• handmade item

• materials: big-leaved arbor tea leaves from Bingdao Laozhai

• shape: brick

• dimension: 14 x 9 x 4 cm / 5.51 x 3.54 x 1.57 in

• weight: 500 g / 17.64 oz

Handmade with tea leaves picked from Bingdao Laozhai in 2014, this sheng pu-erh brews a bright golden liquor. It has notes of cut hay and earth in its aroma, complimented with almond and buttery flavours.

We were lucky to obtain some of this huangpian, which gave insights into the highly sought-after Bingdao Laozhai sheng pu-er. Bingdao Laozhai is a place renowned in the Yunnan tea industry. Due to its premium quality, rich history, high reputation and limited supply, pu-er from Bingdao Laozhai has always been popular. Because of that, the price of pu-er from this village would go into the thousands.

These huangpian are picked from the same ancient trees as the standard pu-er from Bingdao Laozhai, the only difference being that it is less aesthetically pleasing; the bigger leaves (huangpian) are filtered out so that the remaining leaves are neat and symmetrical when pressed into cakes. The tea farmers often keep these bigger leaves for personal consumption, and they are rarely found in the market. Even though huangpian does not have the tidy appearance of its counterparts, it possesses similar taste characteristics. In fact, it is sometimes considered more flavourful as the leaves spend extended periods growing on the trees, offering a unique taste that is worth experiencing.

The name huangpian means “yellow leaves” in Chinese. The picking standard of pu-er tea is 1 bud, with up to 3 leaves; on rare occasions, it goes up to 4. The smaller and suppler tea buds are easily rolled into cord-like strands during the initial processing, whereas the bigger and broader leaves aren’t. As a result, the shape of the 3rd and 4th leaves is not ideal. For the best aesthetics of the final product to the consumers, tea farmers usually filter out these bigger leaves so that the remaining ones are neat and consistent when pressed into bing or disks The tea farmers often keep these bigger leaves, which are less common on the market. Unknown to the general public, these larger and plumpish leaves are more flavourful and sweeter as they have been grown on trees longer. Laohuangpian undergoes the same production method as sheng pu-er and retains the same quality. This tea is worth trying if you wonder what the local ethnic groups and tea farmers from the Bingdao village are enjoying on their own.