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2023 Yunnan Sourcing "Bing Dao Lao Zhai" Raw Pu-erh Tea Cake

2023 Yunnan Sourcing "Bing Dao Lao Zhai" Raw Pu-erh Tea Cake

by Yunnan Sourcing Brand Pu-erh
$11.50 - $171.75
$11.50
$11.50 - $171.75
$11.50

Made entirely from Spring harvested tea leaves! Bing Dao Lao Zhai (lit Bing Dao Old Village) is one of the two villages called "Bing Dao." There is Bing Dao Xin Zhai (lit. Bing Dao New Village) as well, which is the more famous of the two villages in the same area. Bing Dao Lao Zhai trees range in age from 100-300 years old, and while there are older trees, we were not privy to that material due to high demand and very high prices. That being said, this is still the most expensive Lincang tea we have ever produced. It is also one of the best we have produced and if you want to drink Bing Dao tea from spring harvest and from old trees, then this is an excellent choice!

It's interesting that "Bing Dao" means "Ice Island" in Chinese, because this tea is very cool in the mouth and is at once subtle and powerful. It's got a "creep up on you" cha qi and a powerful, pungent mouth-feeling that will stay with you long after your session has ended. There is is bitterness and astringency but it's never center stage and adds to the complexity of this tea. One of the more difficult to describe raw pu-erhs I have had. It can only really be judged by several sessions, so I recommend buying at least 25 grams to start.

 

Vintage: April 2023 material

Quantity: 15 kilograms in total

200 grams per cake (5 cakes per bamboo leaf tong)

Area: Bing Dao Lao Zhai Village, Mengku County, Lincang Prefecture

Wrapper Design by Molly Maine


Below are the previous releases of this tea under the Yunnan Sourcing Brand

2016 Yunnan Sourcing "Bing Dao Lao Zhai" Raw Pu-erh tea cake 
2016 Yunnan Sourcing "Autumn Bing Dao Lao Zhai" Raw Pu-erh Tea Cake
2018 Yunnan Sourcing "Bing Dao Lao Zhai" Raw Pu-erh Tea Cake
2019 Yunnan Sourcing "Bing Dao Lao Zhai" Raw Pu-erh Tea Cake
2020 Yunnan Sourcing "Bing Dao Lao Zhai" Raw Pu-erh Tea Cake
2021 Yunnan Sourcing "Bing Dao Lao Zhai" Raw Pu-erh Tea Cake

This tea has been tested in a certified laboratory and has passed the MRL limits for 404 pesticide residues as established by the EU Food and Safety commission. For more information about MRL testing and the EU Food and Safety commission click on this link.

Overall rating: 4.75 / 5 from 4 reviews.

AI Generated Review Summary

Summary topics

Review topics: ["taste","notes","tea","example"].

Review highlights

Reviews

Floral Cheesecake

"Very enjoyable, a tea to take out on special occasions or something to really sit with, lots of bright notes, it's a bit of a trip. It would be a waste to drink this mindlessly. I heated my Yixing Zisha 100ml teapot and threw in 5g of the dry leaves to release some of the aromatics and take a whiff: very sweet, fruit cake, creamy scents. 1st infusion (95c throughout) - 30seconds - for a first impression taste: very smooth, elegant, light, sweet, watering, and exceptionally non-offensive. The wet leaves, i close the lid and let them cool down a little to take a whiff, the aroma starts to show lots of floral notes, some kind of bouquet of flowers, or like walking into a flower room at a grocery store. 2nd infusion - 30seconds - it's still quite light (not thick), floral, cheese cake, becoming creamy. 3rd infusion - 35seconds - taste becoming more developed, starting to taste more like an oolong. 4th infusion - 40seconds - yes, definitely could confuse this with a green milky/floral oolong. when I first take a sip there is a tinge of bitterness for a split second that dissipates (might be the citrus note people are mentioning), and then creeps in with an overwhelming of creaminess/frosting/floral cheesecake notes. This two stages are quite polarizing from each other. 5th infusion - 50seconds - everything from the previous infusion but even more developed and stronger, with the addition of a new note which grabbed me by surprise, after the creamy floral cheesecake now evolves into a fresh mint leaf. I do not mean the mint flavor you get in candy or the cooling effect of mint, it's more like the greenness you get from a fresh plucked mint leaf. I guess you can say this cheese cake had like a single fresh mint leaf on top and I've finally gotten to it. My mouth is a bit dry at this point now too. 6th infusion - 65seconds - I am losing the different aroma/note stages and it all happens at once and lingers for quite a while, could have steeped it a bit longer. 7th infusion - 120seconds - mouth quite dry/astringent now, aroma less strong. 8th infusion - 10minutes - I decide to make a really strong 8th infusion, I lose everything from before and it's now a bit bitter and getting some peachy notes. I hope this helped. Quite feminine and light. When I say light, I do not mean light in aroma but rather the thickness, because those bright aroma notes are medium strong. Can't say much on how I feel because I am already quite caffeinated from drinking sheng all day."

— Tom (5/5)

Greatness

"I think this tea doesn't lack in any department, it's very citrus-forward and has enough complexity to never get boring. You can definitely drink it now but you can also store it, it'll likely benefit from ageing. In my opinion this is one of the few more expensive, young teas which is worth its price tag."

— Maximilian V. (5/5)

Good year of Bing Dao

"I really liked the sample I tried. It is a tea with a complex and very full flavor. As you take steps it evolves and in the flavor you can identify the citrus nuances characteristic of this area that I like to find when I drink Bing Dao, I have used 10 grams in a single session and a lot of steps came out while maintaining strength in the flavor. I think the evolution of this tea over time will be very good."

— Tino (5/5)

good example

"This tea is a great example for bing dao and its significant character and complex taste profile which I love. Ive deducted one star because at least at this state (young raw) it was lacking something for my taste. I only had two sessions from my sample so I can't tell you exactly what it was. But for those who want to try out this terroir I would recommend getting a sample of this!"

— Sia I. (4/5)

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