Of all the Banzhang Villages that get to benefit from the legendary name and proximity, none is closer to Lao Banzhang than the one that actually isn't considered in the main five — Ban Pen.  For some reason Ban Pen is classified under Hekai administratively.

Ban Pen is only about a mile and a half as the crow flies from Lao Banzhang and essentially shares the same backyard (some tea gardens).  Surely over the years much of what the market has been duped into thinking was Lao Banzhang has actually been Ban Pen all along.  For all these reasons, Ban Pen has been dubbed "poor man's Lao Banzhang" as their character is nearly identical as they share the same terroir.

Mr. Yang's sister has some old growth tracts there that produce some nice tea.  Old R&L heads might remember cakes of autumn 2021 and spring 2022 making a showing in the shop a number of years ago now.

This one's processing is quite "green" — the greenest of the Yunnan Field Trip lot, carrying a bright + fragrant profile, produced by trendy high heat wok treatment that thoroughly denatures enzymes that would typically remain active to then later oxidize and mellow.  Just like you get to decide if the hype is worth it by trying out LBZ, you might also want to see if all the bad press on greener pu is warranted.

The recent youtube documentary episode on the Banzhang Villages discusses green pu'er processing.  What do you think?