Whispering Pines Tea Company

OK, I deleted my last review on this tea because of my own tasting mistake. This tasting came out perfect for me. This isn’t a chai that slaps you in the face with spices. The spices are there but they are more subtle than most chai’s I have had. The first thing that hits you is the floral aroma of this tea. Fruity, almost. I get hints of malt, bread, cocoa, and even some vanilla coming through, but again, it is subtle. Very smooth and creamy mouthfeel gives way to a finish of evergreen…almost a minty flavor. Very light in color and mouthfeel. Almost an orange yellow. This isnt your grandfathers chai, thats for sure!

So you know how we talk about tea drunk? Well, I was tea sloshed today after finishing my last reserved oolong tea from Shi’s family farm in from China that was only a week old when sent to me. Some strong stuff… but then I switched to this.
This tea in comparison to other phoenix oolongs is sweet and fruity. This is something I like since it is still summer, it goes real well with the weather right now. The brew of this is rather light and has a small amount of aroma that arises from the cup. However, the subtle taste of this tea becomes vibrant from the temperature of its liquid. This is a tea you would not want to drink warm or cold. Phoenix oolongs always make me smile as they warm my mood up :)

This is a delicious EG, no doubt. I did oversteep slightly as I was vacuuming while it steeped and it kind of took longer than I expected. So it is somewhat on the downslope towards bitter but not intolerably so and I’m relatively certain that if it hadn’t steeped so long it wouldn’t even be noticeable. After all, Golden Snail rules – how could a combo like this go wrong? But yeh, it isn’t for the blergamot crowd. The berg is fairly strong with this one. :)

Plus, the photo of the tea would have made me buy this even if it weren’t two things I love. Just gorgeous presentation of a beautiful looking and tasting tea.

I’m just one odd dude…

Here I am, all hyped up with speakers blasting that Rapzilla and drinking a roasted oolong!
It is kind of like I’m four months ahead of everyone else fighting off the lack of heat that others call cold weather. Of course I’m pushing the limits of going SSJ2 just by the mixture of good liquid entering my body giving me the ki I need, but add some sound waves that activate the electrical/chemical reactions needed to ellivates ones mood… I’m there.

Whatever, I’m just saiyan I am in a great mood (in my own dialect I suppose)

Liquid nom. Medium roasted TGY is much better than dark roasted because you can taste the olive color (do colors have taste) when you open up the leaf.

Before I review this, I should say that I am just beginning to get familiar with oolongs. I normally find my home in black tea. I am a fan of bold, strong teas.

The first infusion of this leaves me with the feeling that it is a solid and smooth entry into the world of oolong. I am not recognizing any of the flavors (such as barley and coconut) that others seem to have gotten. I am mostly getting a buttery vegetal/minerally type flavor. It is good though. Not too overpowering but not too weak. A nice solid balance.

Second infusion at 2 minutes is a little thinner, not as buttery, and a bit more floral.

Third infusion at 3 minutes. Whoa! The rich buttery scent and flavor comes back. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen it happen where a tea gets weaker upon multiple infusions and then gets stronger again. Impressive.

I think I am going to be a bit more inclined to try some other oolongs after this one. It is a good middle ground between black and green for me.

So, my goal is to review more of the teas I have, starting with my newest obsession, Ambrosia. I really like this and have been pushing it onto everyone in the vicinity. This really swings towards a vanilla marshmallow for me. I have been playing around with it and find that I like to use quite a bit of tea for each serving. Less is not balanced enough between the syrupy vanilla and the tea. More than 3-4 steeps, depending on how much attention I am paying to it while brewing, and I find that it fades considerably. The taste goes away, some of the vanilla scent lingers though. I let the steep I am currently drinking sit for a bit too long, so it is very brisk but not unpleasant. I do find a bit of an almost woody taste behind the vanilla. This tea really lives in the vanilla though, by itself the black tea would be pleasant but not as well rounded.

In summary, sugar and vanilla on top of a nice round woody black tea.

I like this one pretty well, it’s nice and smooth,not quite as chocolatey and bold as the previous North Winds, this one is more fruity and floral, still very delicious.
I ordered my Autumn 2015 North Winds already so I’m gonna enjoy this one up while I have it, i’ll prolly save some back so i can taste them side by side just for funs,
I have always enjoyed all versions of North Winds that I have had,it is one of our favs I think.

Brenden… dude… Firstly, when I originally started looking at this company for tea, I already had respect for the handcrafted, Michigan inspired feel. Being a native and current Michigander myself, it was instantly something I could respect.

Then I ordered and tried some of the teas. I fell in love (especially with North Winds). I am still a relative newbie to the tea scene but I knew I had tasted quality and that my relationship with how I judged tea had changed.

I lay all this out in order to say: It’s been done again. This is pretty much the best herbal tea I have ever imbibed in. It doesn’t hurt that I am a ginger freak and this tea, from smell to sip, has a wonderful rounded ginger aura. Even with making my cup strong and dark, there was no astringent bite. But it’s not just ginger. There is something else there. A sweet, honeysuckle tartness with a hint of pepper to keep it from being cloying.

Also, really reasonably priced for the smooth flavor and relaxing feeling it presents. Will certainly be using this often this upcoming fall/winter.

Picked this for a gentle tea to share with my fiance while rewatching The Two Towers.
Steep 1, 20 sec: Menthol sensation all over my mouth, slight prickly feeling from the trichomes I believe. Light sweetness and even lighter florals, but dominantly the flavor of fresh hay, before it has been baled.
Steep 2, 15 sec: Lighter in flavor and texture.
Steep 3, 30 sec: Much sweeter, with a sugar-in-the-raw sweetness.
Steep 4, 45 sec: More mineral sweetness, dominant hay and perhaps slight sage flavor in the aftertaste.
Steep 5, 1:30: Darker than previous steeps. Faint sugar, almost like aspartame, with a slight “boiled tree leaves” backbone. The same menthol-like sensation has accompanied each steep.
Yum, but I like my silver needle accented with jasmine more, I think. It is rare that an unflavored white tea is chosen by me. This was a generous sample, and I’m glad I got to try it, but I think I prefer Bai Mu Dan or Yabao.

This tea is truly magical! Extremely well blended! I actually had to check back at the ingredients since I was no longer sure that it was vegan, but of course it was. I saw something on Steepster a while ago written by a representative of a tea company about how blending tea was not some magical art. I strongly disagree with that statement. Very good blends, like this tea are art. I believe it is very easy to tell when love, creativity, and time have been committed to the creation of a tea. I know that is how I used to blend teas and still do for myself and I can tell the same type of care from some other tea companies.

I had this tea once before, western style, and I think I may prefer it that way. There was an overwhelming coolness that washed over my mouth and a sweet nectary floral flavor pushing through the cool charcoal presence of the roasting. For once, a darker oolong that doesn’t taste like smoke!
Filled the bottom of my gaiwan with leaves. Infusion times: 20s, 15s, 25s, 30s, 40s, 1m, 2m, 5m
First: It tastes like very little at first, but a slight cooling sensation is still detectable. A slight nectar builds on the tongue. The charcoal is very light this steep.
Second: I may have to stop following the directions. He always seems to suggest a shorter second steep, I think in an attempt to capture the first steep. But the second steep is usually the one that knocks my socks off. This is maybe sweeter, but also lighter than the first steep.
Third: Cooling stronger, charcoal more assertive. More caramel sweetness in aroma and taste. Slight touch of ‘leafyness’.
Fourth: Sweeter, more floral smell. Greener flavor. Cooling sensation intense. This steep is most like the western style steeps. This steep is my favorite, even though it is slightly missing the nectars from the first few steeps.
Fifth: Sweetness is back, and so is the charcoal. The aroma is incredible, but the florals don’t translate as well to the liquid. Still, quite good.
Sixth: Minerals, and cooling, and fine baker’s sugar! Loving this finish! Almost vanilla like scent in the aroma cup.
Seventh: Losing most everything but that cooling sensation. Kinda greener too, but even though there’s not much else, I still thoroughly enjoy it.
Eigth: Five minutes is a long steep for a gaiwan! It was HOT! Slight cooling, mostly a flavor of a spent tieguanyin to be honest! Still this tea and I went on a long journey, and it sure took a while to go over the hill.
Overall, I like it. I think about that cooling sensation for about a week after I drink it, and I supposed that’s the mark of a tea that was good enough to stick with you! I have teas that I like a lot more, but this one deserves my high rating none-the-less.

Wow, I’m really the first one to review this? I’m surprised, because this is a really good chai.

Brenden’s description is very accurate. This tea is an obvious chai with a weird mesquite undertone that really reminds me of traveling in Egypt. It was not as sweet as I was expecting it to be, but the taste was consistent in every steep with the mellow white tea contrasting to spicy texture hinted by berries.

i’ve been under the weather lately, however it wont stop me from making reviews

an awesome tea!

little glass pitcher thingy: Grandpa style

when i smell the leaves, dry they smell roasted and fruity.

when i smell the leaves wet, they smell roasted and like grapes.

when i smell the brewed tea, i smell grapes and roasty aromas.

when i taste the brewed tea, it tastes like. strong wine, grapes and roasty.

i rate this tea a 100 because i don’t taste grapes or wine often in teas

With all the caffeine I intoxicate myself with, I need an herbal detox to de-stress. I am very glad that I bought some of this, and it shipped to my dorm in a day, with a Cricket sample (thank you Brenden!). Now, the consensus?

Nichole’s description was perfect: it is a liquid cinnamon roll. I taste all the notes described in every steep combining into a winter desert tea. I taste the cinnamon with the minty basil of the note lingering in a background of berries. I taste more berries in the later steep, but the tea is very consistent.

I thought that I was going to rate this one higher, but I’ve been spoiled to taste the other blends. However, this is one of the best tea blends that I’ve had from Whispering Pines forming the most cohesive profile yet. This really is a chai in its own right, and a good one at that. I now feel prepared to relax, and make the most out of the coming storm.

From the Sheng and Shou TTB2

First a mea culpa. I told everyone that we needed to review the Whispering Pines teas, since Brendan had provided free samples. They he got pretty close to zero reviews. I started off the bad example. My only defense is that I tend not to review shous because the taste doesn’t appeal to me that much. So anyway, here is my review.

I started with a 10 second rinse. The first steep had a significant salmon smell and aroma, along with a berry fruit. I didn’t actually mind the salmon, though it was a bit weird. It was entirely gone after that steep, so a double rinse would avoid it. The tea was very fruity; so much so that I wanted to really fall in love with the tea. However, there was an earthy bitterness that came and went through half a dozen steeps. Very good, but not great.

Thank you. First review on this website!! Hope I’m doing it right. I tried this because it’s number one and two other tea