Ashmanra tries a GABA Oolong. . . Sparrow/Whispering Pines Tea

by ashmanra

I have been wanting to try a GABA oolong for a long time and finally had the chance! GABA tea is supposed to be very supportive when dealing with stress. Who doesn’t have a bit of that?

I love that many of the teas from Whispering Pines are named for the memory or feeling they evoke, or for nostalgic places they bring to mind.

This is a listed as a heavily oxidized oolong. Don’t you love how much variation there is in oolong tea? They can be green or dark, smokey or floral, sweet or savory. But this doesn’t come out dark or smokey. It is golden grain-like.

I did not give this a rinse as I wanted to enjoy every drop. I made this in a gaiwan and timed it as the company recommends. The leaves expanded into beautiful, large leaves.

I used a scent cup because I want to fully experience this tea. The aroma in the scent cup is creamy grain, lightly savory, vegetal, and then…CHOCOLATE! More like melted milk chocolate bar than cacao, I suppose because of the creaminess.

The tea has a round mouthfeel with medium body. The flavor is cream and grain, and strongly reminds me of an olive leaf tisane I drank a few years ago. This is a most unusual oolong, unlike any I have tried!

Although the package gives instructions for three steeps, I kept it going for six. I extended the steeping time each steep until it reached five minutes and held it there. It never grew bitter or sour, but kept the same characteristics as the first steeps with a little lighter flavor.

Want to Know More About This Tea?

Leaf Type:  Oolong

Where to Buy:  Whispering Pines Tea

Description

This heavily oxidized GABA oolong is bursting with rich aromatics and a super complex body! First impressions are of chex mix and chocolate, and it actually strongly reminds me of a baked chocolate chex mix that my mom makes sometimes. Other notes are a tartness almost akin to cherry and some slight spice in the finish. Really active mouthfeel and a creamy sweet finish! One of my go-to’s recently, Sparrow is also one of the best cost/value ratio teas I’ve come across.

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!

ashmanra

I am a music teacher, tutor, and former homeschool mom (25 years!) who started drinking loose leaf tea about seven years ago! My daughters and I have tea every day, and we are frequently joined by my students or friends for “tea time.” Now my hubby joins us, too. His tastes have evolved from Tetley with milk and sugar to mostly unadorned greens and oolongs. We have learned so much history, geography, and culture in this journey. My avatar is a mole in a teacup! Long story…

This post was posted in Oolong, Whispering Pines Tea Co.

Elderberry White Tea from Whispering Pines Tea

by liberteas

Tea Information:

Leaf Type:  White

Where to Buy:  Whispering Pines Tea

Tea Description:

Purely delicious, this exciting berry-white blend will have you hooked! One of the best iced teas at Whispering Pines.

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

I have not had a lot of experience with elderberries, in fact, I think I’ve only had them as a component in tea blends!

This is really tasty.  The delicately sweet taste of the white tea is showcased nicely with the tart taste of the elderberry and rosehips.  It doesn’t taste too sweet, nor does it taste overly – or artificially – flavored.  It has a pleasant berry background note with hints of green grass and hay in the foreground.  I taste a hint of flower to the cup, and a slight honey-esque tone as well, which was kind of surprising to me, because I don’t usually taste a honey note with white tea … but there it is!

The brewing suggestions for this tea (on the Whispering Pines website) suggest a steep time of three minutes, using 160°F water.  While I got the temperature right, I didn’t steep this for just three minutes, I chose to double it and steep it for six, which is my normal “go to” time for most white teas.

And I’ve got to say, I really enjoy it using these brewing parameters, it is tangy from the berries and rosehips, but a nice sweetness from the white tea comes through too.  I didn’t find it to be too tart for my liking, but, it does have a strong tart flavor, so if you are one who tends to be sensitive to tartness, you might want to add a little sweetener to this, a little coconut sugar will help to tame the sour pucker from this tea.

I think that a lower brew time would help reduce the dry astringency that I experience with this tea, but I don’t find the astringency to be unpleasant.  Instead, I find that it adds a certain crispness to the cup.  Overall, this is a very refreshing tea, one that I think would make a stunning iced tea (although, it’s much too cold for iced tea right now!)

I found this to be a very agreeable first experience with a tea from Whispering Pines Tea!

liberteas

Anne (aka the Mad Tea Artist) has celebrated her 29th birthday for many years now. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her hubby and her youngest daughter. Her oldest daughter is married and has bestowed Anne with the proud title of "Gramma" and her grandson is about the cutest boy you ever did see. Anne started her journey with tea as a casual drinker and became more serious about her tea drinking when she realized that she couldn't drink coffee. Shortly thereafter, she started becoming obsessed with the beverage and she started creating small-batch, artisan blends of tea that she sold online as LiberTEAS. After a few years, she realized she wasn't cut out to be the sole proprietor of a business so she closed LiberTEAS and started reviewing teas online. She met Jennifer through another blog that they both reviewed for and they decided to start their own review blog. This review blog! Throughout her journey as a tea reviewer, she discovered 52Teas and became enamored with the idea of creating a new tea every week. When the founder of 52Teas decided he wanted to move on, he offered the business to Anne but knowing that she wasn't cut out to be a sole proprietor, she instead offered the company to her oldest daughter who employs her as the Mad Tea Artist for 52Teas!

This post was posted in White Tea