Whispering Pines Tea Company

A review of Jasmine Coconut Green Tea by Whispering Pines Tea Company

I am finishing off the last bits of this Jasmine Coconut Green tea. I fixed myself a large cup filled with very hot water and placing my strainer on top of mug I pour the water into the cup.

I like this teas color; that glowing orange/yellow glow and tea smells wonderful and it is sweetly on its own. I think this is a tea one can enjoy throughout the day, specifically in the afternoon with some macaroon. They would go nicely together; the lightness of this tea with a semi-crunchy and gooey/chewy macaroon with sprinkles of coconuts would do nicely.

I found this recipe from the Recipe is from The Cottage Journal Magazine

TROPICAL COCONUT MACAROONS
Makes about 4 dozen

2 (14-ounce) bags sweetened flaked coconut
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 egg whites
1/2 cup finely chopped salted macadamia nuts
1/2 cup finely chopped dried pineapple
1/2 cup finely chopped dried mango

1. Preheat the oven to 325°. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, combine coconut, sugar, flour, and salt. Beat at medium speed with an electric mixer until well combined. Add egg whites, beating until well blended. Stir in macadamia nuts, dried pineapple, and dried mango. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets.
3. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Let cool on pans for 2 minutes. Remove from pans, and cool completely on wire racks. Store in airtight containers.

Tea up and enjoy!

A review of Jasmine Coconut Green Tea by Whispering Pines Tea Company

I received my tea sample from Whispering Pines Tea Company but I did not open it right away since I tend to wait when wanting for a certain tea and today seem like a good day. for it.

I had some water boiling for making this tea. I scoop a small teaspoon of the tea and put this in my small strainer that I had received earlier in the year from Steepster (along with another sampler pack) and as I placed this over a smaller mug I pour the boiling water over the tea strainer and letting it settle for about two minutes.

The tea (leaves) itself is very fine like granules, thinner even since not rough but smoothly, I see the white bits of the coconuts, mingling with the green tea leaves and the red rooibos; all of this combines makes for a colorful and delightful mixture.

When breathing in the tea’s aroma I take in the jasmine as being more pronounce with the scent of coconut very faint and the rooibos smelling of cinnamon.

Tea’s color is a lively orange color; a golden amber, it is a lovely color.

When I taste this tea, it is the jasmine flavoring meeting me at first. It is not pungent or overly powering. It has a presence of its own, leaving the other flavors lingering in the background.

In all, tea’s color and content is exceptional and tea taste fine as is. I would not add anything to it. I think jasmine is powerfully enough alone and needs no distractions; the mixture of the coconut with the rooibos is like icing and frosting is to a pound or carrot cake.

After today I won’t be around for a while – I will be out of town – my Aunt passed away last night and we will be driving 13 hours to be with the rest of the fam.

The white tea and Oolong blended together in this one are right where they need to be…I can taste both but neither are too overpowering for the other. It’s sweet and juicy by itself but with the addition of just a little bit of those rosehips it kicks it up a notch to ‘perfect’.

I can pick up some random pine-like flavors here and there but more importantly some nice semi-stronger floral notes. It’s a sweeter-type floral and not a soapy or perfumy-type floral. There are also some peppery notes…but more of a white pepper-type (the mellowest peppercorn that I know of, anyways!)

This is YET another creative blend and I’m so glad I got to try this!

Eskimo Kisses to my Aunt and RIP.

Another from my introductory samples. I christened my new Bodum Tea For One set with this — it’s a double-walled glass cup with no handle and a nylon mesh filter.

The dry tea smelled more of ginger than orange, and so do the steeped leaves. Dry, the sample packet looked like it may have been crushed a bit in the mail even though both the outer paper envelope and inner plastic bags were intact. But, I’m pleased to report, none of the finer particles made it through the Bodun’s mesh.

The liquid is a lovely medium gold, a glowing orange when I hold it up to the light (yay clear glass cup!) And I really catch the scent of orange as well as ginger when I sniff it. Sweet! Literally.

I may have been too impatient to let the water cool enough. I brought it to a boil but let it sit for a minute before pouring — maybe should have waited two minutes. That’s why I put the water temperature at 185, below. There’s just an edge of bitterness in my first couple of sips.

But ooh, pretty. I was afraid the ginger might overwhelm the orange, but it hasn’t done so. It’s more of a background note. Mind you, I like ginger. But I didn’t want it to be the strongest flavor in this, and it isn’t. Again, as I found with Manistee Moonrise, the flavors added to the tea are very delicate and subtle. Yet there seem to be a lot of bits of orange peel and chopped, dried (NOT candied, bless Brenden) ginger in the mix.

Now I’m getting a very sweet orange taste in the back of my tongue. I almost don’t want to take another sip until it goes away. It isn’t cloying. Nothing in this tea is overdone.

As it cools a bit, the ginger is coming out a little more, replacing some of the thermal heat with gingery heat. But again, not overwhelming.

This stuff is fascinating, and I’m looking forward to trying more of my samples over the next few days.

First, thanks to Brenden for the opportunity to sample your teas!

This tea is wonderfully subtle and calming. It does, indeed, evoke a feeling of being in the woods. There’s the slight hint of smoke, the freshness of the lemon grass and spearmint, and the barely-there suggestion of sweetness.

I am not a big fan of spearmint, though I’m learning to enjoy it in blends with other flavors. This way it just tastes wild, in a good way, without the cloying flavor I’ve associated with it in after-dinner mints and chewing gum.

Somewhere Brenden recommended a second steep, six instead of five minutes. I’ll definitely be trying that too.

This is not something I’d drink every day, but it is definitely going on my shopping list. Some people dream of tropical vacations and the beach, but I dream of deserts and pine-covered mountains. This tea takes me right there to the high country. I’m looking forward to the rest of my samples.

Update: re-steeping per the recommendation in comments on Amy Oh’s tasting note. The liquid is still dark, dark, dark, but the smoky taste is just about gone and the lemon is predominant with a minty aftertaste. I was not expecting such a strong flavor from a re-steep. I think I prefer the smokiness in my first cup, but this is also good — just in a different way. And there is no bitterness at all despite the two rather long steeps. This is a winner.

Oh my goodness!

I am with Tea Equals Bliss, this tea is really special and creative! I am getting lots of smoked pine essence with a good dose of spearmint and lemongrass. There is something sweetish about this blend, I think it’s the berries but the berry flavor is a bit hidden by the others. If you think you’d like an herbal, minty lapsang you have got to check this out. I am loving it this morning! This is like the essence of sitting outside at a campsite in the morning. Love!

I don’t know for sure but I am thinking there is more than one type of green tea in this one! The ‘green’ tea leaves look different from leaf to leaf. The coconut shavings are smaller than you might see in a bulk section or in a Bob’s Red Mill’s type bag, for example. I can also see the rooibos. Again, I don’t know this for sure but it ALMOST looks like there COULD BE both green and regular rooibos in this mix! It’s a bit hard to tell this last assumption about the Rooibos because there is so little of it in there…so…it could just be regular rooibos, I guess.

The green tea(s) is a nice ‘even-steven’ type taste inbetween a slight grassy-green, slight sweet-green, slight vegetal-green. The Jasmine is subtle – thankfully! Just the right amount for my palate. The coconut is pretty amazing. It’s not like a stereotypical-tropical type coconut but a soothing, creamy-type instead. I do like this difference!

With the description and ingredients list I thought I would like this one fine-and-dandy but I actually like it even more than I thought I would! This is incredibly smooth. A nice sipping tea OR a nice gulping tea! YUMMO!

This tea’s aroma reminds me of a homemade coconut macaroon cookie!

There is some tartness to the liquid that provides a lasting, clean feeling to the tongue. The bite is medium, more acidic – in the range of fresh squeezed lemons.

There isn’t much detection of a white tea with this blend, more of a green – maybe, Chun Mee? This is purely what I think of while sipping this tea. If it is only the (2) listed ingredients, then that makes this tea even more of a mystery.

It is a nice tea, none-the-less.

This is the culprit that made my entire order smell like cloves. :)

I don’t smell any coconut at all but the cloves and cinnamon are very present. I steeped this in a bag as the leaves are very, very small.

I tasted it first without sugar or cream to see what difference adding those things would make. It is a pretty light tea, surprisingly. It took adding sugar and cream to bring the spices to the forefront. Very nice. Sadly, I tasted no coconut either before or after the additions.

I shared with a co-worker who was out of tea today and he pronounced it very tasty. :)

Again, thanks to Brenden from Whispering Pines for this sample! As soon as I got it, he recommended cold brewing it for 14 hours. “14 hours?!” I thought to myself. “How will I wait 14 hours to drink my tea?!” Well, let me tell you, it’s worth it.

I have to backtrack a second and say #1 I love mint. #2 I have a stomachache this morning so I needed mint tea. Badly.

Oh why hello Blackmint that has been cold brewing in my fridge all night. Usually I start my morning off with hot tea, but since it’s already fairly warm at 7:30am, this is perfect.

I can’t say enough good things about this tea. It’s not bitter at all. It’s smooth. It’s perfectly minty. I appreciate that there are two different kinds of mint in it; I think that helps the depth of flavor. And then riiiight at the end, when you think the sip is gone, there is a touch of cinnamon. Not too much to overpower the flavors… in fact, if it wasn’t listed I don’t know if I would have noticed it, but since I was looking for it, I do. It’s doing something for the flavors, though, since it’s not JUST mint. Loving this tea! When I make it hot, I’ll let you know how it is that way, too! :)

If you haven’t already gotten your Whispering Pines samples, I suggest you do! This is a great tea company and I’m excited to have found it!

I also ordered the coconut chai with this order. Had to let the teas sit out a bit to be able to smell the dry tea without the chai clinging to it! :)

I can smell a bit of the cacao in the dry tea and I can see the nibs. At least that is what I assume the cacao content is in this blend – nibs. While steeping it smells like a solid black tea. The wet leaves definitely smell of cacao. Brewed, there is a slight taste of chocolate. Light and not bitter at all, even at 5 minutes steeping. A solid blend.

A very nice blend. I could probably down a pot of this on my own over a tea time. :)

Dry it smells a bit like hay. Earthy and warm. Steeps very light, even at 4 minutes. A bit of oolong in the background but to my tastebuds, the black tea, whatever it is, overshadows it. There is a tiny bit of astringency at the end.

While I was absorbed in my Smokey Mountain Mate, my S’mores was over in my infuser, taking a nice long steeping. Brenden from Whispering Pines suggested a 20 minute steep, though mine MAY have been more like 23 by the time I made it over to pull the basket up (THIS is why I need a Breville to automatically do things for me! #firstworldproblems)

Anyway, I added a little soy milk to this cup, because… well mostly because I wanted to. As I walked back to my stool, I smelled the cup and knew it smelled AWESOME but couldn’t place the scent. Then it hit me! Smells JUST LIKE graham crackers!!! Sweet cinnamon goodness!

First sip… I don’t know if I would place this as s’mores right away, but it certainly tastes good… I definitely get the marshmallow and graham cracker right away, but the chocolate doesn’t hit me as much as I would like. Maybe it would just muddle the mix if it was more prominent, though… The cinnamon/sugar flavor of this comes through more than anything. I might just call it graham cracker tea if I didn’t know better! I’m not complaining, though, I love graham crackers :) Overall, the depth of flavor is actually impressive and I’m left with a lingering sweet marshmallow flavor. I wonder if adding sugar would bring out the flavors or just make this over the top sweet. I’m not going to mess with it, though! Thanks for the free sample, Brenden !

Second infusion just as good as the first! I can definitely see myself drinking this on cold winter mornings waiting for that 4:39am commuter train to pick me up!

Yay! After (not so) patiently waiting for the mail all day, it finally arrived and I had my 5 samples from Whispering Pines Tea Company YES! As per *Brenden*’s suggestion, I brewed a hot cup of this tea while infusing S’mores for 20 minutes and cold brewing Blackmint overnight :)

So, Smokey Mountain Mate! I was drawn to this tea because of it’s description; individually pine smoked batches? Who WOULDN’T want to try that? And since I was unable to go camping this summer, this will have to do for now…

I don’t want to add soymilk to this, so I’ve been letting it cool longer than usual and the suspense is killing me! Let’s see if I don’t scald myself while I taste it… Nope, cup is even too hot… let me clean up my kitchen and I’ll get back to you…

Alright well I worked on tricks with my puppies instead of cleaning, but they now know sit AND lay down (though they more instantly lie down when they see the treat bag, but whatever).

Transferred tea to a NOT scalding cup and tasted… OMG YUM! Let me tell you a little story that anybody who has ever gone camping will relate to…. you know how when you go camping, you’re out by the campfire all night and you don’t really notice how you smell until you get home and shower and then pick up your clothes to put them in the wash and you’re like wow… I really smelled like campfire! THAT’S EXACTLY HOW THIS TEA TASTES. Except less gross. Because my description was a little gross. But my point is, this tea perfectly embodies camping and campfire and WOW. You can definitely tell this is actually smoked and didn’t just have smoke flavoring added to it. I don’t even want to drink it. I just want to hold it in my mouth and close my eyes and remember all my camping experiences (which makes me sad since I’ll never get to camp with my dad again :-/) Man! I was hoping this would replace camping for me, but now it makes me want to go camping even more! And take this tea and drink it by the campfire. I’m highly impressed! YUM!

Edit: It’s crazy how many emotions are unleashed through our senses. Drinking this reminds me so much of my dad and though it makes my heart ache and miss him like crazy, I welcome the experience…

One of the MANY things I am REALLY liking about Whispering Pines Tea Company is that the owner isn’t afraid to be creative! They are NOT afraid to try something new! They appear – to me at least – they are NOT interested in an ordinary or easy or safe tea. This…I LOVE. They enjoy taking a chance and I think it has really paid off!

Black tea, elderberries, lemongrass, spearmint, smoked pine-needle essence are the ingredients in this tea.

Dry aroma was earthy, herbally, woodsy, dark, and had a hint of lemon.

The color of the post-infused liquor is that of a Dark Brown/Grey-ish combo.

The ‘wet’ aroma is a gentle “in the woods” type smell – perhaps – next to a patch of fresh herbs.

The taste…is AWESOME. I really had no idea I was going to enjoy it as much as I am! The black tea base is what I would consider to be medium in strength but the pine, lemon, and mint flavor pairings are at the perfect-for-my-palate level of intensity. The ratios are VERY NICE!

It leaves a peaceful and minty-fresh yet hint of green-herbal goodness left over and behind.

I totally agree with the product description’s end note…

NAMASTE

Indeed!

I’m totally channeling my INNER-HIPPIE here. LOVE IT!

This smells amazingly tranquil. Just enough floral and mint hints to make you wonder…a lovely green tea and herbal combo. Not to mention the Gunpowder touches thru-out.

This is terrifically done in every way. A very pleasant surprise.

I really needed something to help me chill-out/nerve-wise and this is helping quite a bit but still helping me keep that more positive momentum to get thru today’s deadlines.

Yes! Hippie Haven…peace out, man.

11 different black teas? Awesome! Plus Rooibos? Cool! AND Spices and Orange Peel? Woot!!!

I’m excited!
Let’s try it shall we???

It smells smoky and orange-E. The color of the liquor is that of a rooibos but also a medium-dark brown combined.

It’s smoky but not overly-so…not like a straight-up Lapsang Souchung but still very nice and fitting to the name. The mesh of 11 black teas in the base are interesting…something I have never tasted before! That I like and appreciate all of the thought that went into it.

I can taste the orange and it’s lovely. Again, not overpowering but I’m happy it’s present. The spices seem to mesh really well with eachother as well as the black tea base. I can’t pick out one spice over the other(s)…it’s a nice combo – that’s for sure!

It’s earthy and woodsy…true to it’s name, too! It’s slightly sweet which is a nice surprise. It has a sweeter-maltiness to it, too! I REALLY like that!

It also has a very subtle taste of mineral/rock type taste…reminiscent of Wuyi Rock Oolong, perhaps.

I really like this because it is so different. Also because you can tell a lot of thought and work went into it. It certainly lives up to it’s name :)

This is my very first tea from Whispering Pines! I’m excited :)

This is mighty-fine medium-strength black tea! It seems to grow even more bold as it cools at room temp for a moment or two. It’s slightly sweet but rich and sturdy! I can taste a bit of orange on the end of the sip. The lingering flavor is very satisfying!

There are notes that point to the likeness of an Irish Breakfast type tea but THIS isn’t astringent or bitter in any way! A real winner!