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2019 Yunnan Sourcing "Autumn Ai Lao Secret Garden" Old Arbor Raw Pu-erh Tea Cake

2019 Yunnan Sourcing "Autumn Ai Lao Secret Garden" Old Arbor Raw Pu-erh Tea Cake

by Yunnan Sourcing Brand Pu-erh
$16.00 - $175.00
$16.00
$16.00 - $175.00
$16.00

Entirely Autumn 2019 material from high altitude Ai Lao mountain.  The Ai Lao mountains peak out at about 3200 meters, making them second only to Wu Liang Shan as the highest mountains in Simao prefecture.   The Ai Lao mountain range is in the county of Jingdong which borders Chu Xiong prefecture.  This tea comes from old arbor tea trees growing in an undisclosed location (Secret Garden) in the Ai Lao mountain area at 2100 meters, making this some of the highest altitude pu-erh in existance.  Due to the high altitude most of the tea trees in this area are a naturally occurring hybrid of large and small leaf (sinensis and var. assamica).  The trees are healthy old trees growing naturally just below the peak of one of Ai Lao's many mountains.   Ai Lao tea gardens are arguably some of the remotest tea gardens in all of Yunnan.  Lack of roads and access has kept the environment of this area in pristine condition.

The tea itself is aromatic with hints of orchid aroma (兰香), and a strong mouth-feel.  The leaves are fatter and more burly than the Wu Liang tea. It features lots of hairy buds that make it somewhat resemble its close neighbor Jinggu mountain teas.  Honey and grass essences are present in this thick soupy tea!  Very sweet and full bodied tea that remains flavorful and complex for 10+ steeps.  "Secret Garden" is the most premium Ai Lao area tea that we have ever had the privilege to enjoy (or offer for sale)!

This tea was compressed in a small tea factory near Kunming where stone presses were used.  Low temperature “baking” was used to dry these cakes after the compression process thus preserving their integrity!  The cakes are wrapped and then bundled into bamboo leaf "tongs" with seven cakes per tong.

 

400 grams per cake (7 cakes per bamboo leaf tong)

40kg in total produced

Wrapper Design by Marichka Turanska

 

This tea has been tested in a certified laboratory for 191 pesticides, and is within the EU MRL limits set for those 191 pesticide residues. For a full list of the 191 pesticides we tested for and more information about MRL testing and the EU Food and Safety commission click on this link.

 

We drink the 2018 Spring "Ai Lao Secret Garden" in this video below!

Overall rating: 5.0 / 5 from 4 reviews.

AI Generated Review Summary

Summary topics

Review topics: ["tea","ai lao"].

Review highlights

Reviews

Possibly the best AI Lao on ys (drinking in2023)

"I've had pretty much every ai lao there is on ys and was not expecting this one too be so very good. Especially since it's not fully aged yet. Where the spring 19 was much more marzipan flowers and still is, from my recollection of drinking it about a month or so ago, this one has a lot more of a jasmine maple flavour. It's still clearly an ai lao but has a much deeper note to it. Before this one for me the 19 spring was the winner but this takes those flavours and added something dark and deep to it. Massive recommendation to anyone likes floral raws."

— LukasD (5/5)

Dang

"This one is getting pretty dang good !!!! Wild honey !!!! Meaty !!!! It has a great amount of complexity flowers, friut , ect and for me quite warming if I drank this mid day rather then right in the morning I'd be sweating ! Its a Good buy if you want powerfully puerh and has changed enough in almost a year for me to really see its long term potential too ."

— Herb 3. (5/5)

Grounding, calming, thick tea with a complex sweet savory taste

"After brewing this tea at 5g/100mL I got a nice relaxing, grounding and yet focused session. This is the type of tea that brings you into that post-meditation zone where your brain stops racing and you are simply content with life and the moment you are in - perfect for a Sunday afternoon in the garden with the sun out. Tasting very savory, the tea starts with a creamy slight bitterness that fades away into a fruity, bubbly after taste that remains in the back of your throat for a long time. The empty cup gives off a sweet flower smell, incense and dried flowers, funky in a very enjoyable way. A very activating feeling (tingling) on the lips and tongue after drinking, another sign of the exceptional properties of the tea. This is top grade stuff."

— Steven M. (5/5)

slightly more expensive than the Spring version - and it should be

"this Autumn tea is a real winner - having tried a few samples of the Spring version, which are very good, had a feeling the Autumn version would add a bit of smokiness that would slightly improve the character of this really nice sheng, and I was right - this tea is fantastic, and proof of what Scott often says, that Autumn teas can be really good, this is one certainly is, and Scott clearly has a great eye for when that will be the case, well done! Very highly recommended, don't overlook."

— Cary K. (5/5)

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