2026 Ban Zhang Jigushu Single King Tree (T5*, Benchmark)

Highlights:

• 1 single very ancient tree (massive 5.4kg of dried leaf), 100% first spring pick
• Maximum estimated tree age: 800 years
• Very punchy taste, the real essence of Banzhang
• Strongest Qi we ever tried
• Rich, flavourful, powerful aftertaste to the max
• Most likely the biggest and oldest tea tree in Banzhang

While there might potentially be other bigger trees than this in the rest of the Banzhang area (perhaps in deeply private land), they are not known. 5.4kg of dried leaf is a massive amount for a tree in Xishuangbanna and this is among the very biggest and oldest trees in the whole of Menghai county.

As a result, this tea is an ode to strength in Puerh: It’s the most strong and powerful tea we’ve ever tried in terms of Qi – while in terms of taste it’s amazingly rich but balanced by the elegance of a single very ancient tree.

Rare doesn’t even begin to define how incredible it is to be able to offer this tea – we thank our lucky stars we were able to get our hands on this monster.

How old are these trees?

All tree ages are approximations, and one should always doubt when an age is given as a single number. There are no certain scientific methods to identify the age of a tea tree. The only possible way to tell how old (and healthy) a certain tree is is by drinking its leaves and comparing it to its neighbours: the older the tree is, the thicker the soup and the more comfortable the ChaQi and your body in general.

The consensus among the most reliable tea experts about the age of the oldest standard puerh varietal trees in Banzhang tea area is approx. 500-800 years. However people, even experts, have very different opinions about what age of tree is in a specific area.

So there always is uncertainty in this topic and we won’t pretend otherwise, we simply say: If you or your favourite expert think there are 800+ years old trees in Banzhang, this is one such trees. This is selected ancient tree, the best category of ancient tree available in the area after single big ancient tree. Best largely means oldest, but healthiest/biggest is also very important.

You can find more details about reference tree ages on the Benchmark ancient tree introduction under “Age of trees”.

Puerh.uk Benchmark Ancient Tree Series Introduction

• The best possible ancient tree tea that can be obtained in a given specific garden
• Our most significant contribution to making available a type of puerh that was not available before
• Super strict quality criteria (standard puerh varietal only, classic puerh areas only, 1st spring pick, extremely clean environment, ancient trees that have never been cut, healthiest and biggest trees only chosen for single trees production)

The best tea is not for sale, it’s available only through relationships. Tier 5 is about 0.01% of available Puerh, with ancient tree leaves only with all taste qualities present in overwhelming amount, tea that is basically only found in elite asian circles and via private connections.

Benchmark ancient tree Puerh is a subset of Tier 5, and particularly means: this is highest expression of ancient tree puerh from a specific garden, so it can be used as “benchmark” to tell whether other puerh is truly ancient tree or not.

Puerh of this quality has never been made before in history (only in the last 10 years), this is the most exciting frontier of tea at the moment as far as we’re concerned. Please see the full Benchmark ancient tree introduction page for more info.

30g ceramic jars (a bit more than 1oz) containing chunks of cake, 200g cakes.