what's bingdao pu-er?
Bingdao, historically recorded as Biandao, is a word in the language spoken by the local Dai minority group, meaning a village stockaded with bamboo fences. All Pre-1960s records documented the village name Biandao, better representing the pronunciation. Bingdao means “icy island” in English and is often mistaken for Iceland by people unfamiliar with pu-er.
Nowadays, Bingdao is an administrative village known as Bingdao Cunweihui, governed by the village committee of Bingdao. Bingdao Cunweihui governs five naturally formed villages – Bingdao Laozhai, Nanpo, Bawai, Nuowu and Dijie. A small river named Nanmeng runs through this region. Bawai and Nuowu are located on east-bank mountaintops, and the other three sit on top of west-bank mountains. The difference in the plant orientation and soil components of mountains on both sides of the Nanmeng River delivers distinct tea flavours, even though they are just one river apart. It is necessary to differentiate which one of the five natural villages the tea originated from when selecting Bingdao pu-er.
Bingdao is a place renowned in the Yunnan tea industry. Situated at 1400-2000 meters mountaintops, Bingdao is the only high-altitude village occupied by the Dai minority group in the Mengku town region.
When Hantingfa became the new Tusi to govern the Mengmeng (Shuangjiang) county in 1480, Bingdao already existed as a village. New county chief Hantingfa sent Bingdao Dai tribes to Xishuangbanna and had the tea seeds brought back in 1485. The Dai people planted these tea seeds in Bingdao, establishing the 500-year-old tea-growing legacy.
Bingdao Laozhai used to be the private tea garden for the chief’s family. According to Dai elders of Bingdao Laozhai, no one could export Bingdao Laozhai’s tea seeds without the chief’s permission; violators were imprisoned. Possessing this pu-er was considered a prestige. Bingdao Laozhai pu-er was only shared amongst the higher ranks and used as tribute and dowry to enhance relationships between the tribes. This rich history, dating back to 1760 (the 25th year of the Qianlong era in the Qing dynasty), when Mengmeng’s chief, Hanzhuangfa, united with Shunning’s chief by marrying his daughter to him, is a testament to the tea's cultural significance. Hanzhuangfa included several hundred kilograms of tea seeds from Bingdao Laozhai as part of his daughter's grand dowry. This historical significance connects us to the tea's past, a story recorded in Mengmeng chief’s family archives, a book written in the ancient Dai language and stored in the Yunnan Provincial Archives, accessible only to scholars proficient in Dai history.
The large-leaved arbour tea trees in Bingdao are characterized by their broad, thick and supple leaves. Bingdao Laozhai pu-er’s bitterness and astringency levels are extremely low, and it has a pronounced honey-like flavour. Moreover, this tea tastes even sweeter when cooled, a unique characteristic that sets it apart. Pu-er from Bingdao Laozhai is honoured as the “queen of pu-er”, and its unique taste is something every tea enthusiast should experience.
Only approximately 1000 kg of ancient tree pu-er is produced annually from Bingdao Laozhai. Due to its premium quality, rich history, high reputation and limited supply, pu-er from Bingdao Laozhai has always been highly sought after. Almost all of Bingdao Laozhai pu-er will be sold before the harvest even begins, and you will be hard-pressed to find anyone willing to sell you pure, single-estate pu-er from there. This severe lack of supply and high profitability has incentivized pu-er from the other four nearby villages (Nanpo, Bawai, Nuowu and Dijie) or other tea mountains to be marketed as Bingdao Laozhai pu-er. It is not uncommon to see many Bingdaos in the market selling for less than $100, but their authenticity and quality will be highly questionable. Therefore, getting this tea from reliable and trustworthy sources is essential. Owning a genuine single estate, Bingdao Laozhai pu-er is a privilege, just like wine collectors pride themselves on having a bottle of 1982 Château Lafite Rothschild.
