普洱:藍印 (Pǔ’ěr: Lán Yìn)

I have several “modern,” or reproduction 藍印 (Lán Yìn — Blue Mark) cakes, representing a few styles of production and storage.

The original Lán Yìn cakes were part of the 印級茶 (Yìn Jí Chá — Mark Grade Tea) series of state-produced pǔ’ěr from the communist era. The most famous, and most collectible, of which were the 紅印 (Hóng Yìn — Red Mark) cakes.

The Lán Yìn in my collection are all from around year 2000, and include Taiwan Storage, Malaysia Storage, 鐵餅 (tiě bǐng — discus cake), and standard-pressing bǐng styles.