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“I finally got around to tasting this tea from Whispering Pines. The small brick was about 5.5 grams. I broke it in half to try in two sessions. TL;DR Summary: Overall, this is a decent tasting tea....” Read full tasting note
Toss the leaves into a warm teapot and you’ll find aromas of figs, raisins, and hints of cocoa. The wet leaf aroma is very oolong-esque, reminding me a lot of the oolong version of this (Faerie Pillows)…it’s creamy and floral with some maltiness. The mouthfeel is super silky and clean, with a touch of spice and walnut notes. Malt and cream follow with a strong dried papaya note, and the finish brings to mind dark honey. Delicious tea!
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These mini black tea bricks come from the Fujian province of China, and are made with the shui xian (translation: water faerie) varietal of tea. They are triple bagged, first in a paper wrapper, then plastic, and finally vacuum sealed. This ensures the absolute freshest tea possible!
This is the highest grade of these available. I like to break them in half and get two sessions out of them. Each brick is just under 1/4 ounce (~6.5 grams of leaf). Price is per brick. Vacuum packaging color varies.
Whispering Pines Tea Company is dedicated to bringing you the most original, pure, beautiful tea blends. We use only the highest quality ingredients available to create additive-free teas teas inspired by the pristine wilderness of Northern Michigan. Our main focus is on customer satisfaction and quality.
I finally got around to tasting this tea from Whispering Pines.
The small brick was about 5.5 grams. I broke it in half to try in two sessions.
TL;DR Summary: Overall, this is a decent tasting tea. If you really like sweet fruity teas, then I’d recommend this to you. There’s hardly any astringency or bitterness no matter how far I pushed out the steep times. Personally, I liked the flavor profiles (with the dates & plums) but I really wanted more body and viscosity to the tea. IMNSHO, I think it’s a bit thin, which is why I’m not giving this a higher rating.
I think a leaf vs. water ratio would help or a CZ with a bit of crushed leaf. I probably should have just brewed the whole square instead of trying to conserve the tea. (Also, I really think this tea would be most excellent as a cold brew!!) The only other “ding” I would give it is that it didn’t last as long as I hoped, given the price point. Flavors started to wash out by steep 5.
I brewed this GongFu style.
Water: 90-100ml
Temp: 200+ deg
Steep times: 15s, 30s, 60s, 60s, 60s, 90;120
The dry leaf: hints of plum and fig
Leaf in warm gaiwan: Fresh plums, figs, prunes.
No wash.
- 15s – First steep is the color of medium red amber. The wet leaf smells of sugar water and plums. It’s very sugary sweet! Did I accidentally add sugar? Nope. It’s just THAT sweet.
There’s hints of plums, figs, apricots with a very mild astringency with a drying in the back of the throat & back of my tongue. However, the tea soup is very thin and the flavors are hints of what this could be. (Maybe this should have been a 20-30 second steep)
- 30s – a little bit more body but not by much. There’s a hint of Chinese salted prunes in the leaf aroma. Broth: The flavors of plums & figs are much more stronger and distinct. It’s still sugary sweet.
- 60s – Lets see what happens if I push it out? The color is much darker than the #1 or #2. I still get scents of plum and sugar from the leaf, but with the added scents of dates and fruit bread(?) The sugary sweetness is not as strong. Now I get the flavor of dates. I probably should have kept the steep to about 45seconds if I wanted to keep the sweetness of this tea for longer.- 60s – The color is now lighter than #3; The leaf smells more of cooked plums/dates versus fresh plums & dried dates. There’s still some sugary sweetness in the leaf.
The tea brother definitely has more of a date flavor with the ever present plums. The sweetness is now in the aftertaste.
- 90 seconds — Flavors are starting to fade a bit. I don’t think the tea has that many longer steeps in it.
- 120 seconds — Flavors are definitely starting to fade. Still no bitterness and an extremely mild astringency.
Flavors: Dates, Fig, Plum
