2025 Lao Ban Zhang Gushu Puerh

FatBat Private Pressing Gushu Raw Puerh

老班章 羽毛种 古树挑采

This year, we have taken our Lao Ban Zhang offering one step further to showcase an interesting development in Chinese puerh circles. In keeping with our obsessive approach to puerh production, we have commissioned a gushu picking selected from a very specific varietal of trees called the "Feather-type varietal" (see Terroir Notes below), to showcase the effect of an ultra-focused picking standard within the core LBZ gardens. 

We selected this varietal as it is generally regarded to be highly representative of the character that we love in Lao Ban Zhang (and yes, there are clearly different styles of LBZ tea). The result at first flush is a classic Lao Ban Zhang tea -- big, bold umami and strongly aromatic. The character of this specific varietal is more in the nuances instead. The sweetness is more pronounced over the soft bitter foundation; the soup feel "汤感" is fuller-bodied and cottony; the aroma is within the soup rather than overt; finish and throat feel appears somewhat later but persists longer.

As in previous years, we have entrusted Brother Sha and his team to pick directly in the gardens of LBZ House #77 (also a chance to compare and contrast with last year's mixed picking from House #4 gardens), and process the fresh leaf in his Menghai processing facility with our guidance. The result is a top-tier Lao Ban Zhang with a level of purity and focused profile rarely offered.

TERROIR 

It is known that trees from a range of different micro-varietals grow in the Lao Ban Zhang gardens (as is the case in most gardens anywhere). Even so, some varietals are considered more representative of the terroir than others, or at least contribute highly recognizable characteristics -- for example the small-leaf "cat-ear" type in Yibang, or the mini tall-pole types in the Kunlu Shan Imperial Gardens. 

Starting in 2024, spurred by demands from collector circles, Lao Ban Zhang farmers have begun taking efforts to distinguish between specific tree-varietals in their picking standards -- a selected-varietal production isolates trees of only that single varietal during picking. Some of the varietals being identified with specific characteristics include: 十三钗 “13 Hairpins", 多脉种 "Many-Veined Type", 帕莎种 "Pasha Type", 老曼峨种 "Lao Man E Type" and 羽毛种 "Feather Type". 

The "Feather Type" varietal trees are a variant of the classic Menghai big-leaved "苦底甜茶 bittersweet" cultivar, growing between 20-30cm long and 3-5cm wide, shiny on the front and golden fuzz on the back, with a distinctly elongated shape (hence "feather"). The flavor profile leans towards a distinct orchid aroma and wild fruit notes (vs. the honey-florals of Pasha-type or the more overt bitterness of the Lao Man E varietal). 

TECHNICALS