Lao Banzhang 2025 autumn

Year: 2025, autumn
Weight: 10 grams sample and 250 grams bing*
Country of origin: China, Yunnan province

* This autumnal collection is wrapped in the same wrapper design, distinguished only by a stamp with Chinese characters indicating the name of the tea. A few bings’ wrappers also have hand-written names in Latin letters on them, written by Milos Karasek himself—a well-known Slovak artist who designed the wrappers for these cakes.

Details:

— the story of Lao Banzhang

Lao Banzhang is a mysterious and ancient village. It produces what is often called the most expensive “beverage” in the world, and in the hearts of tea lovers it is an almost unattainable holy land. Nearly every pu-erh tea lover knows its name, yet only a small handful have truly tasted authentic Lao Banzhang. In China, you can find “Lao Banzhang” in almost every tea-related shop or street stall, with prices ranging from just a few yuan to as high as 10,000 yuan (over 1,000 euros) per cake.

The ancient tea gardens of Lao Banzhang cover 4,980 mu (approximately 332 hectares), producing about 40 tons of raw tea material annually, with spring tea contributing an impressive 15–20 tons.

Lao Banzhang ancient tea trees are a true gem among large-leaf tea varieties, with fresh leaves of exceptional character. The leaves are thick, like precious jade; the buds are plump and strong, covered with abundant fine hairs, fully expressing their noble nature. Although the fresh leaves of ancient trees and younger trees may appear similar in size, the differences between them are as vast and profound as the stars and the sea. As tree age increases, the fresh leaves of ancient trees become darker and glossier, with a heavier feel and greater resilience. In contrast, younger trees produce paler leaves that feel lighter and are less resilient.

As a rare treasure among teas, Lao Banzhang stands apart from other varieties. Its aroma is powerful, its tea energy deep and substantial, and it is exceptionally soothing to the throat, with almost no astringency. The returning sweetness is remarkably pronounced, gathering in the middle and back of the tongue, while any astringency appears only briefly at the tip of the tongue and the front of the palate. Young Lao Banzhang tea is rich and full-bodied, with bitterness that transforms quickly into a strong, lasting sweetness. This bitterness is an indispensable essence of the tea. It comes not only from tea polyphenols, but also from bitter-tea variants, which are named for their high alkaloid content and are responsible for Lao Banzhang’s distinctly pronounced bitterness.

— tasting notes

Spicy, iron-like, bitter, with a sweet-bitter tactile quality. There is a baked bread-crumb note. Brew by brew, the bitterness grows stronger alongside the returning sweetness, while the aftertaste lingers for a long time. The energy is gentle, and the body feel is quiet yet alert at the same time.
While drinking, I kept thinking about what makes the LBZ profile so special. It must be the sweet, iron-like bitterness that the senses continue to crave for — something reminiscent of the taste of blood, though in a very subtle way. So far, I have not detected clear autumnal notes. Later, in the further brews more sweetness appears than bitterness. The taste coats the entire mouth cavity; it feels almost like chewing raw, fresh tea leaves. The flavor is penetrating. In later brews, the bitterness can be compared to high-quality, lightly bitter almonds with their brown skins still on. The taste remains refined and holds its LBZ profile through many infusions.

In order to understand LBZ, it should be drunk without glorification or superlatives. Drink it as an ordinary, well-made pu-erh tea and look for similarities with other good pu-erh teas. Only then can one understand where this tea truly stands out. I believe it is not enough to drink this tea once or twice — returning to it repeatedly allows one to comprehend the true essence of LBZ.