Today’s tea review is Australian based tea seller Kuura’s 2017 Rhizome Sheng Puer. Rhizome is a blend of 2017 Spring and Fall material from a single forest in Xishuangbanna. I purchased this tea on a whim, thinking the description sounded fun and I like the name. The houseplant obsession has leeched into my tea drinking as I got exciting thinking this tea will rhizome clone out plant babies from the soil.
Leaf and Steeping Method
Rhizome’s dry leaf has a subtle scent of stale floral. The compression is tight on these sample pieces. Either I got the beenghole or this is a firm compression cake.
I went with my standard 1 gram of leaf per 15ml of vessel size, steeped gongfu style with boiling water. The hot rinsed leaf smells strong potent floral and sour honey.
Tasting of Kuura’s 2017 Rhizome Sheng Puer
First, Second, and Third Infusion: Kuura’s Rhizome sips in cake batter thick. This tea is mellow, creamy, floral, and nectar sweet.
The second infusion starts the crazy thick texture that is gooey sticky thick cake batter of tree sap flora coating the mouth and throat. I’m forced to drink Rhizome slowly as despite the light mellow flavor as its texture drinks like cement mix. After a few moments, a honeysuckle floral aftertaste emerges.
Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Infusion: I hit max flavor and I’m not sure if I am tasting tea or the aftertaste that got wallpapered on by the thick gooey texture. Some sips of 2017 Rhizome have a bit of a strong strewed grass flavor but the majority of the flavor is a thick sticky floral honeysuckle and jasmine.
Eighth, Ninth, and Tenth Infusion: Until now, there has been no dry or bitterness. At the eighth infusion, there is some astringency making my cheeks feel dry with a touch of stewy bitterness. Otherwise, it is still easy drinking with a strong aftertaste of floral.
Eleventh, Twelfth, and Thirteenth Infusion: Rhizome sips in amber mineral honey sweet, but then it slips into a strong astringency drying down its path. It is back to a mild flavor and not bitter at all until the flavor slips away.
After the session, I found a couple of huge leaves here.
Comments
Kuura’s 2017 Rhizome Sheng Puer is a major texture heavy tea, so thick you can almost chew on it. The flavor, at this time, is on the light mellow side and leans floral. It is a tea that demands you to take the time to sit back and enjoy it. I am usually a fast drinker and this took me 2 hours to drink.
If you love thick teas, certainly give Rhizome a shot, but also anything else from Kuura. I am finding with all my Kuura teas that they tend to all have a thick texture quality.
