Banzhang

This 2021 Lao Ban Zhang brick delivers a powerful and robust experience, characteristic of its renowned terroir. Expect a strong, initial bitterness that quickly transforms into a lasting sweetness, w. It leans bold, earthy and astringent.

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 2021 harvest.

Starts at $49.99 from King Tea Mall, or about $3.50/g. A 7g package gets you around 1 gongfu sessions at ~6 g each, which works out to about $21.00 per session. Explore more dark teas on Teadar.