# Bingdao Sheng (冰島生普)

*Bīng Dǎo Shēng · Dark / Pu-erh · Water*

**archetype:** Sweet mountain peak

A sweet peak above the clouds: a powerful mountain sweetness, an icy freshness in the throat, a long sugar return.

## History

Bingdao is the name of a village in the Lincang mountains (Yunnan). The word 'bing dao' literally means 'ice island', and the tea's character matches the name: an icy freshness, a sugary base, a crystalline sweetness. Sheng from old Bingdao trees (200+ years) is today considered one of the most expensive teas in China; the price of 'mother' cakes rises faster than for any other variety of puer.

> It is said that Bingdao stands on the rib of the earth, and the sky is closer there than over any other place. In winter the wind from the mountains comes to the village first, and the leaves of the bush become 'icy' — taking in the cold without losing their sweetness. When you drink such a tea, the throat keeps the taste of the first frost — sweet and clean as new snow.

## Terroir

1700–2000 m. weathered granite and red clay, poor but well drained. very cool nights, thin air, long rains in season. 'Lao Bingdao' means leaf from old trees of the actual Bingdao Lao Zhai village. All other 'Bingdao' are the surrounding gardens sold under the common name.

## Leaf

- **dry leaf:** large dark-green twisted leaves from old trees, pressed into a cake; in the hand they smell of sugar and mountain stone
- **warmed:** the warmed leaf — icy sugar, ripe apple, a floral altitude, a thin coolness
- **after pour:** after the infusion — sugar, apple, flower, warm wind
- **taste:** icy sugar, ripe apple, mountain air, a floral altitude, a very long hui gan
- **finish:** very long; the returning sweetness lasts 30–40 minutes and more

## Properties

- **TCM:** cool, yin; nourishes yin, clears heat, calms the shen
- **Modern:** rich in natural sugars and theanine, relatively low catechins — hence a 'friendly' profile; considered 'the best female sheng'
- **Cha qi:** crystalline, ascending into the head; felt as 'the ringing of high air'
- **Caffeine:** moderate (35–50 mg)

## Brewing ritual

a white 110 ml gaiwan; 100 °C; 6 g / 110 ml. 5s — the first sugar: apple, mountain altitude; 7s — the peak: icy sugar, a floral note; 9s — a huge hui gan — the sweetness returns long; 12s — a long sugar trail; 20s — a late floral altitude; 32s — the finale — an icy coolness in the throat; 55s — a very late note — mountain air.

## When to drink

day. spring and autumn. for an icy sweetness, for refinement, as a gift to a connoisseur. white chocolate, ripe apple, acacia, sugar pear, fruit salads. two for a special occasion; a solitary tasting

## Tea meditation

1. Stand on the summit, do not cling to it.
2. The sweetness does not return at once — that is normal.
3. Altitude is not a feat, but a calm.

## Questions and answers

### How do you brew Bingdao Sheng?

a white 110 ml gaiwan; 100 °C; 6 g / 110 ml. 5s — the first sugar: apple, mountain altitude; 7s — the peak: icy sugar, a floral note; 9s — a huge hui gan — the sweetness returns long; 12s — a long sugar trail; 20s — a late floral altitude; 32s — the finale — an icy coolness in the throat; 55s — a very late note — mountain air.

### What does Bingdao Sheng taste like?

icy sugar, ripe apple, mountain air, a floral altitude, a very long hui gan

### How much caffeine is in Bingdao Sheng?

moderate (35–50 mg)

### What are the effects of Bingdao Sheng?

rich in natural sugars and theanine, relatively low catechins — hence a 'friendly' profile; considered 'the best female sheng'

## Related teas

- [Yiwu Sheng](https://www.dao-cha.info/en/tea/yiwu-sheng)
- [Lao Banzhang](https://www.dao-cha.info/en/tea/lao-banzhang-sheng)
- [Young Sheng Pu-erh](https://www.dao-cha.info/en/tea/sheng-puer-young)
- [Dark / Pu-erh](https://www.dao-cha.info/en/class/dark)