ValleyGreenTea

Pu-erh raw cake Bing Dao-2016

$63.50 AUD

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50g Sample

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Bing Dao Raw Pu-erh Cake (Sheng 生) — Aged 2016, Silky & Sweet

Other names: Bing Dao Pu-erh, Bingdao Raw Pu-erh, Aged Sheng Pu-erh Cake, Lincang Raw Pu-erh, 冰岛生饼

Bing Dao (冰岛) is one of pu-erh's most loved names, famous for a clean rock-sugar sweetness and an orchid aroma.

This is a premium-grade Bing Dao, pressed in 2016 — so around a decade of ageing has given it a lovely silky texture and a settled, refined sweetness.

About This Cake

A mid-aged raw (Sheng) pu-erh made from premium-grade leaves from the Bing Dao area, pressed in 2016.

It has all the natures that put Bing Dao on collectors' lists: an orchid aroma, a silky texture, a refreshing, sweet cup and a long-lasting aftertaste — now beautifully settled with age, with plenty of life left ahead.

Type: Raw (Sheng 生) pu-erh cake, mid-aged
Region: Bing Dao (冰岛), Lincang (临沧), Yunnan
Grade: premium-grade Bing Dao leaf
Flavour: rock-sugar sweetness and orchid aroma; silky texture; long aftertaste
Production: 2016
Weight: 357g full cake, 50g sample

Three ways to enjoy Bing Dao, at three price points:

• Young Bing Dao (2021) — the fresh, everyday value entry.

• This cake (2016) — a mid-aged, silky step up, still friendly on price.

• Bing Dao Gu Shu — the core-village, 800-year ancient-tree flagship.

Essential Pu-erh Tea Accessories

A pressed cake needs a couple of tools to enjoy it at its best:

Cake pin: to break the cake neatly, slide a cake pin in from the edge and prise gently, keeping the leaves as whole as possible.
Vessel: for pu-erh we reach first for a Yixing zisha pot — the unglazed clay rounds the cup out for a smoother, fuller brew — or a gaiwan for an easy, more affordable start. A gaiwan reads Bing Dao's clean sweetness beautifully.
Storage: keep your cake breathing in a pu-erh bamboo storage unit or an unglazed clay jar.

See the full range in our Pu-erh accessories.

Want to understand pu-erh a little better? Here's some honest, no-fluff knowledge to help you find your pu-erh.

How to Choose Your First Pu-erh

Your first pu-erh:

start with our Pu-erh Beginner's Trial Pack.

It brings together raw and ripe, loose and cake, in one box

— the easiest way to feel the difference and learn where you'd like to start next.

The quick version:

Raw (Sheng) is like sashimi — fresh, bright and a little wild;

Ripe (Shou) is like a rich, slow-cooked stew — dark, mellow and smooth, transformed by time.

Love green or white tea? Start raw — like this cake.

Love black tea, dark tea (hei cha) or roasted oolong? Start ripe — explore our Ripe (Shou) pu-erh.

Your next pu-erh: explore by region.

Scroll down — there's plenty here to help you decide. Finding a pu-erh you love is a genuinely fun journey, and the pricey one isn't always the one that suits you.

A silky, mid-aged Bing Dao like this is one of the loveliest cups in Lincang — famous character, gently priced.

Pu-erh Regions: Why Origin Shapes Taste & Price

Region is one of the biggest reasons two pu-erhs can differ so much in taste, quality and price.

Across Yunnan, tea grows on hundreds of mountains, each giving its own character — shaped by the land and the tree type (ancient-tree, arbor or plantation).

Here's how Yunnan's three core regions break down — and where this cake sits:

1. Ban-Na (西双版纳) The King of Pu-erh

Yunnan's most famous region, and home to the old and new "Six Great Tea Mountains." It splits into two very different sides:

Menghai (勐海) — bold and domineering: rich, thick flavour, powerful cha qi and a high aroma. The classic home of ripe (Shou) pu-erh.

↳ Bu-Lang Tea Mountain (布朗茶山) — its most celebrated origins: Ban Zhang (班章), Lao Man E (老曼峨) and Hekai (贺开).

Yiwu (易武) — soft and fine: a floral-honey aroma over a wild forest character, with the least bitterness of all.

2. Lincang (临沧) The Queen of Sweetness

Lincang is all about sweetness — a high, lifted aroma and a broad, generous sweetness, floral and honeyed, with barely any bitterness. It's built on the celebrated Mengku broad-leaf variety.

Best-known origins: Bing Dao (冰岛), Xigui (昔归), Xiao Hu Zhai (小户寨) and Mengku (勐库).

★ This cake is Bing Dao (冰岛) — Lincang's crown jewel, famed for its clean rock-sugar sweetness and orchid aroma.

3. Pu'er (普洱) The Birthplace

Where the name "pu-erh" began. Soft, sweet and balanced, leaning to a floral-fruity sweetness — easy and approachable.

Best-known origins: Wuliang Shan (无量山) and Kunlu Shan (困鹿山).

A handy shorthand pu-erh drinkers use:

Ban Zhang is the king (bold and powerful),

Bing Dao is the queen (sweet and smooth),

Yiwu is grace itself (soft, supple and silky).

What Decides a Pu-erh's Price?

Pu-erh prices run from everyday to eye-watering, and it helps to know what you're paying for. A few things set the price:

Where it's grown (region): a famous core village like Bing Dao or Lao Ban Zhang is scarce and commands top prices.
The tree (variety & age): ancient-tree (gu shu) leaf sits above arbor (qiao mu), which sits above plantation (tai di).
The pick: even from the same tree, tender bud-and-tip fetches more than coarser leaf — and spring tea is prized over autumn.
Age, storage & grade: older well-stored cakes — like this decade-aged Bing Dao — and higher grades all add to the price.

That's why two cakes both labelled "Bing Dao" can sit at very different prices. The exact village, tree type, grade and season change everything, so the name alone never means the same tea.

We're honest about price. This mid-aged Bing Dao is a step up from our young one — more developed and silky — yet still gently priced for such a famous name.

A bigger price tag doesn't mean "better for you." Don't chase the number on the label: trust your tongue, not the price. The right pu-erh is simply the one you love drinking — which is exactly why we sample everything first.

Pu-erh, Caffeine & Antioxidants

Like all true tea from the Camellia sinensis plant, pu-erh is post-fermented and naturally contains antioxidants and caffeine — that's simply part of the leaf.

A silky, mid-aged raw pu-erh like this drinks smooth and refreshing. If you're sensitive to caffeine, keep your leaf light and your steeps short, and enjoy it earlier in the day.

Brew this raw pu-erh the right way

— check out our professional Brewing Guide, Storage Care, and The Origins below 👇

🍵 Brewing Guide

How to brew aged raw (Sheng) Pu-erh?

A silky, mid-aged raw (Sheng) pu-erh like this takes full boiling water — a decade of ageing has rounded its edges, so 100°C draws out its clean, sweet, orchid character. Always give the leaf a quick rinse first.

The Vessel: Zisha or Gaiwan

Brew it in a Yixing zisha pot for a rounder, fuller cup — or a gaiwan for an easy, more affordable start that reads Bing Dao's clean sweetness beautifully. Keep one clay pot for raw pu-erh only.

The Ritual (Gongfu Style)

Temperature: 100°C — full boiling water for this mid-aged cake. (A young raw pu-erh would go cooler, 90–95°C.)
Ratio: 1:20 to 1:30 — for a 150ml gaiwan, use 5–7g.
Step 1 — Warm the Vessel: pour boiling water in, swirl, discard.
Step 2 — Break & Add the Leaves: slide a cake pin in from the edge, keeping the leaf as whole as you can, then add to the warm vessel.
Step 3 — Rinse (洗茶): pour boiling water in, then decant and discard within 5 seconds. This wakes and rinses the pressed leaf.
Step 4 — First Brews: quick in, quick out — around 10 seconds each — to keep the cup clean and let the sweetness show. Decant fully.
Step 5 — Later Brews: extend the steep gradually. A good Bing Dao gives a long, sweet run of infusions.
Step 6 — Drink: smell the empty cup, and notice the silky sweetness lingering after each sip.

Common Mistakes

❌ Skipping the rinse — always pour off the first quick infusion to wake the leaf.
❌ Long steeps in the first few brews — keep them quick to stay clean and sweet.
❌ Water off the boil — a mid-aged cake like this wants a full 100°C.
❌ Using a clay pot that's held ripe or floral tea — flavours cross-contaminate. Keep one pot for raw pu-erh only.

📦 Storage & Care

Storage Care for Raw Pu-erh

Raw pu-erh is made to be kept — more than any tea, a good raw cake keeps improving with age. The edges soften, the body rounds out, and the aroma deepens over the years.

Cool, Dry and Dark: store in a cool, dry spot out of direct sunlight. Do NOT refrigerate.
Let It Breathe: do NOT seal pu-erh airtight. The thin paper wrapper is deliberately breathable so the tea can keep maturing slowly. Keep it in the wrapper, or in a breathable home like our pu-erh bamboo storage unit or an unglazed clay jar.
Away From Odours: pu-erh readily absorbs smells. Keep it away from coffee, spices and scented foods, and never store different teas together — they cross-scent.
Keep the Cake Whole: break off only what you need. A whole cake ages more evenly than loose broken leaf.

🌿 The Origins

Premium Bing Dao, a Decade in the Making

Region: Bing Dao (冰岛), in Lincang (临沧), Yunnan — Lincang's crown jewel, famed for a clean rock-sugar sweetness and orchid aroma.
The Leaf: premium-grade Bing Dao leaf, with the classic silky texture and refreshing sweetness collectors prize.
The Craft: raw (Sheng) pu-erh is sun-dried and pressed, then left to ferment slowly and naturally. Pressed in 2016 and settled by a decade of ageing.
The Cup: an orchid aroma over a silky, refreshing, sweet brew with a long-lasting aftertaste — developed and smooth, with life still ahead.
Where it sits: a mid-aged step up from our young Bing Dao (2021), below the core-village Bing Dao Gu Shu flagship. 357g full cake or 50g sample.
VGT Sourcing: for 18 years, Valley Green Tea has been a trusted place to buy authentic pu-erh tea online in Australia. Explore more Raw (Sheng) pu-erh, browse our Ripe (Shou) pu-erh, or see the whole Pu-erh collection.

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