I was actually a fan of the last Yunnan Sourcing Impression sheng puer cake, so I caved and purchased the next 2018 Impression sheng puer cake. The 2017 Impression was a good tea for the price, so I felt it was worth a blind caking another one. At this time of writing, the 2018 Impression is $28 for a 400gram cake, so still a deal.
The 2018 Impression is a blend of Mengku, Bang Dong, and Jing Gu tea gardens, constructed to be, “…a powerful blend that has strong mouth feeling, cha qi and a balanced sweet, bitter and astringent profile.”
Leaf and Steeping Method
The cake doesn’t have a strong scent but looks pretty.
As usual, I used 1 gram of leaf per 15ml vessel size leaf to pot ratio. I gongfu steeped in boiling water starting with flash infusions. The rinsed hot leaf smells like a leafy green garden heated from the sun.
Tasting of Yunnan Sourcing’s 2018 Impression Sheng Puer
First and Second Infusion: 2018 Impression is thick-bodied, like drinking cotton batting that coats the tongue. The flavor is light so far but all in the aftertaste of brightly sweet juicy vegetables. Most of the experience is the tea being ultra thick. As I drink the second infusion and I’m sweating. I’m already wearing workout clothes as after this I’m gonna get Swole owl. 2018 Impression includes a tea drunk workout with a brain and sinus massage.
Third, Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Infusion: 2018 Impression is now showing a sharp bitterness right at the start of the sip. However, the bitterness fades into a stone fruit sweetness. The aftertaste is fleeting, bit stone fruit and magnolia floral and the walls are spinning. My chest feels like I get hit with a brick after each cup. With each steeping, the bitterness gets stronger and lasts long enough to pinch my digestive track as it goes down. The fifth and sixth infusion was mega bitter.
Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth Infusion: Holy drain cleaner, Batman! Our 2018 Impression sheng puer is bitter and sour and then gut rot rolls in. I need greasy food stat!
In silver cup, Impression sips in a zippy fresh bitter green pepper and floral, but the bitterness sinks in. At these infusions it is also dry, drying out the gums of my mouth. The aftertaste is mostly that magnolia floral, which is delicious and the reason I am still going. If I wasn’t drinking this for the blog, I would be going all in on silver teaware as the silver tames that bitterness down.
Tenth Infusion: I first sipped my last infusion of Impress in silver and it is lovely as it is a dry amber mineral sweet and floral aftertaste. In a regular teacup, 2018 Impression like drinking stewed 1000 green pepper skins that makes my bowels tremble.
Comments
2018 Yunnan Sourcing Impression is solid tea that checks the boxes for good texture, strong fruity floral aftertaste, and good longevity for a young tea with tea energy. In its current state, 2018 Impression does get pretty bitter in the later infusions. This is a great tea to drink now for a good tea drunk energy if you got the tolerance for the stomach curling bitterness or silver teaware to tame the tea. Impression is made for aging, so buy now while it is cheap and enjoy later.
Overall, I enjoyed Yunnan Sourcing’s 2018 Impression sheng puer. I like it more than last years Impression as the 2018 tea has a banging aftertaste. It drinks more expensive for what it cost me ($28 for 400gram cake). The 2017 Impression cake jumped in price before it sold out, so if you are considering buying it I would do so soon.
