2012 Bingdao

For lovers of dynamic and outgoing teas.

Not just from the same producer, but also from the same collector as our beloved 2013 Bingdao of yore, this tea and its older sibling come to us as a pair of high quality Sheng Pu’er that have taken their first steps on the journey of aging. Bingdao is an area in Lincang that rose to fame in the mid-2000s after being blended into the first batch of the 2005 Mu Shu Cha from the Shuangjiang Mengku Rongshi factory. Nowadays, many consider Bingdao to have dethroned Yiwu as the queen of Pu’er tea, sitting side by side with the king, Lao Banzhang.

A gently pressed tea with plentiful golden, hairy buds. After a short rinse, it greets the drinker with a sweet woody aroma, accompanied by a bright fragrance reminiscent of red berries, with the smallest hint of a dry, powdery sensation that emerges when a tea has gone past its most youthful stages. Upon taking the first sip, it fills the oral cavity with a flavor that is gentle at first—a mellow honey sweetness is accompanied by the refreshing taste of green peas. This tea feels fresher and a bit more lively than its older counterpart, but with the same strength underneath. On later steeps, it shows a touch of citrus peel bitterness and a slight astringency, both harmonizing with this tea’s more apparent sweetness. Here, the wood note feels fresher in comparison, evoking an image of a mossy forest meadow. This is a nuanced tea with ample depth that manages the precarious balancing act of transitioning from one stage of aging to the next with flying colors, but one that is more willing than others to divulge its secrets. Bingdao 2011’s more straightforward and outgoing younger sibling.