Alice

I’ve heard a lot of good things on Steepster about this tea. Thanks, Derk and/or White Antlers, for the sample, which even if WP’s shipping to Canada were more reasonable, I probably never would have tried. I haven’t gongfued a jasmine tea before, but people have done it with this version, so here goes. I steeped 5 g of leaf in a 120 ml teapot at 195F for 7, 10, 12, 15, 18, 20, 25, 30, 40, 50, 60, 90, 120, and 240 seconds, plus five or six more long, uncounted brews.

The dry aroma of these fuzzy little curls is of heady jasmine and a touch of malt and earth from the black tea. There’s something about jasmine that makes me think of banana, which I’m weirdly tasting here, and I don’t get much of the base tea. In the second steep, the black tea shows its malty, earthy presence, which is a bit of a relief as I thought my taste buds had been completely overwhelmed by the jasmine. By steep three, the jasmine smells and tastes less perfumey, which I appreciate, and it blends beautifully with the cocoa, earth, honey, and malt of the black tea. Like other reviewers before me, I also taste grape, though that could be another association with the fruity jasmine.

By steep five, the black tea asserts itself more strongly, with notes of autumn leaf pile, malt, sweet potato, honey, cream, a touch of astringency, and florals (though of course, the jasmine helps with that). During the middle of the session, the black tea and jasmine are perfectly balanced and the tea has a smooth, silky texture. I steeped this tea several more times than I initially intended to get all the jasmine, which still worked well as the black tea became more earthy, mineral, and tannic.

I now understand why people rave about this tea. While it’s not something I’d want to have every day, it’s surprisingly well balanced and tasty.

I have received almost three rounded teaspoons, so I have used only two today and steeped for 5 minutes. It is recommended to use 8 oz, but I went as usual for 300 ml which is roughly 10 oz.

Turned out delicious after 5 minutes steep. Yes, it was so uncommon, seeing copper colour and having jasmine tea. But oh my… it’s so YUMMY!

I can’t really describe it, not even the base tea. It’s soo unique. Together it makes so smooth and thick brew. Little bitterness and astringency (but 5 minutes steep, huh) but the jasmine taste was so great. Mild, round, mouth-coating. I started to dislike scented/flavoured blacks, as I am having lots of actual orthodox teas. Sometimes they tend to be bit over-powered with flavours. NOT THIS ONE! I remember smelling Jasmine Green tea from Impra. It was tea bag, and I thought I never would like jasmine in teas. How wrong have I been?

This deserves such a high rating. The ratio of base and jasmine is just great. There is no foul note. Mouthfeel is just amazing.
I need more! Thank you derk for sample. Such a small one, but now, I can tell, I had jasmine black. I want to share with my friend, but we can’t right now. Hopefully soon!

Managed to write two pages of my thesis to the time I am writing this tasting note, I am going to write at least one more! Yay, and damn you procrastination!

This was a gift from derk, which she gave me in person at the 2018 San Francisco Tea Festival, after I had inquired curiosity about it (but because I’m a horrible person, I’m only just now getting around to drinking it, two years later…) I have never been a huge jasmine person, not because of the taste (which I actually quite like), but because the scenting is usually so strong and wafts off the cup like I’m being drowned in cheap grandma perfume, which is one of my migraine triggers. I have had “lighter” iterations of jasmine (such as in blends) that I enjoyed, but most jasmine-scented greens and whites have been “too strong” for me. I have never had a jasmine black, which is what I think sparked my curiosity in this.

4g sample in my 100ml shiboridashi, because I’ve had some days off so I actually have the time to gong fu for a change. The wet leaf smells so much like strong, muscatel grapes, which is quite pleasant; definitely different than the “perfumy” jasmine floral aroma I usually smell (I certainly do smell jasmine flowers, as well, just not to the extent of “overly strong grandma perfume”). Maybe a hint of autumn leaf in there as well?

100ml shiboridashi | 4g | 205F | 15s/20s/25s/30s/40s/50s/65s

I’m surprised how much that muscatel aroma is carrying over in the flavor, as well; I certainly taste the jasmine florality, but there is a noticable grapey fruity flavor as well, and a much more subtle hint of malt and honey. On the second steep some of the black tea flavor peeked through a bit more, and I started to taste more of the malt, honey, and now autumn leaf, but the tea was still very fruity with muscatel notes and sweet with floral jasmine. I felt like the black tea notes continued to open up in the mid-session, yet retained a lovely fruity/floral flavor. Later in the session, the jasmine became a little more forceful in flavor, but never obnoxious/perfumy. The tea was such a lovely red color and extremely smooth! I drank it really lazily, and enjoyed each sip.

I loved this! I think I just need my jasmine on a black base from now on! Thank you so much for this lovely gift, derk!

I thought I tried this one before. Anyway.

There are so many teas in my backlog. Most of them, I need to add to steepster myself. Cheers to trailblazing!

I hesitated on this one for a while since I was not quite sure how I felt on Jasmine Blacks. They tend to be too malty for me personally, but I given how smooth the Golden Snail is, I’d give it a try. I have only brewed it very lightly via western with 3-5 grams in 8-12 oz, but my initial times tend to be between two and three minutes, and then I add 30-45 seconds, and then minutes afterwards. I have gotten between 4-6 solid cups followed by fainter ones. I can see this as an easy Gong Fu tea, but I’ve been working a lot online (TEACHING), and have needed French press to power me through sessions.

First of all, this is a very well balanced tea, and naturally extremely creamy, sweet, and dense with jasmine flavor. The body is viscous, but not overwhelming thick or malty. Like other reviews, I could still taste the sweet potato and cherry malt underneath the jasmine. The cocoa nib notes a little bit more subdued, but they are there. Middle brews give me caramel notes, and later ones lean to honeysuckle from the black tea rather than the jasmine. The first and second steep remind me of buttercream frosting due to its voluptuous sweetness. Sometimes it reminds me of cantaloup, but I point that to the sensation when my buds go from Jasmine to black tea.

When I bought it, I had a hard time deciding if I wanted to buy more Lorien, or more of this one. I wanted the Nepal Gold, but it was sold out right when I went to go through checkout. So I doubled on Lorien because Jasmine Whites are my favorite, and if White Lotus was any indicator of Brenden’s tastes, Lorien would be really good because he topped it above Lotus. So I got less of this one…though I wanted to add more. Curse expenses and my propensity to diversify my Dragon’s Horde of Tea!

So, after trying both, I like both equally, but I prefer the Jasmine to tea ratio on this one’s taste. Lorien can be perfumy if you ever brew it like I did the first time, and I like that this jasmine is not nearly as vegetal, but better yet, not super malty or astringent if you brew it lighter. I like that I can taste both tea and jasmine, and this is the perfect pick me up tea. I used it before work this morning to power through parent phone calls (I HATE talking on the phone), and sustained me through my meeting.

Only complaints:
1. Expense (WHICH IS ALWAYS THE CASE, BUT I SUPPORT BRENDEN AND HOLY CRAP DOES THIS ONE HAVE A HIGH DEMAND)

2. Longevity. Lorien’s main advantage over this one is that it yields more cups than this one. It can start to get week around cup 4-5 whereas my other teas tend to get weak at 6-7 western. It’s honestly a nitpick that depends on my leaf ratio.

3. Strength. This is easy to avoid and not a complaint from me, but I can see some people not liking this one because of the florals. It’s balanced enough to win people over and jade them to other Jasmine teas, but if you up the leaf too much, the Jasmine could get to your stomach. It’s more forgiving than most black teas, but it’s still a black tea, and can get astringent if it is over done.

I personally did not entirely picture Alice when I drank it unlike the Jabberwocky, Rivendell, or Lorien, but after reading the notes I can see it depending on how I picture it. When Alice drinks tea at the Mad Tea Party, I always imagine something more British like a breakfast tea, but then thrown in with something whimsical. The jasmine is more otherworldly than whimsical for me. But when I picture her with the caterpillar or with the flowers, this blonde tea makes more sense (ironic because I picture her more as a Brunette in the books over the blonde in the series). This little Geek rant has nothing to do with my enjoyment of the tea though, and Alice is one of the best blends that Whispering Pines has had. I like it more than Earl Gold, but that’s personal preference.

Wow, this tea is pretty extraordinary. A huge thanks to Kawaii433 for sharing their stash of Whispering Pines with me. The jasmine is incredibly fragrant, and pairs perfectly with the cherry and stone fruit notes of the black tea. This is one of those teas that made my jaw drop.

This is the first true tea I am trying from the new set of samples I got from derk, thanks a lot my friend! :)

As for the tea, it’s magnificent. Bitter-sweet. Very mouth-watering, soft and biting mouthfeel. Perfect balance of the jasmine florals and dian hong maltiness. Long lasting and evolving aftertaste. One of a kind.

Dear glorb, who would have thought jasmine and black tea would marry so wonderfully in flavor and aroma? This is the best jasmine-scented tea I’ve ever had. So easy to drink. The Yunnan black really brings the heady florals of jasmine down a notch despite the strong yet pleasing non-perfumey aroma of the contents of the bag. Jasmine top note, fruity mid and cocoa base. Thick, sweet and some astrigency that I find pleasing and may be well masked if you’re the type of person to add milk to your tea. Interesting kind of spicy warming feeling that sticks around. This tea is very pricey but M. Whispering Pines is a master at the blending/scenting game. Curiosity wins again.

Edit: I keep upping the rating as I think about it more.

(Western, 1tsp, 8oz, 212F, 3/5m)

…what MTCHYG said…ditto

Tasting Alice has been the Eureka Moment of my fine tea odyssey. I don’t have the expertise to define exactly what makes this wonderful tea from Whispering Pines so magnificent, but it is certainly the finest cup of tea I’ve ever tasted. I realize that it sounds as though I’m heaping a ton of hyperbole into this review; please believe me – this tea is exceptional and deserves all the praise I’m throwing at it.

Disclosure: I am a huge fan of jasmine in tea. If you are not, this may not be a flavor profile you would love. I appreciate the scent of both tea and jasmine – having both fragrances surround me just enhances the taste of both for me when a truly great black or oolong tea base is accompanied by the addition of natural jasmine blossoms. (I can skip the jasmine green teas – they usually don’t excite me). With Alice, WP has introduced the ultimate in sensory overload for those of us who love the taste of a truly fine tea coupled with the fragrance of jasmine.

Using Golden Snail Black Tea as the base, I didn’t expect to fall in love. I am a fan of oolongs and have never fully appreciated black teas. I have been converted!

When I discovered Whispering Pines, I think Alice had just made its debut as one of his offerings. I ordered an ounce of it along with several other of his great teas and began enjoying each one in sequence until I opened and tried Alice. This batch was apparently limited in the amount crafted and offered – it was already Out of Stock when I jumped online to order more!!! I am on the waiting list for notification once more is available and I will definitely be purchasing much more than my first measly one-ounce supply – I am rationing myself in the hopes of replenishing my stock before it’s totally gone.

Someone on another site mentioned that they also loved Alice but found it to be too expensive for everyday enjoyment – I strongly disagree. Less expensive tea that isn’t all that interesting is VERY costly, especially if you have to force yourself to drink it just to make it go away. I can’t afford a lot of things, but well-crafted, fine quality tea is an affordable luxury, IMHO.

Brenden, you magnificent son of a bitch. You really did it with this one.

I remember specifically having tea with Brenden and listening to him talk about the field of jasmine he rode past on his bike and how it triggered this whole adventure of his into blending. I connected with that because I also adore the scent of jasmine and jasmine scented teas.

So, I know that this has to be a special blend for him. And it really, really is a special blend. It takes two of my favorite things in tea, a glorious golden snail tea and the scent of a high quality jasmine, and blends them beautifully. Seriously, between the visuals of the golden snail and the smell of the jasmine… this is one of the more perfect teas I have had.

Brenden, please. PLEASE. Keep this in your rotation.

It is hard to go wrong with the Golden Snail tea base, opening the packet there is an overwhelming smell of a misty fresh jasmine that permeates the golden leaves. It comes through very strongly in the first steep and balances well with the bold flavour of the base, it is smooth and in no ways bitter when steeped for the measured times. This is my favourite black jasmine of all that I have tried, the taste of this tea is pleasant in all areas of the mouth and the aftertaste is an enjoyable continuation of all components of the warm and sweet flavours without the traditional dry mouth astringency that usually accompanies black jasmine teas. The second steep rings truer to the base tea when done for the recommended 5 minutes but still retains 75% of the jasmine flavour which was a nice surprise. Keep a tight air seal on this tea so you don’t lose the misty freshness of the jasmine .