The Sleeping Bear Blend

Tea type
Green Tea
Ingredients
Green Tea Leaves, Wildcrafted White Pine Needles
Flavors
Jasmine, Sugarcane, Vegetal, Pine, Vanilla, Berries, Flowers, Grass, Floral, Nuts, Sweet, Butter, Smooth, Cream
Sold in
Loose Leaf
Caffeine
Low
Certification
Not available
Edit tea info Last updated by Tea Pet
Average preparation
180 °F / 82 °C 2 min, 0 sec 11 oz / 326 ml

From Our Community

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66 Want it Want it

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20 Own it Own it

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66 Tasting Notes View all

  • “I haven’t had this one in a while so I made a pot of it. It was very refreshing since I’ve had a lot of flavored teas recently. The subtle flavor of pine is just lovely with the buttery green tea.” Read full tasting note
    99
  • “Pretty sure my feed isn’t working here, but oh well. This was a sad sipdown, but I appreciated the chance to try it (Thanks KallieBoo!). This is just a really clean, buttery, sweet green tea. It...” Read full tasting note
    84
  • “I’ve had this tea a few times without logging, my bad! Tonight i will though, and I’ll try to get a second steep in before bed too :) So the dry leaves are a lovely mix of thin, poky pine needles...” Read full tasting note
    87
  • “My parents were supposed to have been on the road with the Uhaul a few days ago, but it is taking them longer than expected to get all packed up. Most of their house is empty now and the TV is all...” Read full tasting note
    95

From Whispering Pines Tea Company

The Inspiration
The current batch of pine needles was harvested on December 27, 2013 in Bellbrook, Ohio.

Imagine a place with rolling pine forests fringed with open meadows and brambles of blackberry bushes just begging you to feed your senses. Imagine a place bursting with wildlife — a new ecological wonder behind every blossoming cherry tree. Imagine being knee-deep in crystal-clear water with pine needles floating by and spring in the air. Imagine love. Imagine my home: The Sleeping Bear Dunes.

Every sip of this tea brings with it a burning passion. Fresh, wild, green pine needles are sustainably wildcrafted from the deepest reaches of the wilderness and processed as a light oolong of around 20-30% oxidation. After cutting, withering, and drying, the needles are mixed with our purely blissful green tea blend, River Rain.

The final product is a lovely blend of green tea with the perfect amount of fresh pine flavor and a hint of jasmine. This tea is based off of the memory of a spring morning walk along Glen Arbor’s Crystal River with the birds singing and otters splashing along that pure, beautiful water. I have created my masterpiece. I have put my heart and soul, The Sleeping Bear Dunes, in a cup.

Breathe life, sip inspiration, and let my beautiful homeland warm your soul.

Please note: There will only be 8-10 ounces of The Sleeping Bear Blend produced each month. Due to this, we would like to limit this blend to 2 ounces per customer per order. If you’d like more, please contact us directly.

Notes
Pine Forest
Sugarcane
Chestnut
Jasmine
Spring rains
Soft Breeze

How to brew the perfect cup:
Steep 1/2 tablespoon of leaves
in 8 ounces of 180ºF water
for 1 minute and 30 seconds.

2nd infusion: 2 minutes
3rd infusion: 3 minutes
4th infusion: 5 minutes

Ingredients
Green Tea
Sustainably wildcrafted white pine needles

Caffeine Content
Low

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.

66 Tasting Notes

95
117 tasting notes

This tea is beautiful. I got the package today and I was at work, so I spent a couple hours just periodically smelling it and hoping it would taste as good as it smelled… it took me right back to summers camping in the sierra nevada with my family, where I’d sometimes nibble on pine needles just… because.

I expected the taste to be a little more aggressive — pine needles have a bite to them, after all — but instead it’s just fresh and crisp and pretty subtle. It does not disappoint, though. I’ll be enjoying several more (tiny) pots of it tonight…

Whispering Pines Tea Company

The pine needles in here are smooth and buttery because I wildcraft and process them as an oolong to remove the astringency and bite. :) So glad you enjoyed this!

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98
21 tasting notes

I agree with Michelle on this one, I can’t possibly the match the eloquent description that Brenden has provided. Every time I drink this tea, I imagine myself walking in a Michigan forest at dawn. I drank five cups of the Sleeping Bear Blend this morning, and I’m still unable to find the right words to describe this one. I love how light this tea is, especially mixed with the faint hints of pine needles. It does have a buttery flavor to it, which I’m normally not a huge fan of, but it works in this tea. This is definitely one of my favorite green teas.

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90
1146 tasting notes

I had some of this last night to help out a headache (not a migraine, thankfully). The brew is an extremely pale yellow. As to the taste – I know there’s no mint in this, but it totally tastes minty to me. That might be because I store it next to the Whisper of the Woods tea :-) Pine plus mint is actually a lovely and refreshing taste. The underlying tea is oh so slightly buttery and quite smooth. This blend becomes even more refreshing as it cools. Very reminiscent of walking through the woods in that seasonal sweet spot where summer has ended but fall hasn’t truly set in (so, pretty much right now).

Whispering Pines Tea Company

Mmm pine and mint is one of my favorites! :) Have you tried our Cherokee Mint black tea? It’s our wonderful Ashes of Autumn lapsang souchong mixed with organic peppermint leaves. Its a delicious mix of smokey pine and peppermint :) So glad you like this one!

Kaylee

I shouldn’t drink black tea – it makes my stomach hurt :( And I’ve quite quickly learned that I do NOT like smokiness in my tea.

Now if there was a green tea version… or would that be the Whisper of the Woods?

Whispering Pines Tea Company

Ahh, so sad :( Whisper of the Woods and Moroccan Mint are my two best two green+mint blends. I think the Sleeping Bear blend is a bit too light for peppermint, too. I do, however, think that my Wild Winter White Buds would be fantastic with mint, and it has notes of pine :)

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81
353 tasting notes

This is a very pleasant green tea. It’s light, and the pine is extremely subtle but tasty.

Preparation
1 min, 45 sec

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1704 tasting notes

Whiteantlers spoiled me again, and I got her package on my 21st birthday. Fortuna smiles upon me :).

I quite enjoyed this green tea. It was like a jasmine green with a pine smell and aftertaste. The rest of the tea was actually a little bit more complex, shifting between different green tones, florals, and some nuttier tones. I would recommend it and probably want to own some, but there are jasmine teas that are just as good for different reasons and for lower prices.

Trying a target accomplished.

White Antlers

Oh, great timing! A very happy birthday to my Aries tea friend!

Evol Ving Ness

Happy happy birthday to you, Daylon R Thomas, and many many happy more!

mrmopar

Happy Birthday!

Fjellrev

Have the most wonderful birthday ever!

Daylon R Thomas

Thank you guys so much! And Whiteantlers, it’s odd. People normally think that I’m a Libra or Aquarius-but it could just be my Libra rising. I don’t give too much credence to astrology anyway. The writing people put into describing the facets of the signs is fascinating though.

White Antlers

Well, Aries folks have undeniable charisma-but you can take that with a wink and a grain of salt! :)

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1429 tasting notes

Thanks OMGsrsly for letting me try this. I’ve been curious for a while but it always seems to be sold out or out of season when I go to look at it.

I had enough loose leaf for about five different sessions and they were somewhat varied in the tasting and aroma notes despite the same parameters. All the cups where pretty awesome in their own way, although the smooth, almost creamy jasmine note wasn’t consistent. Sometimes I got more vegetal chestnuts, which while good isn’t as much of a draw for me as the well balanced jasmine cups (2/5).

Give me that smooth, balanced cream of jasmine in a cup and I won’t need to rip apart the neighbor’s well tended garden for flower butter, nectar of the gods.

Flavors: Jasmine, Sugarcane, Vegetal

Preparation
180 °F / 82 °C 1 min, 30 sec

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80
630 tasting notes

I really enjoy the pine in this – it is definitely creamy and grassy with the green tea, and very aromatic when it is warm and refreshing as the cup cools down. I am really glad I got the chance to try, pine needles aren’t exactly a common ingredient in tea. Resteeps nicely too.

Preparation
180 °F / 82 °C 2 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML

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93
122 tasting notes

A fine drizzle has overtaken athens today, making me especially excited to head out west for family visits tomorrow! For now, I needed something comforting, and pine needles definitely felt western!
I’ve been wanting to try this blend forever, and my recent order from Whispering Pines put me in the mood to. Thanks goes to MissB who generously sent me the remainder of her bag!
The first steep was light, but had a distinct flavor, almost like peppermint. That must be the pine I’m tasting. The aftertaste had a lovely sweetness and vanilla notes. While I was brewing this up, the scent reminded me of western homewares stores, or the Yellowstone NP gift shops, complete with log benches, a fire place, and antler chandeliers. I’m much enjoying this cup!
The second steep was more pine-forward, but still a nice sweet aftertaste!
The third steep smells much more floral. The pine has transformed into a blend of jasmine and mint! So yummy! The aftertaste cools my tongue with far away sweet mint.
The fourth steep (5 minutes) was very lightly flavored.
This is one of those teas that is really good when you’re not paying attention to it, but the second you focus it becomes incredible and complex. I’m really enjoying it, and I hope it comes back in stock at some point in the future.

Flavors: Jasmine, Pine, Sugarcane, Vanilla

Preparation
180 °F / 82 °C 1 min, 30 sec 1 tsp 6 OZ / 177 ML

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3294 tasting notes

Happy Mother’s Day to all the Moms out there!
I just got home from playing a Mother’s Day gig, & I’m finally sampling this tea, sent to me from Sil.

My taste buds have been off for awhile, thanks to horrible allergies this year, so I’m not gonna give a great description here, but what I can say is this cup of tea makes me think of a light spring rain. It has a delicate fresh quality to it.

MzPriss

I love The Bear. How is more pajama time treating you these days Terri?

MzPriss

And Happy Mother’s Day Terri

Terri HarpLady

Life is Much much better! I’ve still been super busy with gigs & gardening, but at least those are things I WANT to do! :)
Hugs!

MzPriss

Well I’m going to join you in the pajama and gardening brigade in the not too distant future. I’m glad for you. Hugs back!

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88
29 tasting notes

I was actually pretty impressed with this flavorful green tea. I’m not normally a huge green tea guy, mainly to the lack of flavor or the remnant flavors of grass. However, toss in some woodsy flavors and some berry-esque notes it makes for a tasty cuppa. I can say this one was my normal drowsy morning looking for something different, and i found this in a box full of samples i had received from a friend, and decided to give it a whirl. Well, leave it to the Breville to bring out the flavors at its precise timing and temperature and it worked so nicely. It was full of fresh scents and actually made me think of camping with this poured from a percolator. I didn’t even need any sweetener. Very impressive especially from a green. I don’t know if it was the pine needle looks or the crisp scents and flavors but it really works:)

Flavors: Berries, Flowers, Grass, Pine

Preparation
180 °F / 82 °C 1 min, 30 sec 3 tsp 25 OZ / 750 ML

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