Tea Sessions #9 Yunnan Sourcing 2019 Mengku “Impression” Raw Pu-erh
For the last few years I have ordered the The Yunnan Sourcing Impression raw pu-erh tea cakes. Its interesting how different the tea is each year. When I saw the Menku impression raw pu-erh I decided to give it a try.
Leaves
Dry Leaf
The tea leaves are compressed into a circular cake form, are intact and have a nice deep green, brown and fuzzy silver color.
Aroma
Dry Leaf Aroma
The dry tea is very aromatic and fresh. There is a citrus aroma that swirls qi around the ears, eyes and head. There is also a qi vibration and circulation around the acupuncture point Feng Qi, GB21. I’ll talk about the energetic implications of this below.
Wash
Tea nerd style.. As i’ve mentioned before my favorite moment during a tea session, besides drinking the tea, is the wash aroma. The wash is a quick rinse over the leaves to awaken its essence. The aroma that rises from the wash is usually a very pure and potent picture of the tea.
The aroma is quote potent with sweet, citrus and slight floral notes. The aroma is thick and heavy and reminds me of cooking herbal decoctions.
Immediately after welcoming the aroma there is qi circulation in the center of the chest CV 17 , Heart Chakra area and little swirls around the ears and the Feng Qi point at the base of the skull. at To finish it off there is an upward rising qi motion from the base of the skull up to the crown of the head. Just the aroma feels as though it circulates the heart and liver energies and rises generally raises the qi.
Wet Leaf Aroma
Brew
Color
The brew is a light amber & yellow.
Texture
The texture has a thickness that accompanies the bitter flavor.
Taste
1st brew ( 200 Degrees, 10 seconds)
The first flavor to hit is a brief bitterness on the sides and back of the tongue and then a citrus note, followed by a thick fruit flower mist hanging out in mouth and nose. The finishing flavor is pleasantly bitter and fruit.
Qi motion :
The Qi moves upwards with citrus and descending with the bitter. When the qi rises into the head it feels like a dispersing action. The energy feels like a “poof” in the head and chest. There is a clear vibration at the base of the skull GB 20, Feng qi acupuncture point.
The aroma lingers. Youngish Sheng puerh tea. On exhale the citrus, flowery aroma lingers in breath. As the aroma lingers there is a tingling mineral flavor and feeling of “quenching thirst” .
2nd brew (200 Degrees, 15 seconds)
Stronger Bitter flavor, Citrus fruit comes right after bitter. Bitter Descends into the chest, a few seconds later the citrus flower aroma rises and poofs into the head. Im aware of the ears and the GB20 point vibrating. There is a Qi movement going upwards from the base of skull over the crown and down to the forehead.
Overall there is a dance of strong bitter and citrus flowers. Every circulations in the Chest, head, ears and GB 20 acupoint area. The lingering flavor is the same but with more floral, honeysuckle..
3rd brew & beyond (200 Degrees, 15 -25 seconds)
Nice and strong. bitterness recedes and citrus flower aroma dominant. Chest, Head, Inside of Ears GB 20 point.
My thoughts & Qi movement
The Yuunan Sourcing Menku “impression” cake was my Father’s day gift this year. I have probably already torn through half of the cake already…. I really like this one.
Overall this is a pleasant, invigorating and strong raw puerh tea. When it comes to flavor there is a dominant bitterness, which is nice, that quickly gives way to citrus and a slight floral essence. The combination of bitter, citrus and slightly floral flavors invokes a quick descending qi vibration into the chest and then rises into the head.
In the chest, the frequency of this tea invigorates the heart energies and then immediately rises. The qi motion simultaneously, as if they were notes in a chord, rises into the skull, circles the ears, vibrates the Feng Qi [GB21 acupuncture point] and flows upwards following the Governing Vessel from the base of the skull to the forehead.
As many raw puerh teas do, this tea invigorates the qi in the upper dantian which activates perception and intuition. Uniquely to this tea I felt a strong vibration around the ears and at the Feng Qi point which is on the gallbladder median. The gallbladder meridian wraps around the ears and travels down the base of the skull and neck. Feng Qi, Gall Bladder 20, point works exceptionally well at clear energetic “wind” from the organs and meridians. Wind can be thought of as an energetic frequency or quality that disrupts the healthy flow of qi. Energetic wind is the feeling of being thrown of equilibrium. Internal wind symptoms are things like stress, headaches, pain that moves around and tremors.
This is an overall invigorating tea. It initially has a heart invigorating action and then rising motion that awakens upper dantian and higher thinking. It’s gallbladder energy resonance has a relaxing and freeing feeling on the life force, like letting out steam of a pipe. Drink this tea while journaling, writing about something you love, making an important decision or while having a deep conversation with loved ones!
Get some here:
https://yunnansourcing.us/collections/pu-erh-tea/products/2019-yunnan-sourcing-mengku-impression-raw-pu-erh-tea-cake