyway, because I like this and I suspect I will like the bancha version even better!

This is mildly smokey, present in the scent of both the dry leaves and steeped tea and as an aftertaste but not necessarily when held on the tongue. (I tried Daniel’s technique of exhaling, holding the tea in my mouth, and inhaling.) It would be a good introduction for someone who is not sure whether she would like a smoked tea. It would also appeal to someone who would like to try a lighter version of lapsang souchong, perhaps someone who is trying to increase consumption of green tea and cutting back on black.

Smooth and basic, subtle like the other blends from Whispering Pines that I’ve tried. Not sure whether the suggestion for multiple steepings would apply to the gunpowder version so I think I’ll skip a second steep from these leaves. I also think I’ll be ordering the new, bancha version soon!

UPDATE: The website says this is out of stock. Am hoping this is a temporary situation!

It’s been years since I tried yerba mate, and I don’t have any clear memories of my reaction. I must have been underwhelmed.

So when I picked up my packet of Black Bear Breakfast and reminded myself of the ingredients, I thought, “OK, time for breakfast, let’s try this out.”

I think yerba mate is still not my brew of choice. I can’t seem to single out what the mate is contributing to the flavor, but mostly I’m getting mild, slightly sweet, with an aftertaste of mint. Not getting the elderberries.

This is reminiscent of Manistee Moonrise but not as distinctive, a wakeup tea with a refreshing afterbite and probably a good introduction to yerba mate blends for the slightly mate-phobic like me!

Looking forward to trying my final two samples from Whispering Pines.

I was away from my apartment for three full weeks, and of course came back to a veritable flood of mail. It was about 20 packages, and half of them were tea! Opening them up wasn’t exactly what I imagined: it was more overwhelming than joy-inducing. For once I sat there and said “what am I going to do with all this tea?!” Thankfully it is almost all samples, so I suppose it won’t take too long to go through. I’ve tried to compensate by drinking more tea than usual per a day, but it’s still slow going. And of course now I need a bigger sample basket…

Anyway, I ended up getting my samples from Whispering Pines really late compared to most people. On one hand, it might be a good thing since they got to sit and have all the flavors mingle! On the downside, my entire package smelled like s’mores so it was hard to distinguish any individual tea smells. No cross-contamination, but I picked this for a cold brew based on the name rather than an enticing smell.

This is pretty much what I expected: a nice but demure green base backed by a very nice floral jasmine and a hint of tropical coconut. I could go for a bolder coconut taste, it seems a bit odd that it’s muted since there are so many flakes in the bag! But it’s nice: maybe not in-your-face creamy coconut, but enough to give a distinctive beachy taste to the tea. The jasmine is really the most prominent taste, and I do like iced jasmine teas!

Sipdown! 830.

Finally trying this one again, a year later. Thankfully, it no longer tastes quite so tomatey/brothy (though I can sense similar notes, so it’s probably just that flavours have muted over time). Anyhow, it’s not bad, although I’m not particularly fond of it. There’s a nice light, sweet cinnamon, but I can’t really pick out the other flavours. They are verging on savoury, which is a little odd for me.

Anyhow, perhaps sometime in the future when I’ve sipped down a few more things, I’ll try Whispering Pines again :) There are some blends I’m dying of curiousity about, haha!

Er…. so when I pulled the infuser basket out of this one, the aroma I got made me think of tomato. Like, tomato soup. Or V8 juice. Very strange. It makes me quite apprehensive to try this tea…

Circumstances resulted in this tea completely cooling before I got to try it, oops. It still smells like a herby, brothy tomato soup. So strange. The flavour is… like sweet-ish, herby tomato water. Uh oh got this impression in my head and it won’t go away! I can recognize some cinnamon in the flavour, but that’s about all that I can pick out.

Oh man. Totally just realized that it smells vaguely like autoclaved contaminated LB medium (for those of you in sciencey fields)! Combined with V8-containing media that was used in a lab down the hall from mine once upon a time. That was not a good association to have made. I think I’m doomed with this cup. I did drink it; it’s palatable, but not a tea I think I’d want to drink again. I see it has been discontinued though, so I guess people won’t be drinking it again!

I was a bit skeptical of the five minute infusion time with this one, but went with it… hopefully it won’t bite me! I used ~1.5tsp in ~8oz. water. The aroma is of a light, creamy-ish chai. Of course, I have the second infusion of the potent Coconut Chai from Zhena’s Gypsy Tea sitting next to me, so it’s difficult to say if it’s truly a light aroma, or just comparatively.

First impression is that this is quite a light chai, perhaps ever watery. However, the spices kick in a bit after the initial sip to help things along. I can definitely taste the creaminess in the tea, whether from the coconut or flavouring, and it’s enjoyable. I must say, this tea is growing on me the more I sip it. It definitely doesn’t need milk or sweetener (I don’t think it would hold up to milk, personally), and that’s a big plus in my book.

Overall, it’s a reasonable chai, and I’m happy enough to be drinking it, but especially after the other aforementioned chai incarnation, it probably won’t win a spot in my tea cupboard (and by cupboard we mean assorted collection of cardboard boxes stashed under my desk so the boyfriend doesn’t think I’m a total crazy!)

I’m wishing that I had ordered the mate or rooibos version of this tea, just for curiousity. However, I did not, and I’m on an indefinite tea-purchase hiatus since I have not been drinking much tea at all lately, and may not do so until this darn Masters degree has been completed.

ETA: Drank the rest after it had cooled, and this is not a weak chai, for sure! Not super strong, but definitely has a spicy kick. I read the other reviews, and can see where the coconut isn’t outstandingly obvious, however I do believe that the creaminess in this tea that makes it drinkable without sweetener/milk is in part due to the coconut. I could be wrong, but I don’t drink too many chais straight as I find the spices simply too overwhelming, with a base that’s too astringent. Not a problem, here!

It seems that I’m going to be the first one to review this tea!
(An earthquake and rattle of chains!)

Ha! Not to worry! I liked this tea!

Here’s why!

Right up front Whispering Pines comes out and says “There’s a hint of Lapsang Souchong in this cozy cabin fire Black Tea!” and that’s exactly what you get.
More like a Woodsman with the skill and restraint of a Fairy Godmother’s Wand… dusted this tea with Lapsang Souchong, I’m thinking.

The flavor was pretty smooth and mild, even bright like a light Assam at first. Not bakery bread or malty tasting and not the slightest bit astringent.

I added sweetening and later cream. To my taste, the sweetening was best and went with the smokiness which had become stronger as the tea cooled.

By far, this was my favorite of the Whispering Pines Black Tea blends and would be easy to drink through the coming Fall and Winter months especially with a little toast and jam to go along with the smoky brew!

Had to get a sample of this one because I loved the name and the ingredients sounded good. I’ve been waiting to try it and now seemed like a good time, having just returned from a forest. It was a very small forest, as it was in a park, but it was awesome and is the only one I can get to from where I live. I am just waiting for the day until I live near the real forests…

As for the tea, it tastes quite floral. It’s almost overpowering the mint but I do taste the mint. It’s actually one of the best green teas with mint that I’ve had lately, and it reminds me of my favorite iced green tea from Tazo. This would probably be good iced as well. Maybe even with a little honey. It was definitely a relaxing cup of tea.

Saturday morning I either make a habit of a big Western Style pot of tea to linger over…taking my time to sip and enjoy without a care in the world. No hurry to run out the door to do anything.

Uh, wait a minute…I’m retired! (Screech of brakes)
I never run out the door anymore anyway! Life is grand!

I tell my grandsons all the time how great it is to be old! So what if I look scruffy! No more hauling off to the job or sitting 4 hours in traffic like I used to. (30 years of stress almost killed me!)
Now I can watch TV late and stay in my jammies in the morning!

Life is grand!

I love the name of this tea! ‘Blackburnian’ (some Scotsman in a kilt should surely have served me tea this morning I think).

Just the look of the chocolate Black Tea leaves mixed with chunkier bits of Oolong and I was so ready for a kick start of caffeine.

The wet leaves plumped up into a mahogany fine bark with a little fruit malty scent. The liquor was honey, medium dark brown.

Taking a big gulpy, slurpy sip, my first conversational comment to myself was, “Wow, this is light. It’s sweet enough and not smoky (got to remember that because this company isn’t afraid of smoke) and this is really light and smooth for a black tea.”

I thought about what the Oolong was bringing to the blend. It had to be sweetness and smoothness.
I could feel some astringency but in such a small amount that it hardly counts.

I know some people really HATE Black Tea. (I don’t ‘get’ that at all)
Blackburnian would be ‘the’ tea for those who are sensitive to strong flavors and want a more muted Black cup. No sugar is needed either, it’s sweet enough left alone.

I experimented with sweetening my tea and adding cream which thankfully worked. There is enough body in the tea to hold additions without bogging down into a watery mess or tasting only like the cream.

Again, this is a VERY light Black/Oolong tea blend but Smooth.

Here’s a little bagpipe stuff from Estes Park,CO about an hour away. In 2 weeks I’m going to the opening Tattoo and 1st day of the Highland Games at over 7000ft in the Rocky’s. This might give some idea. This is the largest they say in North America (I used to go to the ones in Santa Rosa just like my Great Grandfather Duncan Cameron).
http://youtu.be/vzelfQ6KbWg

This was a nice sample included with my recent order and a nice evening dessert for me.
I’m a chocolate lover for sure (anyone else?!)!

I brewed a little pot Western Style and steeped the suggested time
of 5 minutes. Tic Toc….

The wet leaves smelled like raisins and sour bready black tea.
(No chocolate or malt)

I took a big drink of tea, looking forward to the chocolate…my love!
There wasn’t any chocolate flavor, but a medium bodied black tea taste without any malt or cocoa. It’s a nice enough, slightly acidic black tea with tiny hints of smoke (most of Whispering Pines Tea’s I’ve tasted so far have had a some bit of smoke…and I like smokiness).

I added some sweetening and then I added some cream. (These would possibly bring out a cocoa or malty chocolate flavor if there was
some in the tea, I thought.)
But alas, even though the tea was good tasting black tea, I couldn’t taste chocolate let alone Black Chocolate.

Steepsters, I’m not picking on Whispering Pines. I’m rarely critical in my comments about tea and everyone knows this. Maybe when the tea was created the chocolate flavor was stronger and later faded. Possibly a maltier tea would have been better with the nibs.

I have to compliment the creative energy Whispering Pines is putting into their tea’s and the many unique blends. They are listening to their customers also which is what I appreciate when I purchase tea!

Morning tea!
I really wanted a Coconut Chai! The very idea was a flash of lightening calling me…“Bonnie,…(boom, crash) you must order this Chai because it has coconut which you lurv…!”

Short and sweet of it, no coconut in this Chai sad to say. Wah!
Please, please, nice people at Whispering Pines (and you are nice)
the spices have taken over and get strong as the tea sits (which I think is the issue here…a culinary rule about spice).

The cloves especially formed an alliance with the cinnamon and marched into the coconut camp and obliterated all the object of my desire. Wah! No lurv!

Silliness aside. This needs some reworking or a new label that says
CHAI. Just CHAI.

If I review this as a Just Chai, it tastes good but a bit one note.
Yes I did add milk and sweetening and there is a hefty bite from the
CLOVES who own the Chai. I don’t want all clove though.

Sorry. Let me know if this is reworked and I’d like to try again.

Ummm! A new black tea for breakfast!
I ordered several small 1oz. tea’s and some samples from Whispering Pines because their tea blends sounded so interesting especially with Fall and Winter just around the corner.

No fancy brewing this morning for me. I used my Finum basket and a mug, steeped the leaves for 5 minutes and had a very dark brew looking back at me.

The scent was rich and sweet but not malty or smoky.

I took my morning GULP!
For such a dark brew, I expected more punch, more malt or acid but instead the tea tasted smooth and had a different flavor. I had to take some time to ‘think and drink’ about this one.
It wasn’t malty or cocoa, not yammy or peachy, what was that illusive flavor?
I kept coming back to potato. Over and over again, potato. Not just for the flavor, but the thickness of it. There was another taste that came to me later on. A fig newton cookie scent/flavor thing (or maybe it’s what I wanted to eat?!).

I poured in a little cream which added more smoothness to the rich tea. Then I added sweetening which was more delicious!
Now I could taste a bit of malt with the potato and the whole cup was thick, creamy and rich (just short of tea soup in my mouth).

My instinct was to gulp down the tea and make another cup and gulp that down and so on. But, I waited for the first cup to cool just to do the ‘I forgot about my tea’ test. You know. How does the tea hold up when you let it sit for awhile and it cools down? Can you go back to it without gagging?
Yes you can!
(I did notice that it was a little smoky?! How’d that happen?!)

Nice morning tea, not acidic. Smooth. Makes the bed and does the dishes. (Ha, were you paying attention?)

There’s a hint of a thunderstorm in the forecast and a few droplets fell as I watered my mint on the patio (just like it rains when you wash your car it rains when you’ve just watered your plants).

During the Evening News a bleeping and ticker-tape message crossed the bottom of the TV screen announcing…“Residents of Cheyanne County, make your way to a substantial structure due to threat of Heavy Thunderstorms”…
OK, the surrounding Counties are getting the storms so I’m probably in line too.
I made a big pot of Manistee Moonrise Tea…knowing that it was smoky (when I was reading the ingredients of several Whispering Pines Tea’s I noticed that several were on the smoky side) and would be kind of nice on a dark and stormy night.

The dry leaf smelled like a black tea with some smoke and a lot of added earthy things…mint, lemongrass and elderberries… all looking like it would be a welcome choice for a hiker, steeped outdoors over a campfire.

I took a sip from my mug and the tea was lighter and less smoky than I expected (which is better for those who prefer lightly smoked tea’s).
I could taste a little spearmint but not the lemongrass.

My favorite way to drink a smoky tea is sweet, so I added my sweetening and think the flavor was much better this way.
The sweet tea wasn’t rough, harsh or astringent.

There’s something very different about this blend. It’s not just a smoke, black tea and that’s that flat tea.
Those other ingredients in the blend…mint, elderberry and lemongrass bring something that aren’t distinctly separate flavors but they combine tasting very outdoorsy and wild.

It reminds me of something weird…chewing mint gum and drinking black tea while sitting around a campfire.
(Not as disgusting as it sounds…think like a kid)

I’ll drink this tea primarily on cool Wintry days to set a mood, and share cups with the grandsons who will love it! OH! I have some Maple Granulated Sugar, that would be good with this tea too!

This has a more Woodsy Minty type aroma to it…like if you were walking in the woods on a semi-damp day and stepped on a patch of spearmint. It’s more than JUST mint and I like that…even tho I AM a MINT FREAK :)

It infuses to a very light brown.

The flavor is Minty-Fresh but also reminiscent of a sweeter-wood. The base sort of remind me of a Big Red Robe type or an oolong with naturally subtle cinnamon hints. Now sweet-cinnamon or cinnamon-powder but cinnamon-sticks prior to grating, I guess.

Yup! This is nice!!! I like this!

Brenden – can you set me straight on something with these ingredients? Keep reading…

I logged this as it’s listed on your website. I can see the Yerba Mate and Safflowers and I can SEE the Citrus – it’s listed in the product description but then below that it has the list of ingredients as Oolong, Spearmint, Peppermint, and Cinnamon. I cannot see those ingredients in the dry mix nor can I taste them. Is it a typo, perhaps?

Anyhow…here is what I CAN see and taste :)

As said above I CAN see the Citrus, Yerba Mate, and Safflowers. I CAN taste the citrus and Yerba Mate. Other tasting notes and flavors I can relate to or pick up on are sweet, slightly earthy/vegetal sort of like lima beans, a bit juicy – I’ll chalk that up to a lemon-orange combo comparison, and a slight after taste addition of wheat, perhaps.

Overall…I really like this. It’s a wonderfully flavored Yerba Mate!

I’m finishing off the rest of this one today – the smoky flavor would make it a better tea for a rainy day, I think. It’s very earthy and natural tasting. I don’t believe I have ever had eucalyptus in a tea and I’m quite enjoying it.

Yea I really wanted this one! OK I’m sure it has something to do with my interest in Buddhism so that is kind of pretentious but oh well. :)

I feel a sore throat coming on which sucks because I really don’t want to get sick. I’m enjoying this blend a lot though, thinking the eucalyptus might be good for a sore throat. The smoky gunpowder has some nice pine notes and I feel like I should be out in the woods hanging with the druids or something. A nice blend! I might have oversteeped this a bit but I think it’s still good.

This smells like Lemon Basil, almost.

The post-infusion color is a reddish-orange-light brown type color…very attractive color, really.

The Lemon flavors are thicker and not tart or puckery but still a nice hardy lemon…perhaps more of a lemon herb. The Rooibos adds a subtle sweet taste but the overall flavor of this blend isn’t your stereotypical rooibos because of the lemon/herb mix PLUS the Rooibos and White Tea Bases.

Yet another unique winner of flavor combo’s from WPTC. They’ve done it again! WOWZA!

PS: As this cools at room temp a little I can now taste a little bit of a sweet woodsy and lemon-herbal flavor but it’s also quesi-buttery and woodsy! VERY interesting cuppa!

A review of Jasmine Coconut Green Tea by Whispering Pines Tea Company

I am finishing off the last bits of this Jasmine Coconut Green tea. I fixed myself a large cup filled with very hot water and placing my strainer on top of mug I pour the water into the cup.

I like this teas color; that glowing orange/yellow glow and tea smells wonderful and it is sweetly on its own. I think this is a tea one can enjoy throughout the day, specifically in the afternoon with some macaroon. They would go nicely together; the lightness of this tea with a semi-crunchy and gooey/chewy macaroon with sprinkles of coconuts would do nicely.

I found this recipe from the Recipe is from The Cottage Journal Magazine

TROPICAL COCONUT MACAROONS
Makes about 4 dozen

2 (14-ounce) bags sweetened flaked coconut
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 egg whites
1/2 cup finely chopped salted macadamia nuts
1/2 cup finely chopped dried pineapple
1/2 cup finely chopped dried mango

1. Preheat the oven to 325°. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, combine coconut, sugar, flour, and salt. Beat at medium speed with an electric mixer until well combined. Add egg whites, beating until well blended. Stir in macadamia nuts, dried pineapple, and dried mango. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets.
3. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Let cool on pans for 2 minutes. Remove from pans, and cool completely on wire racks. Store in airtight containers.

Tea up and enjoy!

A review of Jasmine Coconut Green Tea by Whispering Pines Tea Company

I received my tea sample from Whispering Pines Tea Company but I did not open it right away since I tend to wait when wanting for a certain tea and today seem like a good day. for it.

I had some water boiling for making this tea. I scoop a small teaspoon of the tea and put this in my small strainer that I had received earlier in the year from Steepster (along with another sampler pack) and as I placed this over a smaller mug I pour the boiling water over the tea strainer and letting it settle for about two minutes.

The tea (leaves) itself is very fine like granules, thinner even since not rough but smoothly, I see the white bits of the coconuts, mingling with the green tea leaves and the red rooibos; all of this combines makes for a colorful and delightful mixture.

When breathing in the tea’s aroma I take in the jasmine as being more pronounce with the scent of coconut very faint and the rooibos smelling of cinnamon.

Tea’s color is a lively orange color; a golden amber, it is a lovely color.

When I taste this tea, it is the jasmine flavoring meeting me at first. It is not pungent or overly powering. It has a presence of its own, leaving the other flavors lingering in the background.

In all, tea’s color and content is exceptional and tea taste fine as is. I would not add anything to it. I think jasmine is powerfully enough alone and needs no distractions; the mixture of the coconut with the rooibos is like icing and frosting is to a pound or carrot cake.

After today I won’t be around for a while – I will be out of town – my Aunt passed away last night and we will be driving 13 hours to be with the rest of the fam.

The white tea and Oolong blended together in this one are right where they need to be…I can taste both but neither are too overpowering for the other. It’s sweet and juicy by itself but with the addition of just a little bit of those rosehips it kicks it up a notch to ‘perfect’.

I can pick up some random pine-like flavors here and there but more importantly some nice semi-stronger floral notes. It’s a sweeter-type floral and not a soapy or perfumy-type floral. There are also some peppery notes…but more of a white pepper-type (the mellowest peppercorn that I know of, anyways!)

This is YET another creative blend and I’m so glad I got to try this!

Eskimo Kisses to my Aunt and RIP.

Another from my introductory samples. I christened my new Bodum Tea For One set with this — it’s a double-walled glass cup with no handle and a nylon mesh filter.

The dry tea smelled more of ginger than orange, and so do the steeped leaves. Dry, the sample packet looked like it may have been crushed a bit in the mail even though both the outer paper envelope and inner plastic bags were intact. But, I’m pleased to report, none of the finer particles made it through the Bodun’s mesh.

The liquid is a lovely medium gold, a glowing orange when I hold it up to the light (yay clear glass cup!) And I really catch the scent of orange as well as ginger when I sniff it. Sweet! Literally.

I may have been too impatient to let the water cool enough. I brought it to a boil but let it sit for a minute before pouring — maybe should have waited two minutes. That’s why I put the water temperature at 185, below. There’s just an edge of bitterness in my first couple of sips.

But ooh, pretty. I was afraid the ginger might overwhelm the orange, but it hasn’t done so. It’s more of a background note. Mind you, I like ginger. But I didn’t want it to be the strongest flavor in this, and it isn’t. Again, as I found with Manistee Moonrise, the flavors added to the tea are very delicate and subtle. Yet there seem to be a lot of bits of orange peel and chopped, dried (NOT candied, bless Brenden) ginger in the mix.

Now I’m getting a very sweet orange taste in the back of my tongue. I almost don’t want to take another sip until it goes away. It isn’t cloying. Nothing in this tea is overdone.

As it cools a bit, the ginger is coming out a little more, replacing some of the thermal heat with gingery heat. But again, not overwhelming.

This stuff is fascinating, and I’m looking forward to trying more of my samples over the next few days.

First, thanks to Brenden for the opportunity to sample your teas!

This tea is wonderfully subtle and calming. It does, indeed, evoke a feeling of being in the woods. There’s the slight hint of smoke, the freshness of the lemon grass and spearmint, and the barely-there suggestion of sweetness.

I am not a big fan of spearmint, though I’m learning to enjoy it in blends with other flavors. This way it just tastes wild, in a good way, without the cloying flavor I’ve associated with it in after-dinner mints and chewing gum.

Somewhere Brenden recommended a second steep, six instead of five minutes. I’ll definitely be trying that too.

This is not something I’d drink every day, but it is definitely going on my shopping list. Some people dream of tropical vacations and the beach, but I dream of deserts and pine-covered mountains. This tea takes me right there to the high country. I’m looking forward to the rest of my samples.

Update: re-steeping per the recommendation in comments on Amy Oh’s tasting note. The liquid is still dark, dark, dark, but the smoky taste is just about gone and the lemon is predominant with a minty aftertaste. I was not expecting such a strong flavor from a re-steep. I think I prefer the smokiness in my first cup, but this is also good — just in a different way. And there is no bitterness at all despite the two rather long steeps. This is a winner.

Oh my goodness!

I am with Tea Equals Bliss, this tea is really special and creative! I am getting lots of smoked pine essence with a good dose of spearmint and lemongrass. There is something sweetish about this blend, I think it’s the berries but the berry flavor is a bit hidden by the others. If you think you’d like an herbal, minty lapsang you have got to check this out. I am loving it this morning! This is like the essence of sitting outside at a campsite in the morning. Love!