2015 Yunnan Sourcing Impression Raw Pu-erh Tea Cake

I was in a mood for puerh today. And I am running low somehow! So, I took this one. I am surprised rating it 82, while all others are rating way lower. But well, it’s 6 years since pressing, which is quite a long term, so probably it’s time to finish it. I have four grams left, which I will brew maybe western, maybe grandpa, maybe weaker gongfu session.

I have used 5 grams for my 125 ml gaiwan today.

I haven’t done any rinse, so first steep is actually that with 8 seconds steeping and it woke up some aromas — mostly some astringency, hot hay, a bit of osmanthus and stonefruits.
Tastes mild and smooth, which could be caused by short steep and age, mostly I could notice hay and lightly astringent with stonefruits note.

1st steep, 15 seconds
Astringency and hay, nothing much else… at least somehow smooth. But flavourwise quite boring

2nd steep, 20 seconds
Stronger astringency, but flat somehow.

3rd steep, 30 seconds
No notes made as I was busy selecting a new headphones. But it was somehow similar.

4th steep, 45 seconds
There are some stonefruits! And lightly citrusy.

5th steep, 60 seconds
It gets citrusy notes, but as well that sheng notes; astringency, but mellow. Hay, but not in a bad way.

This sheng will hopefully improve with aging. The flavor was primarily bitterness, with some underlying vegetal and slightly sweet notes. I did not strongly dislike it, but I will wait a few years if I can before trying this again. I’m hoping this will mature into something great! The wrapping design is stunning needless to say!

Breaking in my new unglazed pot from TaiwanTeaCrafts while trying this sample. Very excited to have gotten my hands on this pot!

Had a rinse then rested for ~5 minutes. 1st steep is sweet and bright. Citrus, iodine, licking a rock. 2nd and 3rd steeps have rising astringency but I can still taste through it. 4th is getting pretty robust and full. Astringency is there but it’s also sweet. 5th+ was all pretty similar, it did not develop a ton. Astringency kept going down slowly. Flavor was pretty consistent.

Compared to the 2014, this was a bit easier to brew and drink. Tamer I guess would be the word? I liked it more. Awesome for the price, will be ordering a cake.

This was a very bitter sheng. I gave this ten steeps. I would say there was strong bitterness in the first eight steeps. It did get better. There was an underlying note behind the bitterness that began to emerge. a sweet note not sure what to call it. No apricots or stonefruits in this one.

I steeped this ten times in a 150mml gaiwan with 8.2g leaf and 190 degree water. I gave it a 10 second rinse. I steeped it for 5 sec, 5 sec, 7 sec, 10 sec, 15 sec, 20 sec, 25 sec, 30 sec, 45 sec, and 1 min. I will put this tea away for a couple of years and see if it improves.

My overwhelming impression was of bitterness.

Beneath the bitterness, there was a flat, uncomplicated sort of vegetable taste, with a bit of earthiness.

Has enough bite to keep me interested and the aftertaste sticks around for a while. All things I like about sheng. The tea is reasonably soft, but still far from the softest Yunnan Sourcing sheng I have had. It is an above average sheng at a ridiculously good price!

Just had a sample, to some up my feelings about this tea quickly I’ll say this. I’m definitely buying at least 2 cakes.

For 19 usd there aren’t many readily available better deals than this. It has a medium thickness to the body, a long lasting sweet finish which develops dynamically, a solid bitterness and cooling sensation, and a nice flavor profile.