THNG025 - Laobanpen Shaihong 2025

Product detailed description

Fresh Yunnan red tea dried on the sun from Laobanpen village (老班盆) at Bulang Tea Mountain (布朗山). Tea was harvested in Summer 2025 and compressed in Autumn 2025. Laobanpen village is located approximately 1 km from one of the most famous and most demanded Laobanzhang village (老班章) in Menghai County (勐海县) and it is the home of mountainous tribe of Lahu (拉祜族). The tea leaves come from mix of young, mature and ancient tea trees (huncai 混采), which were collected across Laobanpen tea gardens at the elevation between 1650-1700 m.a.s.l. The cover has minimalistic design with Chinese characters (Laobanpen 老班盆) and photo of the tea producer with his personal signature.

The tea was generously provided by Huang Zhiwei, tea farmer and producer born in Laobanzhang village (family No. 007), one of the most famous and wealthiest tea villages in Xishuangbanna. Huang comes from Hani tribe (哈尼族) and his family owns several tea gardens across Banzhang micro-region. During our work trip to Xishuangbanna in Autumn 2025,  we spend a lot of time by exploring his tea gardens, tasting his teas from recent harvests and discussing the ongoing development of Laobanzhang village in the last 20 years.

The tea has a deligtful aroma similar to juicy cherries and sweet honey with summer flower undertones. In the teacup, a fragrant impring of roasted sweet pastry (rose mooncakes) and spices (cinnamon) then appears. The tea liquor gradually changes from light orange-ochre shades to darker brown-honey tones. The colour is transparent and sparkling. The tea body is very smooth and complex. It delivers an intense and long-lasting moutfhul feeling with pronounced sweetness for several hours.

Huang Zhiwei’s teas belong to the TOP what you can find in Xishuangbanna. We often come back to his teas not only because of their rich and attractive flavours, but also how they are made. We tasted this tea for the first time during Autumn 2025 and unlike other Banzhang teas, the body of this tea is much smoother and floral than we are used to at other Yunnan shaihong teas in Menghai County. Very soft and delightful tea, which should not miss in any tea lovers collection, especially to those who love Banzhang teas.

NOTE

This tea is currently offered as a pre-sale item at a discounted price. A detailed flavour profile will be updated after our return to Prague at the beginning of December. Orders for this tea will be shipped after 10th December 2025. Thank you for your understanding and looking forward to sharing more teas with you soon. ~