Banzhang

This aged raw Pu-erh from the renowned Lao Ban Zhang region offers a robust and evolving character. Expect deep forest floor notes, a powerful cha qi, and a lingering sweetness that develops with each. It leans forest, sweet and bold.

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 2013 harvest.

Starts at $99.99 from King Tea Mall, or about $2.94/g. A 7g package gets you around 1 gongfu sessions at ~6 g each, which works out to about $17.64 per session. Explore more dark teas on Teadar.