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Spicy, earthy, and all around tasty ~ thanks for sending me more work tea bags Kasumi! This is a very nice way to end my evening.

Well, I must say I have been quite impressed with the selections from Whispering Pines Tea Company! Everything I’ve had so far has been quite enjoyable. This tea is no exception. It is delightfully minty (but luckily a non-toothpaste mint) with just a hint of jasmine. I’m not noticing the green tea base much but it adds a bit of heft that this blend wouldn’t have if it was an herbal. This is a great way to end my day and prepare for another work week.

This was one of the mystery selections from the recent Whispering Pines Tea promotion. I can’t locate it on their website, but hopefully it will show up soon. This is a really good oolong. There isn’t much of an aroma dry, but as soon as the water hits the oolong pellets there is a wonderful floral aroma. After brewing it up, the liquid is a medium green-gold. This is a very flavorful, floral (I want to say orchid or magnolia)oolong but at the same time it feels light. There is no cloying aftertaste like I’ve experienced with some floral teas. The tea has a very clean feel to it and is easily drinkable.

I decided that if any tea would give me enough motivation to get some deep cleaning done, it would be a breakfast blend. I pulled this one out of my recent order and brewed it up. It is really smooth but stands up nicely to milk and sugar. I tend to prefer breakfast teas that are a bit more robust and super malty. Not to say this isn’t good, because the flavor is great, I just think I would prefer it as an afternoon tea.

After a very long day, I needed something bracing and comforting. And luckily, since it is Friday night, I can have all the caffeine I want! This is another tea from my recent Whispering Pines Tea Company order and it is great. I love the smoothness of the blend. It is easily drinkable and not bitter without additions, but since I am going for comfort I added a tiny bit of sugar and milk. This tea is definitely bold enough to stand up to those!

This reminds me a bit of Queen Catherine from Harney (which I adore) but without the hint of smoke. I’m really glad I threw this in my cart – it is quickly helping to smooth out the wrinkles of my day.

The leaves are a beautiful and very dark – way darker than any roasted oolong I’ve ever had. The instructions on the package said to steep for 8 minutes, but I decided to just try 4 minutes to start with. This is one rich cup! As a former coffee drinker, this reminds me in the best possible way of a great shot of espresso. Okay, I can’t believe this doesn’t have some sort of added flavor. It really does have very strong notes of dark chocolate! There is absolutely no bitterness and I am so impressed. I think I may take some leaves to work tomorrow, keep them in my big mug and just refill throughout the day. This stuff is GOOD! And I was pretty such that I wasn’t too big on the darker oolongs – I just needed to get a hold of the right one.

On a side note, this company has GREAT customer service. My order was shipped quickly, packaged nicely, and even included a hand-written note thanking me for my order. Customer service like this goes a long way with me!

I’ve got a bit of this tea thanks to threewhales! Thanks! It is a really nice vanilla black with just the right amount of heft. Yum! This one is really good.

Okay, this matcha comes courtesy of threewhales. Thanks! It is really good. I was pretty apprehensive about a popcorn flavored matcha, but it is perfectly balanced. What a great accompaniment for an evening of movie watching!

Ringing in the New Year while at the same time de-cupboarding this delicious tea. I really may need to invest in a pound of this – it is just that awesome. Here is to a great 2013 Steepsterites!

Perfectly smokey and sweet. This was the perfect choice for a dreary rainy afternoon.

This is a really good tea in general, which is even more impressive since it is a bagged tea. Good, smooth, and slightly malty – this was a nice way to wake up this morning.

Yep, drinking this again today. I got 3 good infusions from the leaves last night and it could have possibly gone for more, but I started with new leaves this morning. This gives me a really good, warm, fuzzy feeling and I love that it is extremely easy to drink. It stays consistently good no matter what temp it is. Yum – slightly buttery, fruity, and kinda nutty.

This tea was a gift from my well-meaning sister-in-law so I’m going to give it a try. I have NOT had good experience with Chinese greens in the past. Sure, there have been one or two that I’ve liked, but in general, not my favorite. In fact, some have been downright vile.

The dry leaf smells a bit minerally, but not grassy or seaweed-esque. After brewing the smell is a bit nutty – I think of the walnut type. Or perhaps it is the chestnut that is mentioned in the description, I’m not sure what chestnuts smell or taste like though so I am thinking walnut. After a short steep time, the color is a nice golden green with a bit of shimmer on the surface. Hey, this isn’t bad at all! The tea is a bit buttery, slightly sweet, and has a nutty flavor that again reminds me of walnuts. This makes me curious as to how many infusions this can go. I can see this being an everyday tea – it is easily drinkable and definitely enjoyable.

I’m having a serious case of holiday malaise over here. Hopefully this elixir will help cure it all. Although, since I suspect most of my issue is due to not sleeping well lately – a caffeine filled tea may not help as much as I would hope. Oh well, at least it is smooth, non-bitter, and just plain tasty.

I found this hanging out in the back of my cupboard, so who knows how old it is. I can barely taste a hint of spice and the chocolate just reminds me of the slight cocoa taste I often find in black tea. Nothing remarkable really. The hint of spice is only serving to make me crave 52teas’ Mayan Chocolate Chai (which of course I am out of). I’ll finish the cup but I don’t see myself craving or even remembering this tea later on.

Tea of the late evening. It was good, vanilla-creamy as always. I’m getting really close to end of my 1 lb bag though.

Unfortunately I’m finishing up my last bit of this tea while watching a few Harry Potter movies this morning. :(
I didn’t quite have enough for a small pot so I rounded it out with a scoop of Upton’s East Frisian. The taste is ALL butterbeer though. Delicious, slightly buttered root beer (which tastes WAY better than it sounds). This is one of the 52teas blends that I’m tempted to order a pound of. This is good stuff!

Sometimes a floral tea is the only thing that will do. Tonight, this Jasmine Pearl is a nice accompaniment to a cool night, 2 cuddly kittens, and a good book (well, so far – just started Emma by Jane Austen). I added a bit of honey to this, but it is just as good without. Luckily, I can usually get several infusions out of the same batch of leaves so I’ll be happy for the rest of the evening.

I finished up the last bit of this earlier. I probably should have finished it a few months ago though as I think a bit of the flavor has gone by the wayside. Oh well, it was still pretty good.

I picked this up on a whim from the grocery store and I have to say it isn’t half bad! It really reminds me of a slightly less sweet, coffee-free Pumpkin Spice Latte. The pumpkin is present, spices are balanced, and the stevia isn’t overpowering. Many of the holiday teas from CS have been hit or miss with me, but this is pretty good.

Mmm…this tea is definitely helping me feel better (my 6 year old students are great at sharing everything – especially germs!)

This is really making me happy tonight! This tea is smooth like you would get from Jasmine Pearl green tea, but there is a slightly malty punch from the Yunnan that surprisingly makes a nice match. I’m not sure this would be a tea that I would purchase, but I’ll happily drink my sample.

I could have swore that I had already used up this sample, but there it was tonight in my sample basket. Wow, this really reminds me of a Pumpkin Spice Latte, but better because of the creme brulee aspect. The base is smooth with very little astringency and the spice and pumpkin are in perfect harmony. I’ve had other pumpkin teas that should have been called spice teas, but the pumpkin in this tea is clearly the star. I’m a sucker for anything and everything pumpkin this time of the year so I’m pretty glad this got lost in my sample basket until tonight.

This is super good, but then, everything I’ve had from Butiki has been good. Okay, I’m sold – onto my shopping list this goes.

The husband recently discovered that he enjoys honeybush teas so I ordered a pouch of this for us. When it came in the mail today, he smelled the tea and asked to try it. He was on his way to run some errands so he told me that he would likely just try a sip and let me have the rest of the mug because he wasn’t really in the mood for hot tea. However, he took one sip and finished the mug within 3 minutes. Then he asked me if this was a permanent or limited edition from 52teas. Apparently he really likes this!

Since I didn’t get a chance to drink this earlier, I made myself a pot tonight. It is delightfully flavorful and even has a hint of buttery pie crust. I’ve had this before but I don’t remember it being this good!