Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Whispering Pines Tea Company
Tea Description:
The Manistee river is a river running 190 miles through the northern lower peninsula of Michigan. This beautifully peaceful river is home to very abundant wildlife and is a sanctuary for an endangered bird, the Kirtlands Warbler. A river fringed with flora and fauna — not much can give a person a deeper feeling of freedom.
Manistee Moonrise Spirit Blend weaves a wild bramble of blackberries through a pine-fringed river scattered with fresh spring grasses with wildlife in the air and water. You can taste the juicy berries and catch a hint of a campfire upstream. This blend is the essence of freedom.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I am really impressed with this Manistee Moonrise Black Tea blend from Whispering Pines Tea. I really didn’t expect to have a camping trip in a teacup when I brewed this tea today, but, that’s exactly what I have!
As some of you are probably well aware, I’m kind of a wimp when it comes to smoky teas. I have finally come around to Lapsang Souchong … but, I won’t even consider trying it without a quick preliminary rinsing of the leaves … and it took me a long time to get to that point.
So when I read on Steepster that this tea is smoky, I did a quick rinse before infusing. And while this IS a smoky tea … there is just so much more going on with it. The smoke is subdued, It sort of weaves its way throughout the sip, but, it never overwhelms the palate. That is to say, it’s always there … but it’s not assertively THERE.
The berry flavor is prominent, and it is delightful. There are notes of lemon that brighten the cup – tasting tangy but not overly tart. There is a crisp hint of mint … not a strong note, but something that sort of sits off in the background … like the crisp mountain air where mint grows. You can sort of taste it in the air, but it is not an aggressive taste. And then there is the pine. It has a sort of resinous flavor, again, like the flavor of the mountain air while out on a hike.
And as I stated, this tea truly tastes like a camping trip in the woods, a lovely log cabin, the fireplace roaring with a fire, and the taste of berries found while hiking and the air that one would inhale during that hike. Such a lovely translation of flavors … such an inspiring tea!
