This 80-Year BingDao Dragon Ball Raw Puerh is a highly sought-after tea from the famous BingDao village in the Yunnan Province, China. This village, with its long history of tea production, is celebrated for producing Pu-erh teas with unique characteristics due to its high altitude, fertile soil, and old tea trees. Bing Dao raw Pu-erh is particularly prized for its smooth, complex taste profile and powerful cha qi (茶气), or “tea energy.”
This 60-Year BingDao Puerh has an initial smokey aroma followed by very sweet with notes of honeysuckle and persimmon that fades away into a more floral aftertaste of smokey jasmine. It has a thick and smooth mouthfeel that coats your mouth and throat and continues to linger. This puerh’s tea leaves are conveniently rolled into balls (roughly 6.5 grams), so that you can take it on the go or brew it without having to measure the tea leaves.
To brew this BingDao Puerh, place the ball in a 90ml gaiwan and give it a rinse with 204°F (96°C) water. Then, for the initial infusion, steep for only 5-7 seconds. This allows the tea leaves to open up without over brewing the tea. This tea will become very dry if it is over steeped. After this first infusion, you should only steep for 3–5 seconds. As you continue to brew, the initial strong smokiness should fade and the tea will reveal more of its sweet and floral profile. For every infusion after the 6th infusion, steep for one second longer than the previous infusion. You should be able to enjoy this tea up to 17-20 infusions.
For a BingDao Puerh that is a fun balance of smoky and sweet, try this 60-Year BingDao Dragon Ball Raw Puerh.
