2012 Huron Gold Needle Shou Pu-erh

Tea type
Pu'erh Tea
Ingredients
Pu Erh Tea
Flavors
Mushrooms, Bread, Chocolate, Loam, Meat, Mint, Round, Smooth, Sweet, Warm Grass, Walnut, Wet Earth, Wet Moss, Wet Rocks, Wet Wood, Cocoa, Cream, Mineral, Moss, Forest Floor, Earth, Creamy, Sweet
Sold in
Loose Leaf
Caffeine
High
Certification
Not available
Edit tea info Last updated by Whispering Pines Tea Company
Average preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 1 min, 30 sec 5 g 6 oz / 172 ml

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26 Tasting Notes View all

  • “Got a little box full of delight from ashmanra (thank you!) just as Steepster borked itself, so this is a catch up. I was terribly excited to try this shou, as everything from Whispering Pines has...” Read full tasting note
    92
  • “Shou puer has always been a difficult tea for me to describe. How do I make it sound enticing? Stale walnut bread soaked in the smoothest, silkiest mossy-mineral-meaty-mushroomy-chocolatey-earthy...” Read full tasting note
  • “We started drinking this late last night. We are moving youngest into her own room this week and it involves painting (including the ceiling – what a pain in the neck!) and finding a home for all...” Read full tasting note
  • “Seems like people have waxed poetic about this shou – I see the appeal but I’m maybe too new to shou (shoubie?) to pick up on what’s described as cocoa and mushroom. I do detect: minerals like...” Read full tasting note

From Whispering Pines Tea Company

A beautiful pu-erh that was produced in Xishuangbanna province but stored away from the intense aging conditions there after production. All of the rough earthyness has faded already and this shu shows great potential for further aging. This high-grade loose shu pu-erh was an exciting find. Gold needle grade generally accounts for less than 0.5% of a fermentation batch, and is usually used sparingly to smooth out blends before pressing. Finding loose gold needle grade shu pu-erh is exceedingly difficult because of this.

Our Huron Gold Needle is the silkiest tea we have ever tasted. It feels at though there isn’t even tea in your mouth, and the flavors are being magically transported by a thick, weightless warm air. It floats across the tongue and down the throat on a carpet of moss, cocoa, and sweet fruit with a lasting creamy warmth in the aftertaste.

http://whisperingpinestea.com/2012-huron-gold-needle.html

Learn more about the Great Lakes Label here: http://whisperingpinestea.com/puretea/great-lakes-puerh.html

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.

26 Tasting Notes

350 tasting notes

I’m drinking this western-style tonight, which is probably heresy, so… serious pu-erh people, avert your eyes. ;) 3g in an infuser basket with my 10oz mug, boiling water (but it cools down to low 90’s pretty soon after hitting the mug), steeps of 3min, 4min, 5min, etc. I forgot to rinse (seriously, avert your eyes, this is ridiculous).

For the first couple of steepings, the primary flavour was that earthy “shou pu-erh” flavour, which made me think that I must just completely lack a palate for pu-erh because I wasn’t tasting any of the other flavours listed. The texture/mouthfeel of this tea is pretty cool though, definitely light and silky-smooth, and then creamy in the aftertaste.

A few steepings in, the earthy/musty flavour has decreased substantially, and a light sweetness is coming through, accompanied by some fruity notes. I think I’m getting a bit of that minty-ness in the aftertaste as well. I’m glad I stuck with this tea and am looking forward to trying it gongfu style. :)

Flavors: Creamy, Earth, Smooth, Sweet

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 3 min, 0 sec 3 g 10 OZ / 295 ML

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1812 tasting notes

Sipping this for the first time with a tea chum…musty, smooth, creamy, and mmm-inducing.

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1113 tasting notes

Pu’erh TTB 2015 Tea #4

So I drank this tea five months ago and since that time I have probably drank over 300 different variations of tea leaf which makes this an interesting revisiting of a tea.
I read my past review before drinking this which was probably a mistake because I smell the muskiness of this tea; maybe it’s just me, but a lot of ripe pu’erh have this scent.
Now that I can steep pu’erh tea the way that I like it, I am able to brew this in a way that isn’t too dark but gives the 30% sweet / 60% wet earth and 10% darkness. I’m too lazy to look into it, but I believe I read that loose ripe is sweeter than cake form or the other way around. Regardless, this is clearly a step above all but two other ripes I have drank since five months ago which is to say that this is a top notch ripe. If I could eliminate my personal preference I would be able to make comments on how the bottom of my mouth has a more appealing taste than the back of my mouth which is were the lingering taste seems to come from (maybe it has to do with taste buds).
Like last time, this is a great pu’erh to pair with chocolate.

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98
921 tasting notes

Today was a fun day, I hung out with one of my good friends (who in a few months will be a house mate with Ben and me) while enjoying a beautiful day. It was extra auspicious when at a thrift store I found a new tea-set, it is a kyusu with three matching cups which I am officially deeming our tea-set for when we hang out and all three have the same tea. After depositing said friend back at his domicile, Ben and I decided to lounge in bed with a giant pile of lasagna and watch All That and Gargantua 2, because we are nerds.

It has been a while since I took a look at a Shou Puerh, which is tragic, lately I have been on a Sheng kick since it evokes spring to me, and Shou evokes late summer and fall, and it comforts me during the cold months. But, it also reminds me of lush northern forests, which I am feeling the strong need for frolicking in, so with that I give you Whispering Pines Tea Co’s 2012 Huron Gold Needle Shou Pu-erh! From 2012, grown in Xishuangbanna and stored in a fancy temperature and humidity controlled vault by everyone’s favorite Tea Hobbit at WPT. The aroma of the rather pretty golden Puerh is something else, one of those reasons we need scratch and sniff technology, it is deep and heavy, sniffing it is liked sinking into a forest floor, one of those forests where the loam is so dense that the floor feels springy. There are notes of wet wood, loam, pine forest…and here is where it gets really fun, cherry wood and cocoa, yeah, there are cocoa notes in this, which is pretty darn cool.

Doing the usual toss the leaves into the elephant Duan Ni and then giving it a rinse, when I wrote the notes for this one in my tea notebook I was sharing with Ben and said tea friend (ok, his name is Fish, I am tired of calling him tea friend!) because we wanted to get tea drunk off of a Puerh. The aroma of the now soggy leaves is a very foresty thing, the notes are strong loam and mushroom soil, it is very much a mixed wood forest rather than a strictly pine forest like some of the puerhs I stick my nose into. The liquid is so foresty, it is really transporting me to a lush, heavily rained on forest with a thick blanket of loam and a finishing notes of really sweet chocolate.

Ooh, that first steep is fine! Delightfully smooth to the point of silky, like biting into a sweet chocolate bar accompanied by pine sap and rich loam. I am really loving the mouthfeel and chocolate notes the most I think, I mean yeah, that forest loam taste is great, but it is not often you get to mix loam and chocolate in the same tea.

Onward to the second steep, it is like an adventure, going deeper into the recently rained on forest, you smell the rich and very thick loam with notes of mushrooms and wet wood. This time around the taste is not as sweet, we are getting a full force of forest, I ate the chocolate bar at the beginning of the path and have now surrendered to the forest completely. The mouthfeel is still super smooth, and the sipping experience finishes out with wet pine wood and a touch of mushrooms.

The aroma of the third steep is not changed much from the second, still very potent loam and wet wood of a healthy forest. It very much so evokes the forests I rambled around in the mountains of Pennsylvania. Like the second steep, this one only has a glimmer of sweetness and a full face full of loam, the mouthfeel has become thick, and I feel like I am sinking into the forest, it is heavy and sleepy. I am loving the heavy chi coming off this tea, me thinks I will keep it around to drink when I have a serious chi stagnation, it feels very invigorating. Many steeps were had, tea drunkitude was very much so achieved!

For blog and photos: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2015/05/whispering-pines-tea-co-2012-huron-gold.html

Spencer

That sounds divine…the soggy, wet-dirt forest aroma and flavors are my favorite part of shou.
Drinking-in the flavors of a forest is such a mental-transport.
Thanks for sharing an amazing experience.

Spencer

Okay, just re-read this review, and I think I need to go order some…now..

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2291 tasting notes

A sample from the lovely Sil. Thank you!

4g in my 100ml pot of cuteness. Everything is a disaster because I just went for groceries and haven’t put them away, so no photos. :) (I found gluten free ravioli!!! I’m going to make baked ravioli lasagna mmm…)

Anyways. One rinse. One flash steep. It’s very earthy and mushroomy, but not quite in the damp pine forest way. I think I really prefer mushroom when it’s accompanied by pine or cedar or camphor…

This first steep also smells a little fishy. I drank it anyways.

Second steep is just pure mushroomy forest. Mmm. This is steeping up super dark as well.

Third steep is very similar to the second steep. A touch of freshness now at the end of the sip – camphor? Mint? IDK. But I’m liking it more and more.

I’m really enjoying this, although I’m not sure I’d buy more. I know they have a shipping deal, but the dollar is just SO bad right now. :/

I will update with how many steeps I got.

Preparation
4 g 3 OZ / 100 ML

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818 tasting notes

I’ve been really bad about posting on here lately. I’m kinda obsessed with Instagram. It’s so visual! Anyway, I enjoyed a nice session with this tea last night. I got a really nice caramel sweetness in the later steeps. I also enjoyed it in one of my new teacups from YS. I think tea tastes better in them!

https://www.flickr.com/photos/97273956@N03/15526001794/

looseTman

“I’ve been really bad about posting on here lately. I’m kinda obsessed with Instagram. It’s so visual!”
As one who enjoys Steepster, I hope we don’t loose you to Instagram.
Is it just the visual aspect? Or have the Steepster website issues of the last ~6 months also been a factor?

Tealizzy

I think it’s mostly the visual aspect and the fact that I’m not drinking that many new teas. I still manage to enjoy steepster despite the issues.

Nicole

Did not see that gorgeous cup. Did not. If I saw it, I’d have to order one. So I did. Not. See.

AllanK

I love this tea and that teacup is great!

Tealizzy

@Nicole – lol! Yes, it is hard to resist! I had to have it when I saw YS post it on Instagram.

@AllanK – thanks!

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90
121 tasting notes

I brought this adorable little bag of loose Puerh with me when I recently returned to Oxford for a talk, along with my Gaiwan and little tea cups. I then ended up having to stay up horribly late to finish a self-study assignment that I’d kinda neglected…

With that in mind, I wanted something energising and dark and thought this Puerh would fit the bill. However, without any way to measure it and any Gong-Fu instructions for it to hand, I had to do a bit of guesswork and definitely guessed wrong. I overleafed this spectacularly. A 2-3" infusion produced tea that was a black as fresh coffee and probably a little stronger :P

It was really smooth, though – just like a delicious, dark-roasted, full-bodied coffee. It was so strong, though, that it hurt my tummy a little… XD

Still, given the promising flavour of the tea (it really was delicious, extreme strength aside), I think I’ll rebrew it according to Brenden’s written instructions in a mug at some point and write a proper review XD And maybe I’ll do a milder Gong-Fu session using the instructions I had for the Canton Tea Co “White Dragon” loose Puerh, which was similarly tippy and delicious looking!

Definitely nothing wrong with this tea, as far as I could tell. Hopefully a proper brew will leave me as impressed as I certainly wanted to be!

Whispering Pines Tea Company

Hey Red! Just so you know, there’s gong-fu directions for each of my teas on the website. Unfortunately I can’t fit it all on the bags :-( Here’s a link: http://whisperingpinestea.com/2012-huron-gold-needle.html#product_tabs_Brewing

Red Fennekin

Awh, thanks! :D The problem I had was that I didn’t really have any good internet access… Still, thanks for the info and I’ll deffo brew it carefully, as per your instructions next time! :D

(Like I said in the review, I have no doubt this is wonderful tea! I’m totally to blame for just guessing and getting it so horribly wrong XD)

Whispering Pines Tea Company

Oh, no worries! I’m looking into trying to find a way to let customers know about all of the extra info available online without having to print little flyers for each box (i try to keep paper use minimal). Will probably put a little note that pops up on the order confirmation page :-)

Red Fennekin

Heh, I definitely can’t fault you for cutting down paper usage! :-) I’ll deffo re-try this Puerh properly some time during this week – I’ll be sure to actually follow the instructions this time XD Thanks Brenden!

Whispering Pines Tea Company

Looking forward to hearing results! :-)

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100
557 tasting notes

OH MY!!!
First sip and I taste mushroomy notes Yay!!!!!!
Extremely smooth and Silky, almost creamy.
Nice subtle earthy note that is very clean tasting almost mineraly.
Some woody types notes also in there, slight sandalwood.
Raw cocoa notes.
At times I got almost toasty nutty kinda of notes.
At times it was also kinda savory and broth like, mushroomy broth.
This Tea is great hot, warm, cool or cold; it’s great with long steeps, short steep or any steeping method.
It is also Long Lasting, I started off saying this was an all day tea because it yields so many steeps, it just wont quit.

View my Blog post Please
http://toadsteablog.blogspot.com/2014/10/2012-huron-gold-needle-puerh-by.html
Thanks :)

Flavors: Creamy, Earth, Mushrooms, Smooth

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92
278 tasting notes

Hello, Sweetie!

This is smooth, like buttah! I also tried the Ontario 1357 from WP last night, but I am gonna write a review on that later. It’s a heck of a ride!

This seems a little more mellow. It has a very pronounced mildness and interesting feeling, like velvety ribbons. The earthiness is almost non-existent. I only needed one rinse. I taste and smell a little cocoa and some mushroominess. I feel a little woo woo after 3 steeps, but I’m not dancing on the tables or anything.

I think this would make a nice tea for after a meal or anytime that a subtle and relaxing feeling is desired.

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 0 min, 15 sec 5 tsp 4 OZ / 118 ML
TheTeaFairy

Dancing on tables, hmmm??? ;-)

SarsyPie

Not tonight dear. My tum tum hurts. :p

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95
359 tasting notes

First, yay, for this new official Whispering Pines Great Lakes Label Shu Pu-erh, what a creative idea!!! It fits so well with WP brand name, great job Brenden :-)

I received this generous sample in my last order, thank you Brenden.

Does pu’erh still scare some of you? Like, it’s been on your mind, but you are still hesitant about it?

The descriptors “fishy, barn, leather, pond water, seaweed” revolt you?

Then give this a try. This is as smooth as can be.

The pu’erh for the non believers.

Cause it is silky and creamy beyond belief.

The dry leaf is quite unusual, all golden, just stunning .

It produces a dark warm copper brew.

First sip and I think, wow…this is so what I need right now.

Silky and velvety, coats my entire mouth with mellow and sweet.

Everything is subtle but far from being boring. I get notes of cereals, like toasted bran.

It’s also a bit fruity, dried fruits, like raisins with a soft cocoa feel.

Yum, chocolate covered raisins. It’s a little earthy and woodsy, but nothing like most shou pu’erh.

The later steeps bring a nice minty finish, that fresh mouthfeel I like so much.

This tea brings me to a tranquil and beautiful place. It warms my heart and fills my head with happy.

And yes…I will need more of this.

Thanks again Brenden for this wonderful offering…And congratulations for the launch of the Great Lakes collection!

Pics of the session:

http://instagram.com/p/sA71jZwh3e/

http://instagram.com/p/sA8hdpwh4b/

SarsyPie

Sounds yummy. But I am suspicious. LOL Maybe I will start busting out my shous and give them another try!

SarsyPie

I should say that I need to get over my general fear of shous.

TheTeaFairy

Well this one is taylor made for you then!

Veronica

I just saw the announcement on FB. Such a great idea! Now if only September would get here so I can place my order…. :)

SarsyPie

Hmmm… maybe. I’m certainly willing to try!

mrmopar

You can do it Sars. A couple of months ago you were hesitant about sheng and now you play with the shengaling on an almost daily basis. ;p

Lariel of Lórien

Okay, you talked me into it, I want some now.

SarsyPie

Well when you put it THAT way, mrmopar. I did try a wet stored sheng tonight. Not a fan. I am also drinking a White2 shou right now. I don’t HATE it, but…

Whispering Pines Tea Company

Sarsonator, is it the earth that gets you?

TheTeaFairy

Lariel, how do you feel about shou pu’erh in general?

Lariel of Lórien

I like shou… it is the puer I’ve had most.

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