Spring Banzhang

This 2016 Lao Ban Zhang Raw Pu-erh offers a potent and distinctive character. Expect a robust, earthy profile with a moderate bitterness that quickly fades, followed by a pleasingly swift sweet aftert. It leans earthy, mineral and bitter.

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 Spring 2016 harvest.

Starts at $32.75 from Yunnan Sourcing, or about $2.78/g. A 10g package gets you around 2 gongfu sessions at ~6 g each, which works out to about $16.68 per session. Compare dark prices across vendors on Teadar.