2012 Bingdao

2025-11-29

Surprisingly, to taste it in comparison to its 1-year older sibling Bingdao Gushu, which is from the same producer (and collector, it says on the website, so likely the storage might have been similar).

Taste-wise, it is quite a bit different; the younger one does have more sweetness, and the overall taste is more round, which makes it more pleasant (for myself, that is:) - and more reminiscent of what Yiwu Teas would stand for (this ones are from Lincang, though).

This particular one from 2012 has more dominant notes in the herbal/mineral field and more bitterness, but both have this nice siroupy viscosity, and also both have a nice resonant depth to them. The older one feels more calming and centering to me, though.

As the session progresses, the overall taste is getting smoother and more rounded, reminiscent of the 2011, yet with a slightly simpler character. Good patience and good feel. The underlying sweetness shows different faces during the session. I am using a zini pot which complements this tea well.