White Pines Estate/Ellen's Tea House

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Recent Tasting Notes

On my third day of migraines in a row. Had to abort my weekend plans and come home early when I ran out of meds and am trying to restart my morning with tea after the meds have kicked in.

On my second steeping of this. It has a nice mix of flavors that I’m enjoying. The puerh is nice and earthy and dominates the flavors. The toffee is just present enough to make it’s self known. I am noticing some irritation developing on my lips an I don’t recall that happening the last time I drank it. Almost like the insides of my lips are slightly swelling and raw. I’ve had this reaction to other things before and I’ll have to pay attention to if it happens again on my next cup. Just when you think you have your body figured out it decides to do something new and change how it reacts to things!

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 3 min, 0 sec
gmathis

Ugh. Hope you’re feeling better by now!

Martin Bednář

Migraines can be really bad. My brother suffers very often of migraines. Today it was so bad that he couldn’t go to friend’s.

Dustin

Thank you! I’m feeling okay so far today. I was able to salvage my day with meds yesterday. I had 55 days of migraines in 2023, which is down from the 67 from the year before.
I didn’t realize how debilitating they can be before I started getting them! I hope your brother is feeling better today, Martin!

Mastress Alita

I’ve had diagnosed chronic migraine for decades now, and used to routinely get 15+ migaine days a month, until the newer CGRP-antagonist drugs came out back in 2018. They have been an absolute game-changer for me, but are unfortunately ridiculously expensive… I’m currently still going through the yearly hoo-haw of trying to get approved to get them from the manufacturer because I can’t afford them but can’t live my life without them now. They are extremely debilitating, so I feel for you! I have to stay on FMLA with my job due to them.

Dustin

OMG! I think I’ve had an 11 day month before, but 15+ sounds insane! That is half your month gone! I have Kaiser insurance and they usually like to go with generics at their pharmacies. I doubt they have any of the newer drugs available for patients because that doesn’t sound very Kaiser of them, so it’s sumatriptan for me. I’m glad you have found something to help! I’ll have to ask about them if we change insurance.

Mastress Alita

Ya, all the triptans (literally all of them, tried every one on the market) stopped working for me long ago. These new CGRP-antagonist drugs are so new they probably won’t ever be generic in my lifetime (the patents last an insanely long time before generics are able to be produced). Access to these newer drugs is definitely a big problem. Abbvie just denied my Patient Assistance application and I can’t afford them otherwise, so I’m not sure what kind of hoo-haw I will now have to embark on to try to get them. But if triptans work for you, that is a great and more affordable option, for sure!

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I think this has to be a tea ordered from a larger company and repackaged. I’m pretty sure all the teas from this brand are in that category, which makes it easy to replace when a smaller distributor goes out of business, which is what led me to this brand to begin with.
I like this tea. It’s an enjoyable cup that has resteeped well and kept me company while I slog through the post holiday feast mess left in my kitchen. Sip tea, pick through the turkey carcass I put in the instant pot over night, sip tea, vacuum pack the extra salmon I smoked yesterday, sip tea, pack the smoker up, sip tea, do a load of dishes. I love the puerh base. It has a depth to it that I appreciate and the caramel toffee flavors pair well with it to make a smooth cup. I wouldn’t say it’s amazing, but at the same time I’m really appreciating it. Thank you tea for helping me get through this workload!

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 3 min, 0 sec
gmathis

Sounds nice!

Lexie Aleah

I’ve had this one and enjoyed it as well. Yeah it’s from Metropolitan tea or something because a lot of shops sell it under their own.

gmathis

Been a while since I’ve browsed Metropolitan Tea’s selection (I used to get mine from Culinary Teas). They do flavors well.

Dustin

Is Culinary Teas still around? Going to have to google that now!

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First time ordering from this company. They had a cinnamon almond tea that I was hoping to be a match to an old favorite and I picked up a couple other blends because why not! The website is White Pines Estate, but the tea is labeled as Ellen’s Tea House. I think the Estate is a bed and breakfast and Ellen’s is the tea service and retailer attached to the B&B.

The flavors in this aren’t as rich and pronounced as I prefer, but the balance of the flavors is great. The pu base is nice and earthy which compliments the chocolate notes and the brighter flavored peppermint fills in the top notes. It works really well to where no flavor is overpowering the other. They all kind of merge into one. As it cools I enjoy the cup a little more. So far I’m pretty happy with this pick!

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 3 min, 0 sec

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