North Winds

My Cherie Amour! Chocolate covered cherries. Yes please, I’ll have some more! No wait! The caramel apple calls to me more.

From what I remember from visiting Mackinac as a child (I think this is the same island Brenden is referring to), this delightful tea does indeed recall that experience. The island is cozy, quaint and saturated with opportunities to sample caramel apples, fudge and many other dazzling treats. Our grandparents were with us, so our sweet tooths (teeth?) were indulged to the fullest.

I like this one pretty well, it’s nice and smooth,not quite as chocolatey and bold as the previous North Winds, this one is more fruity and floral, still very delicious.
I ordered my Autumn 2015 North Winds already so I’m gonna enjoy this one up while I have it, i’ll prolly save some back so i can taste them side by side just for funs,
I have always enjoyed all versions of North Winds that I have had,it is one of our favs I think.

So much better since I added more leaves. Last time, I poured two tea spoons, but they were far from being full. I thought that since the leaves are so stringy for this tea that they would open up bigger, but I was wrong on that front. I used a heaping half of a tablespoon, almost a full one really, and it tasted way better.

Like I said in the previous review, North Winds is the best suited name for this tea. It smells exactly like the wind in Northern Michigan, even the woods here in Port Huron closer to Canada and the Lake. Wood, maple, cocoa, and campfire is what I personally smell when I take a single whiff of this. Last time I drank it, I tasted a cocoa, roasted black tea that was not that different from a Keemum. This time, with more leaves, there is so much more flavor. The taste is the same as the rustic aroma, being a pure breakfast blend having a simpler, yet more genuine quality than a usual English Breakfast. It’s almost like a less astringent, smoother version of an Irish Breakfast. I am glad that I decided to try this one again, and getting more out of it. My only criticism is the expense, as there are better teas that are near the same price on Whispering Pines website. Also, my sights are honed in on Golden Orchid when it comes back in stock, so I am anticipating what this particular tea base will be like with a vanilla accent. North Winds still needs another note to really fill the cup to its impressive potential, and vanilla might be the finishing note to crescendo it to greater heights.

Pompous hyperbole aside, a lot of people would like it. Breakfast tea, southern sweet iced tea, and European black tea lovers would enjoy it. Though it’s slightly better Gonfu, a Chinese brewing method, it’s more reminiscent of a European drink to me. Newbies might require cream and sugar anyway, but it by no means tastes bad with the additives. I just prefer drinking my tea without sweetener.

A big thank you to lolainred for sending me a sample of this one! I’ve loved every black tea I’ve tried from Whispering Pines and this one was no exception. It has a heady scent and rich, full-bodied flavor. Deep bittersweet chocolate is the main note, but I’m also picking up on some baked bread and malt…so delicious! And I’d be willing to bet this is one of those teas that I can keep on steeping all day long. (So I will…)

Today this is the tea that is being sipped for many hours while I am in my field placement. I’m not sure if this tea is suppose to have a smoked woodsy taste but it does. The dryness of this tea is acceptable because it has notes of wood that accompany it. I would enjoy the notes in this tea much more in something that was milder such as an oolong or green tea (though green tea with woodsy is a tricky combination). Overall it provides nice warm cups of good tasting tea.

This is my first Whispering Pines blended tea. It’s a very well balanced blend of two black teas from notable Chinese regions: Fujian Xiao Zhong and Yunnan Dian Hong. Instead of writing a review about my first tasting, I’ve waited until after enjoying all 4 oz. of my initial C.M. order. So this initial review is also a sipdown and is thus based on many cups of this excellent tea.

I brewed it using the following Western brewing parameters:

2g / 3 min / 205F / 8 oz: A little lighter-bodied for my taste.

3g / 3 min / 205F / 8 oz: These parameters are how I brewed the majority of my 4 oz. stash. Amber colored. Definite Chocolate aroma that’s strong enough to be appreciated when standing at the kitchen counter! A smooth medium-bodied (but fuller-bodied than Laoshan Black) blended black tea. Flavor: chocolate, toasted rustic bread, honey, malt. There’s a definite fruity note (apricot?) with a marvelous creamy finish. Near the bottom of the now cooler cup, the malty flavor is a more pronounced and there is a cocoa aftertaste.

5-min. resteep: Still enjoyable but lighter-bodied than the original steep with a similar flavor profile. However, the chocolate is not as pronounced and the creamy finish is diminished. Some of the twice-brewed leaves are now fully open.

8-min. resteep: Light-amber color with minimal aroma. Light-bodied. I let it steep another two minutes.

10-min. resteep: Light to medium-amber with minimal aroma. Light to medium-bodied with a similar flavor profile to the 1st resteep. This cup is enjoyable but definitely not as much as the original steep. The 3x-brewed leaves are now fully open.

3g / 5 min / 205F / 8 oz: More full-bodied and very enjoyable. My cup was empty before I knew it. However, with a 5-min. steep, the malty flavor overwhelms the subtle fruity nuances, thus they’re not as apparent. There is a definite unsweetened cocoa aftertaste.

5-min. resteep: Light-bodied.

10-min. resteep: Light to medium-bodied. With a 5-min first steep, there is not too much left for a resteep.

2.6g (All the N.W. that was left!) / 5 min / 205F / 8 oz: Full-bodied and very enjoyable with a marvelous creamy finish to the sip. None of the flavors were overshadowed by a dominant flavor. My cup was empty before I knew it! I wish I had discovered these parameters sooner. To my taste buds, this is the full-bodied version of 3g / 3 min. There’s a less pronounced unsweetened cocoa aftertaste that persists on the tongue. There was zero bitterness or astringency. The once brewed leaves were now fully open.

I especially enjoy teas with a natural rich chocolate flavor as opposed to natural unsweetened cocoa profile. Given my preferences, my two favorite Western brewing parameters to date were:
- 3g / 3 min / 205F / 8 oz.: Fuller-bodied than 2g and the fruity note (apricot?) was more apparent.
- 2.6g / 5 min / 205F / 8 oz.: Full-bodied with a less obvious cocoa aftertaste.

Impression: An excellent unflavored blended Chinese black tea especially for those who enjoy a wonderful chocolate aroma and flavor with a cocoa aftertaste. And who doesn’t like chocolate? : – ) !

Well done Brenden! Thanks also for your superb customer service!

Method:
RO water re-mineralized with an Aptera filter http://steepster.com/teas/teaware/39532-puregen-aptera-alkamag-water-filter
http://steepster.com/teas/teaware/37731-my-weigh-durascale-d2-660-digital-scale
Brewed western-style conveniently using a digital variable-temp electric kettle in a tempered tea mug with a brew basket:
http://steepster.com/teaware/bonavita/39130-1-liter-variable-temperature-digital-electric-gooseneck-kettle
http://steepster.com/teaware/royal-albert/45581-old-country-roses-afternoontea-mugs
http://steepster.com/teas/teaware/29177-finum-brewing-basket
http://steepster.com/teaware/teavana/39312-perfect-preset-tea-timer

This tea is one of the best I’ve ever tried. I’m not exactly an expert on tea but I know quality when I taste it and this is quality. The smell upon steeping, heavenly. Almost like a baking cake with vanilla and chocolate notes. The taste is malty, raisins, with a hint of chocolate undertone. 3 steeps and each one was wonderful.

I like this tea. I don’t really get the fruity or chocolate flavors that other people do, but I do like the maltiness of it. It has a more complex flavor than other black teas, so it stands well on its own where others would need flavors added.

Thank you, Veronica for sending me some of this tea!

First thing you notice about the dry leaf is that it smells really chocolate-y. I was definitely surprised at the depth of this tea. Very full bodied with cocoa & malty notes and a slight bit of bitterness in the finish. Bittersweet chocolate? yummm. I actually enjoyed this one better with soymilk. If I had another sample I would probably steep this for only 2 minutes which might yield a smoother cup. Anyway I’m really glad I got to try this. It’s quite a good morning tea, however will not rate for now. I had to use some nasal spray earlier which might be affecting my tastebuds.

Very good! The smell out of the bag is like a sweet candy, but the smell when brewing is earthy mushroom. The taste is great – I can taste an almost cocoa note but very natural. The cocoa/chocolate does NOT stand out like teas such as Florence from Harney & Sons. Not a fruity taste for me this first time around, although I smelled that in the bag.

Very comforting, smoothing, no astringency, no bitterness, such a pleasant, HAPPY tea :)

I’m also in love with the name. Will definitely order more of this and try out again. I think I’ll experiment with brewing longer than the directions