2012 Laobanzhang Ancient Trees Raw Pu-erh Mini Cakes | Lao Ban Zhang Jing Peng Gu Shu Sheng Pu Er - Option: 500 g

The tea leaves for this high-quality Sheng Puer from ancient trees come from the famous village of Lao Banzhang 老班章 in the Bulang Shan 布朗山 mountains, specifically from its oldest part. The tea trees are over 400 years old and the tea leaves were harvested in 2012. The loose Mao Cha tea was then aged for 12 years in the Banzhang 班章 area. In 2024, it was pressed into 7 g tea cakes, which is an ideal portion for a 150 ml gaiwan. In this volume, one tea cake will offer you over 10 delicious infusions.

It is said that "Banzhang is the king, Yiwu is the queen." Lao Banzhang has been declared the "King of Pu-erh" and is probably the most sought-after Pu-erh in recent years. Every spring, tea lovers and sellers travel to Lao Banzhang to obtain this famous tea. Lao Ban Zhang Village is located in the Bulangshan Mountains 布朗山, Xishuangbanna 西双版纳 in Yunnan, China. The oldest record of tea production in the village is from 1476. The village is located in a 1700 - 1900 m high mountain area. The average annual temperature is 18.7 °C. For almost half of the year, the mountain area of ​​Lao Ban Zhang village is covered in fog. 

The Banzhang area consists of five tribal villages. Lao Banzhang is the oldest one and is widely known to produce the best tea. The area of ​​the village is not large and the annual yield from the old trees is far below the demand. Getting genuine Lao Banzhang tea is not an easy task and a large percentage of teas on the market are fakes. The price can tell you when buying, if it looks attractive at first glance, it is not an authentic tea from Lao Banzhang.

Teas from Lao Banzhang are known for their distinctive and complex taste, characterized by a strong bitterness balanced by a subtle sweetness. This sweetness appears after the initial bitterness and lingers in the mouth. In the taste, you will find an attractive astringency that enriches its taste, accompanied by a lingering aroma known as "Hou Yun 喉韵" (a direct translation would be "throat rhyme").

The old Chinese proverb "Gao Shan Yun Wu Chu Hao Cha 高山云雜出好茶" reminds us that high-altitude tea regions with thick mountain mist produce the best tea. With its diverse ecological vegetation, abundant sunshine and mist, Lao Ban Zhang village is particularly suitable for the cultivation of old tea trees. Villagers have followed the traditional methods of hand cultivation, hand picking leaves and drying them in the sun since ancient times. Genuine Lao Ban Zhang Pu-erh tea is produced without inorganic fertilizers, pesticides or chemicals, making it a pure, natural tea.