Banzhang

This aged Lao Ban Zhang raw pu-erh offers a formidable and enduring taste. Expect robust body and a powerful 'cha qi'. Initial notes of rich earth and subtle, lingering bitterness evolve into a profou. It leans bold, complex and sweet.

Water around 95–100 °C (203–212 °F). In a mug, steep 3–5 min. For gongfu, use 5–7 g per 100 ml, 10–20 s steeps (10–20+ rounds). You'll get to see how the flavor changes across multiple rounds. Rinse the leaves once with boiling water before your first real steep. It cleans off storage dust and gets the flavor going.

Grown in Yunnan, China. This batch is from the 2008 harvest.

Starts at $449.00 from King Tea Mall, or about $11.20/g. A 10g package gets you around 2 gongfu sessions at ~6 g each, which works out to about $67.20 per session. Explore more dark teas on Teadar.