OLD VERSION - Manistee Moonrise - v93 (2011-4/2014)

One of the MANY things I am REALLY liking about Whispering Pines Tea Company is that the owner isn’t afraid to be creative! They are NOT afraid to try something new! They appear – to me at least – they are NOT interested in an ordinary or easy or safe tea. This…I LOVE. They enjoy taking a chance and I think it has really paid off!

Black tea, elderberries, lemongrass, spearmint, smoked pine-needle essence are the ingredients in this tea.

Dry aroma was earthy, herbally, woodsy, dark, and had a hint of lemon.

The color of the post-infused liquor is that of a Dark Brown/Grey-ish combo.

The ‘wet’ aroma is a gentle “in the woods” type smell – perhaps – next to a patch of fresh herbs.

The taste…is AWESOME. I really had no idea I was going to enjoy it as much as I am! The black tea base is what I would consider to be medium in strength but the pine, lemon, and mint flavor pairings are at the perfect-for-my-palate level of intensity. The ratios are VERY NICE!

It leaves a peaceful and minty-fresh yet hint of green-herbal goodness left over and behind.

I totally agree with the product description’s end note…

NAMASTE

Indeed!

Thank you to Azzrian for sending me some of this tea.

When I read a tasting note about this tea just yesterday, I had read that it was a smoky tasting tea, and that stuck with me when I brewed this, so, I did a quick rinse of the leaves before I brewed to maybe remove some of the heavy smoke flavor. I’m not a big fan of smoke, I prefer a gently smoky tea over a heavily smoked one … so I hoped that a quick rinse might keep it from tasting too overwhelmingly smoky.

And … it doesn’t. It is smoky, yes, but there is so much more going on here. The berry notes are outstanding. I taste notes of lemon as well, and the pine’s resinous notes. The mint is subtle but I love that crisp note it provides.

A really lovely tea. I’m so glad I was able to try it!

Thank goodness for tea.

Tea is the one saving grace of this week. It’s been such a miserable week that I want to end, especially yesterday, and today someone was smiling on me…both my Whispering Pines order and my Verdant order arrived! Talk about a much needed good surprise! I feel much better already :)

So then I had to decide between 8 new teas which one I should have! Gah, what a tough decision! They all looked and smelled sooo good, from both orders! I finally decided on this one, which was a free sample from WP, and Thank you so much Brenden as this one was super close to making it into my order! Also thanks for the hand written note! I love that both my orders tonight contained a hand written note, makes the tea ordering experience so much more like it’s specifically for me :) It was the tea for tonight because it’s a wonderful harvest moon outside, so yes, I had to have Manistee Moonrise! My sample actually labels it as ‘Manistee Moonrise Spirit Blend’, if that makes a difference :)

So the dry smell is lovely! Smoky, with a hint of sweetness and mint! I actually checked the ingredients before brewing to see what was smelling so darn good! I did the recommended steep of 5 minutes with boiling water. The steeped smell is just so intriguing. It has a sweetness and the lemongrass is also there making a bright citrus note, and a smokiness and lastly the mint. Such a crazy combo of scents that work together quite well!

The flavor is delicious. Man I totally should have thrown some of this into my order. I was thinking it might be a bit too smoky, but this is just right in this blend. I definitely get the hint of campfire with a wonderful sweetness and freshness, and of course, the mint aftertaste. A mild mint though, not overpowering, and the base is very nice too, a perfect amount of body for the tea and not a hint of bitterness!

Overall, this is a really good tea! I have enough in my sample for one more cup, so I might be hoarding this one! So happy this is making my week slightly turn around, sometimes it’s the little things that just change everything. I’ll end as I started, with thank goodness for tea :)

ETA – This resteeps quite nicely at 6 mins. The smoky black tea flavor is more pronounced, but still nice and mellow. No more cups tonight because I need to sleep at some point lol, but I’m so exhausted from this week I don’t think that will be a problem.

There’s a hint of a thunderstorm in the forecast and a few droplets fell as I watered my mint on the patio (just like it rains when you wash your car it rains when you’ve just watered your plants).

During the Evening News a bleeping and ticker-tape message crossed the bottom of the TV screen announcing…“Residents of Cheyanne County, make your way to a substantial structure due to threat of Heavy Thunderstorms”…
OK, the surrounding Counties are getting the storms so I’m probably in line too.
I made a big pot of Manistee Moonrise Tea…knowing that it was smoky (when I was reading the ingredients of several Whispering Pines Tea’s I noticed that several were on the smoky side) and would be kind of nice on a dark and stormy night.

The dry leaf smelled like a black tea with some smoke and a lot of added earthy things…mint, lemongrass and elderberries… all looking like it would be a welcome choice for a hiker, steeped outdoors over a campfire.

I took a sip from my mug and the tea was lighter and less smoky than I expected (which is better for those who prefer lightly smoked tea’s).
I could taste a little spearmint but not the lemongrass.

My favorite way to drink a smoky tea is sweet, so I added my sweetening and think the flavor was much better this way.
The sweet tea wasn’t rough, harsh or astringent.

There’s something very different about this blend. It’s not just a smoke, black tea and that’s that flat tea.
Those other ingredients in the blend…mint, elderberry and lemongrass bring something that aren’t distinctly separate flavors but they combine tasting very outdoorsy and wild.

It reminds me of something weird…chewing mint gum and drinking black tea while sitting around a campfire.
(Not as disgusting as it sounds…think like a kid)

I’ll drink this tea primarily on cool Wintry days to set a mood, and share cups with the grandsons who will love it! OH! I have some Maple Granulated Sugar, that would be good with this tea too!

Oh my goodness!

I am with Tea Equals Bliss, this tea is really special and creative! I am getting lots of smoked pine essence with a good dose of spearmint and lemongrass. There is something sweetish about this blend, I think it’s the berries but the berry flavor is a bit hidden by the others. If you think you’d like an herbal, minty lapsang you have got to check this out. I am loving it this morning! This is like the essence of sitting outside at a campsite in the morning. Love!

Very unusual tea, one that evokes many a childhood memory camping, and even more surprisingly, of my neighbors burning former Christmas trees in their backyard after the holidays.

I get zero mint or berry in here, although perhaps I would if I steeped it more. What I do get is smoke, strong smoke, and pine. It’s literally like drinking a smoking pine tree, and adding sweetener only makes me think of marshmallows dropped in the fire, caught on fire, with some pine needles stuck to it and their oil singeing the soft mushiness.

Really, really difficult to rate this one. I admire the creativity and thought put into this, as well as the evocative nature of the tea. At the same time, I’m less of a smokey tea person, and this is the first time I’ve had anything even remotely pine anything in a drink… that I know of, or consciously put in there… I did spent almost a year living in the forest.

I likely won’t order this again for myself, but I definitely will for friends whom I know will go gaga for this.

First, thanks to Brenden for the opportunity to sample your teas!

This tea is wonderfully subtle and calming. It does, indeed, evoke a feeling of being in the woods. There’s the slight hint of smoke, the freshness of the lemon grass and spearmint, and the barely-there suggestion of sweetness.

I am not a big fan of spearmint, though I’m learning to enjoy it in blends with other flavors. This way it just tastes wild, in a good way, without the cloying flavor I’ve associated with it in after-dinner mints and chewing gum.

Somewhere Brenden recommended a second steep, six instead of five minutes. I’ll definitely be trying that too.

This is not something I’d drink every day, but it is definitely going on my shopping list. Some people dream of tropical vacations and the beach, but I dream of deserts and pine-covered mountains. This tea takes me right there to the high country. I’m looking forward to the rest of my samples.

Update: re-steeping per the recommendation in comments on Amy Oh’s tasting note. The liquid is still dark, dark, dark, but the smoky taste is just about gone and the lemon is predominant with a minty aftertaste. I was not expecting such a strong flavor from a re-steep. I think I prefer the smokiness in my first cup, but this is also good — just in a different way. And there is no bitterness at all despite the two rather long steeps. This is a winner.

Sharing a pot of Manistee Moonrise with Lance tonight, I’m really glad that Lance likes the the teas from Whispering Pines :)

This is a tea that benefits from a little exta leaf and a slightly stronger steeping time than i use with tea, but once i discovered this i really do like it.

Just what I needed right now. A nice accomplishment a smoky tea that manages to be light and refreshing as well!

What a unique blend! It seems to hint at so many things and then pull them all together in a truly lovely tea. There’s a light lemon note, some sweetness, a touch of mint, and a bit of smoke. It’s easy to pick out each note, but it’s so much better when I turn my brain off and enjoy the blend of flavors. It does remind me of woods, rivers, and fresh air. In fact, it reminds me of Logan Canyon in Utah. A few times a year my sister and I would wake up early in the morning and hike Mile High Trail so we could watch the sunrise hit the canyon. It was amazing. Back then we brought along a thermos of coffee, but if I could go there now I’d bring this tea. It’d be perfect. Hmmm… I might need to start planning a road trip.