2026 BingDao Laozhai Old Village Raw Puerh

The real Bingdao. Fresh spring harvest. Serious cooling.

Bingdao is one of Yunnan’s most famous raw puerh regions, but historically, “Bingdao” meant Bingdao Laozhai (冰岛老寨)—the tiny, original "old village". The other four “Bingdao” villages became associated with the name more recently.

Laozhai is where the famous 冰糖甜 (rock-sugar sweetness) comes from: sweetness that returns after swallowing and continues spreading through the mouth.

Genuine Laozhai Without the Extreme Price

The most coveted combination is Bingdao Laozhai + spring harvest + gushu ancient-tree material. Unfortunately, that combination is extremely scarce and expensive.

Rather than paying the extreme premium for ancient-tree material, this tea offers another way to experience genuine Bingdao Laozhai: 2026 spring-picked leaves from a younger tree category.

In Yunnan, tea trees are commonly distinguished as qiaomu (tall tree) up to 50 years old, zhongshu (middle tree) 50-100 years old, dashu (big tree) 150-250 years old, and gushu (ancient tree) around 300 years or older. This tea comes from a Middle Tree that is close to 100 years old. 

By buying this puerh from a middle tree, you can experience the vitality and energy f a spring-picked tea as well as the cooling and rock sugar character of the old village without paying the extreme premium attached to ancient trees.

Sweet, Fresh & Cooling

The tea opens with refreshing notes of fresh bamboo and its signature rock-sugar sweetness, followed by a subtly fruity guava-like tropical note in the finish. With each breath, the sweetness and a subtle honeysuckle-like floral notes return. The body is medium and silky, slipping easily down the throat. But the highlight is the intense cooling sensation.

After swallowing, there's a coolness spreads through the mouth and throat and continues into the chest. Although there are no mint notes in the tea, the cooling sensation is very similar to what you would feel after eating a handful of mint leaves. 

Sourced during Leo's 2026 trip after visiting all five Bingdao villages, Bingdao Laozhai was the only village where the teas were compelling enough to bring back.

This tea comes from Teahouse #29, one of four producers sourced from in Laozhai. Even within Bingdao Laozhai, each teahouse/producer has their own skill and signature character in their teas. This teahouse's producer is especially skilling in making raw puerh with a prominent cooling sensation and clean, revitalizing energy. 

Gongfu Brewing

6–7g of tea leaves · 90–100ml gaiwan/teapot· 200°F / 91°C

• Quick rinse

• First infusion: 6–10 seconds

• Following infusions: 1–2 seconds

• After ~10 infusions, gradually lengthen the steeps

For later infusions, fill the gaiwan halfway for more concentrated flavor.

Expect around 20–22 infusions with the tea evolving with every steep.