Tea Sessions #7 2015 Yunnan Sourcing Impression Raw Pu-erh
Today I am sharing my experience with the 2015 Yunnan Sourcing Impression Cake. It is a raw Pu'er tea that I have really enjoyed lately. It is a blend of Autumn and Spring leaf material. It was intentionally blended to have a strong flavor with balanced sweetness and bitterness.
The 2015 Yunnan Sourcing Impression Raw Pu'er cake.
Leaves
The leaves are compressed into a cake and are easily broken off with a pu'uer knife. They are nice dark green and brown full & intact leaves.
Brewed Color
The brew is a nice dark yellow/orange
Aroma
Dry : Apricot, Fruit, Sweet, Smoke
Wet: Again, one of my favorite moments of a session with raw Pu'er: The wash. The initial wash of the 2015 Impressions Cake has a nice sweet, apricot aroma with a little bit of smokiness. After doing a quick meditation to increase qi sensation and taking a whiff of the wet leaves I notice qi stimulation around my ears (gallbladder channel), vibration in the skull and around the yin tang point in the forehead. As the sweetness kicks in there is a descent in qi with a feeling in the chest and down into the belly and bladder.
Taste
1st brew (200 Degree, 10 seconds)
If you love to drink pu'er tea, you know how pleasant the bitter flavor can be. Drinking the first stip there is a bitter flavor that hits the back of the mouth that is immediately followed by a sweetness then a smokiness that lingers. This is why I enjoy drinking pu'er so much! It is so complex and the taste lingers in the throat and nose. In between sips the flavor remains and becomes sharper when breathing. In my body and energy system I notice qi stimulation into the head. It swirls inside the skull and around the temples, which is the first point of the gallbladder meridian. There is a stimulation in the middle of the chest, as I am finding with most teas. Raw Pu'er tends to rise and the quickly descend. The 2015 Impressions has a strong rise in qi stimulation and then a strong descent into the chest and a slight stimulation in the belly.
2nd - 3rd Brew (200 Degree, 20 sec)
The lingering flavors of this Pu'er tea in particular are amazing. Just breathing I can taste the aroma of the tea. It is relaxing yet feels like it cuts through any tired or muddy thinking. The 2nd and 3rd brews are excellent. Same as the first brew ,yet much stronger, the bitterness comes first, quickly followed by sweetness and smokiness. 2015 Impressions = awesome. The Qi stimulation is similar: swirling through the skull, the temples and the yin tang point in the forehead. Opening the chest and slightly stimulating the belly & lower abdomen/bladder.
Compared to the 2015 Little Walks, the 2015 Impressions cake form Yunnan Sourcing has a more intense flavor and long lasting aroma. It is less sweet than the 2016 Harmony Gua but is more complex and intense. I had about 8 steeps with this session. It is a long lasting tea that can be brewed many times.
My Thoughts
This is a Pu'er that I would purchase again. The 2015 Yunnan Sourcing Impression Raw Pu'er cake has a complex and intense flavor. I really enjoyed the layers and timing of the flavors as I drank the tea. First came the bitterness, then sweet and to top it off, my favorite, thick smokiness that lasts throughout the whole session and longer. For the price and awesomeness of the tea you should get some: The 2015 Yunnan Sourcing Impression Raw Pu'er cake.
The Qi stimulation was similar to other Pu'er teas in that first came a rush of qi to the skull. Drinking it, there was a more pronounced vibration around the temples and ears as well as around the yin tang points. Normally there isn't such a movement on the more superficial energy channels. Drinking the 2015 Impression, and still as I write this, definitely stimulated the the qi of the gallbladder meridian around the temples and ears.
In my opinion, this tea stimulates the upper dantian, seat of perception and consciousness and then descends. Stimulating and clarifying, this tea takes excess qi in the head and descends though the chest and down through the belly. It had a particularly stronger qi stimulation in the chest than other Raw Pu'er teas I have mentioned in Tea Sessions. It also had a particularly lighter descent into the belly than others too. The stimulation of the gallbladder meridian was unique as well.
In TCM the gallbladder has a yin/yang relationship with the liver. In the Huang Di Nei Jing Su Wen, Chaper 8, the organs of the body are discussed in terms of ruling a kingdom. In this chapter the Liver is discussed as the general and official" of planning. The gallbladder is considered the judge and the official of decision making and judgment. Given that I noticed a unique gallbladder qi stimulation:
This is an excellent tea to drink when overwhelmed with thought, work or when your thinking is slow and muddy. In particular, since it stimulated the Gallbladder meridian, it may be a tea you drink when needing to take more action on your plans and ideas. As it stimulates the chest too, perhaps one could drink this tea when making important decisions! Just drinking this tea because it has an awesome flavor is OK too.. I have to point out again how great the lingering aroma is.
Overall I love this tea.