Tea type
Black Tea
Ingredients
Fujian Xiao Zhong, Yunnan Dian Hong
Flavors
Bread, Fruity, Malt, Rye, Smooth, Wood, Apple, Apricot, Cherry, Chocolate, Cocoa, Dark Chocolate, Heavy, Medicinal, Osmanthus, Pine, Plum, Raisins, Spicy, Tannin, Brown Sugar, Honey, Caramel, Creamy, Dried Fruit, Campfire, Peppercorn, Carrot, Pepper, Sweet, Toast
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Loose Leaf
Caffeine
High
Certification
Not available
Edit tea info Last updated by Jason
Average preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 3 min, 0 sec 5 g 8 oz / 235 ml

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From Our Community

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28 Want it Want it

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88 Tasting Notes View all

  • “Received some grams from derk. I am not sure I got more than 3 grams I had… so not sure if it’s SIPDOWN or not. Either way, let’s find out how this tea is. Meanwhile… I had today that awful oral...” Read full tasting note
    92
  • “Woke up early enough to enjoy a few cups of tea outside as the sun rose. Seagulls socially distanced moving north, the black silhouettes of the twin redwoods towering into the brightening sky. The...” Read full tasting note
  • “I said I would try a third western steep, and I did! This time I invited my husband to drink it with me. He was more a white/green/oolong/puerh fan but is coming around on black tea fast – as long...” Read full tasting note
  • “Sipdown 6-2021 Such a delightful tea, and I enjoyed every cup that I drank. I have a Whispering Pines order coming, so I’m excited to explore some new flavors. I will miss this, though.” Read full tasting note
    89

From Whispering Pines Tea Company

My house black tea for good reason — North Winds is the essence of northern Michigan. This tea is a blend of black tea from Fujian and a wild picked black tea from Yunnan. After harvesting, these teas were sent to a tea master in Anxi to custom roast specifically for Whispering Pines. I opted for a medium roast to bring out the heavier chocolate notes. The tea is roasted at a low temperature for a longer time to enhance the natural sweetness and bring out caramel notes while still retaining the more subtle fruity characteristics. This tea is unique in taste and aroma, and I am very proud to offer it, as a lot of love and passion has been put into the creation and quality of this blend.

Heavy tart cherry notes bring you to Traverse City while creamy chocolate notes allow you to have that Mackinaw Island fudge without having to take the ferry. North Winds is immensely smooth and clean, hinting at cream and caramel apple mid-sip. Throughout the entire experience you’ll notice a constant warm pine-infused honey and a grainy barley sugar wafting through the rustic body. A touch of allspice balances out the tea on the finish. This exceptional tea will infuse well over 10 times when brewed gongfu style and its potent nature can be felt as a warming cha qi as well as vibrant taste.

North Winds is blended seasonally to achieve the most balanced flavor profile. The current offering is a blend of Spring 2015 material from Fujian and Yunnan provinces of China, custom roasted in September 2015.

Michigan is full of wondrous little towns known for the things they have perfected and small spots of nature that will take your breath away. This tea is inspired by the entire northern area of Michigan, from Traverse City to the Les Cheneaux Islands.

Traverse City is in the northern lower peninsula of the state. They are widely known for their amazing cherries, which are sold alongside other fruits from roadside stands during the summer months. You can get anything cherry here, and it will spoil you for cherries forever. I’ll never be able to eat cherries elsewhere! =)

Heading northward from the cherry capitol of the world and over the longest suspension bridge in the northern hemisphere brings you to Mackinaw Island. This island is full of little shops, cafes, and bakeries, and they are very well known for their fudge. Any flavor of fudge you can imagine can be found on this island, but you can never go wrong with a piece of dark chocolate fudge as Autumn is closing in!

As the north winds bring you higher and the first snow begins to fall, the Les Cheneaux Islands and surrounding area of the upper peninsula will send chills down your spine. The wind picks up, the lake begins to freeze, and a snowstorm will keep you indoors with a hefty cup of black tea as company. Looking outside at the winter wonderland, you can’t help but notice that you are in the most beautiful place in the world.

About Whispering Pines Tea Company View company

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.

88 Tasting Notes

95
761 tasting notes

Dear God. My eleven year old niece is staying with me this weekend while her mother is out of town house hunting. I need caffeine this morning! Being single and childless, I am used to having everything stay the same. I mean, when I clean the kitchen, it stays pretty much clean unless I dirty it. Today there is a winter coat in the middle of the kitchen floor. One child sized boot is under the table, and the other is god knows where. I asked her and she got this blank look on her face and said “I don’t know.” She lost her phone twice in two hours. When she does have her phone, she’s on it texting her friends. She uses a different glass for each can of pop she’s had (she was supposed to have ONE) and leaves the glasses in the living room. As a treat I bought her PEEPS. (shudder. I hate those things) and she ate the entire package last night. She told me she gets up really early, so I showed her where the frozen French toast strips were and told her to help herself to breakfast in the morning. I got up at 7:30. She was dead asleep. I made tea (did I mention how badly I needed caffeine?) and took it and my laptop back to my room to let her sleep. At 8:30 she came to my room to tell me she was starving. I now have a far better understanding of my sister’s weariness. NO wonder she looks so frazzled all the time. I love my niece, but I am clearly not cut out for children.
WHY DON’T THEY COME WITH AN OFF SWITCH????!!!

Tea helps. A little.

donkeyteaarrrraugh

good luck….is there a trampoline nearby? That wears them out quite well… :)

Fjellrev

Oh man, that’s rough. And I seriously can’t imagine having a phone at that age.

Maddy Barone

She has her own laptop too! Heck, this kid has more stuff than I do!

I suspect I’m turning into one of those disagreeable old ladies that yells at kids for cutting through her yard.

Fjellrev

Haha I think I’m becoming the same way. I keep catching myself thinking, “Wow, when I was that age…” and I’m only in my late 20s!

OMGsrsly

LOL. Good luck!

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85
894 tasting notes

Chocolately and malty, a bit of fruit.

I think I’ve been spoiled with some really excellent chocolatey teas lately, because this is delicious but doesn’t stand out in quite the way I was expecting it to.

Flavors: Chocolate, Fruity, Malt

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 3 min, 15 sec 1 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML

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96
359 tasting notes

If you think there’s no need to try North Winds cause you’ve already tried Golden Orchid and have it all figured out, well think again!

Yes North Winds is Golden Orchid’s base…but…they are two completely different teas.

And this is the new NW version…Yes, new and improved!

Smooth, rich and malty with no astringency.

When Yunnan meets Fujian, creating the perfect fusion. Pure symbiosis!

This is the tea I want in my cup on a lazy and cozy Sunday afternoon, in front of the fireplace.

Dark chocolate, dried fruits and toasty notes. It’s so warming!

It deserves a lot of love, it is after all Whispering Pines House black tea!

A real “maltfull” of happiness :-)

Pics of the session:

http://instagram.com/p/xP0ZQzQh82/

http://instagram.com/p/xP1HFgQh-G/

http://instagram.com/p/xP10Sgwh_X/

looseTman

On CM I purchased 40z. of NW. What are your recommended brewing parameters? Thanks!

looseTman

that’s 4 oz.

Ubacat

Always enjoy your tea pictures. It’s the full tea experience.

Lupiressmoon

I just placed an order a few days ago – can’t wait :)

TheTeaFairy

Thank you looseTman! For brewing parameters, I’m so sorry I can’t help much… I gongfu and I never measure or count time, i eyeball everything, lol, so sorry!

Ubacat, you are sweet…photography is a hobby that I enjoy a lot with tea ;-)

Lupiressmoon, you will not regret this….in fact, when you buy at WP, not only do you get tea….you also get magic!!!

Lupiressmoon

:) I’m even more excited now, thanks

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81
863 tasting notes

Happy almost new year, steepster!

This is actually a backlog entry from a few days ago – I had family in town so never really got around to making a note, but I do have a few impressions that stuck with me so I wanted to jot them down.

This was not as complex as the Jabberwocky, which I had a day or so before. I liked this but I just basically got the notes of raisin and a chewy, malty texture. I suppose there was a cocoa undertone but it was really faint. I think this is the tea that the Golden Orchid is based off of, right? I wasn’t overly enamored with that one either, so maybe this isn’t that surprising…

Not bad, obviously, but just not the ‘wow’ I was expecting. Maybe it will grow on me?

Flavors: Malt, Raisins

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 3 min, 15 sec 2 tsp 10 OZ / 295 ML
Sil

is this the new one or the old blend? I wasn’t wowed by the old one either but word is the new blend is better

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89
687 tasting notes
Review re-post.

So, I ordered a sampler pack… and it came today. This smells pretty good, like malty chocolate. In the flavour I get more fruit, and bread… along with the cocoa. So pretty much it’s chocolate covered fruit, with plums, and some really good bread. Seems a little out of place in the Summer though, I think this is an Autumn morning tea.

Flavors: Baked Bread, Chocolate, Cocoa, Fruity, Malt

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94
333 tasting notes

[This note was originally posted to the older version of North Winds but is intended for this version.]

I’ve been interested in trying more black tea blends lately, so this is one of the ones I ordered. The blend is composed of two kinds of tea leaves, both spindly and dark but one with golden undersides—this is probably the dian hong. The aroma is an intense, pleasant waft of chocolate and malt. The taste is just what you’d expect from that too, a very welcoming combination of chocolate, malt, and nutty notes, and plus there’s that full-bodied, bready richness from the dian hong. The finish is clear and sweet, and reminiscent of apricot. It’s a wonderfully cozy tea for breakfast or any other time of day!

Brendan’s inspiration behind this tea is also great to read. Maybe we’ll see some lovely teas inspired by the Oregon wilderness in the future :)

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98
1118 tasting notes

Tea of the morning. I actually also drank this tea yesterday while I hosted a tea party for twenty-five ladies. It was a lot of fun, and everyone really enjoyed learning about new teas. There’s already talk of having a garden party this summer which I think would be lovely.

Back to the tea, this is such a staple in my life now. It has delicious notes of chocolate, fruit, and bread. It’s sturdy enough for me to reach for it in the morning, but it’s lovely enough to make me stop what I’m doing and enjoy a quite moment with a really nice tea.

Yep, I’m a fan.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 3 min, 45 sec 2 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML
looseTman

I’m sipping N.W. right now & it is enjoyable.

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99
91 tasting notes

I received this tea as a free sample along with the Ailaoshan tea that I purchased from Whispering Pines and I actually like it better! The chocolate flavor is considerably more pronounced – deeper. Toasted rye, apricot and white pepper flavor notes as listed by WP were all present and accounted for. I also picked up on caramel and a pleasantly sweet carrot taste.
This is a cup that you just don’t want to ever end! North Winds is the newest must have in my tea pantry.

Flavors: Apricot, Caramel, Carrot, Chocolate, Cocoa, Pepper, Rye, Sweet, Toast

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 3 min, 0 sec 2 tsp 10 OZ / 300 ML
Whispering Pines Tea Company

Thanks for migrating your review over! :-)

Teatotaler

My pleasure! Thank you for providing some of the most exquisite tea that I have ever had the pleasure of drinking – I love Whispering Pines!

Whispering Pines Tea Company

Anytime! :D Glad you enjoy them!

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90
350 tasting notes

Oh man, this is so good. I mean, it’s not quite as ridiculously decadent as Golden Orchid (same tea, but with vanilla beans added!), but I can see myself just wanting to drink this every day. Damn it. Just as I am vowing to myself to stick to Canadian companies (why did I have to develop a tea obsession just as the Canadian dollar tanked?? the exchange rate is killing me here) with reasonable shipping costs (y’all have already heard my rant about shipping), I discover that I might not be able to live without this tea. Hrmph. Luckily I can’t even stay mad about it, because I have this warm cup of chocolatey yumminess to soothe me. :)

Flavors: Chocolate

Preparation
3 min, 0 sec 2 g 10 OZ / 295 ML

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97
155 tasting notes

Tea of the morning. This is newly formulated version and it’s even sweeter and more chocolatey. So rich and delicious. I like this version even better and am bumping up my rating accordingly. This is a must have for me.

http://instagram.com/p/v0sbaDQx0x/?modal=true

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