Well this is pretty interesting. Rice scented puerh. As soon as the hot water hits the mini tuo, there is a mushroom-y rice scent that wafts up. After a ten second rinse, I steeped it for 30 seconds. Someone who reviewed this mentioned that it tasted like the mushrooms from a basmatti rice, or something to that effect. And I 100% agree. That is the best way I can describe this. I get some white button mushrooms as well as a little wilder flavor of a morel. And it tastes like they’ve been boiled in the water that you will use to cook the rice and then you cook the rice and if that mushroom rice was liquefied, you’d have this. Or, you could pour off some of the water before it is all absorbed into the rice. Either way. Mushroom rice.
Fascinating for sure. Not sure that it is something I am 100% into. I don’t know why I shouldn’t be. I mean, I like rice and I adore mushrooms. But for some reason it is kind of weirding me out. I could see using this in cooking though. Maybe it will grow on me.
The second steep I only let go for 15 seconds as it got much darker much quicker. Same basic flavor though maybe the mushroom flavor is slightly amped up. Just a very unique experience here. I don’t know what to make of it.
*UPDATE EDIT
So, what can be said of this is that it has longevity. I’ve been steeping it on and off all day long. The flavor is holding up quite nicely as is the color. It has certainly grown on me and after about 4 or 5 steeps a slight sweetness comes out to play with the mushroom rice flavor. I’m ticking up the rating a bit.
Flavors: Earth, Mushrooms, Rice