2025 Yunnan Sourcing "Xi Niu Tang Pasha" Raw Pu-erh Tea Cake

A first-flush Spring 2025 pick from Pa Sha Mountain (帕沙山), just south of Gelanghe in southeast Menghai County (Xishuangbanna). Sourced from old-arbor trees (100–200 years) in Xi Niu Tang (犀牛塘) around 1,600 m, then hand-processed as sun-dried mao cha and pressed into 250 g cakes (7 per bamboo-leaf tong). Total production: 60 kg (≈240 cakes). Wrapper design by Rafał Przybylok.

Pa Sha’s name in the Aini language means “tall, straight forest.” The mountain is fog-kissed most of the year, with abundant rainfall and deep ground cover, conditions that produce large, healthy leaves with striking silver tips and a rich, sweet core when crafted as sheng.

Why it’s special

• Single-area identity: From the Xi Niu Tang grove within Pa Sha, an area prized for sweet power with clean structure.

• Old-arbor material: 100–200-year trees yield thickness, stamina, and noteworthy cha qi.

• Highland terroir: Pa Sha sits up to ~1,850 m (avg. ~1,700 m), giving bright aromatics and golden, viscous liquor.

• Built to integrate and round out with age: Firm, tidy bitterness + long aftertaste = excellent aging potential.

Tasting notes (2025)

• Aroma: Sweet wood and mountain florals over cane/honey; faint resin/camphor.

• Liquor: Golden-yellow, thick “briny” body with a lively, textured mouthfeel.

• Flavor: Strong and sweet; a measured green bitterness frames sugars; mineral line and light citrus-peel lift through mid-steeps.

• Finish & feel: Long-lasting hui-gan, persistent shengjin (mouthwatering return), and a steady, focusing cha qi.

Drinkers regularly describe Pa Sha as sweet-leaning but potent, with camphor/cooling touches, woody-resin notes, apricot/red-fruit flashes, and firm but balanced bitterness that rewards careful brewing, lining up with our in-cup experience here. Our Xi Niu Tang Pasha releases emphasize the foggy, high-elevation environment and the garden’s reputation for early bud growth and robust leaves.

Origin & processing

• Mountain / Area: Pa Sha (帕沙山), near Gelanghe, Menghai County, Xishuangbanna

• Sub-area: Xi Niu Tang (犀牛塘)

• Elevation: Tea zone ~1,600 m (Pa Sha peaks to ~1,850 m; avg. ~1,700 m)

• Trees: Old arbor (100–200 yrs)

• Season: April 2025 (first flush)

• Craft: Hand-picked • sun-withered • hand-rolled • sun-dried mao cha • traditionally stone-pressed

• Format: 250 g per cake • 7 cakes per tong

• Production: 60 kg total (≈240 cakes)

Brewing guide

(Great water helps. Keep early steeps short to spotlight sweetness and control the bite.)

Gongfu (recommended)

• 6 g / 100 mL

• 98–100 °C (208–212 °F)

• Quick rinse, then 5s • 8s • 10s • 12s • 15s, adding gradually for 10+ infusions.

• If bitterness spikes, shorten by 1–2 seconds or pour at 95–96 °C

Western

• 3–4 g / 300 mL (10 oz) • 95–98 °C • 2:00–2:30

• 2–3 infusions, extending 20–30s each round.

Grandpa style

• 1–1.2 g / 100 mL • 90–95 °C

• Top up as you sip. Robust sweetness with a clean, quick-clearing bitterness.

Cold brew

• 8–10 g / 1 L, room-temp water; refrigerate 6–8 hours.

• Cool camphor lift, gentle cane sweetness, minimal astringency.

Pairing & occasions

• Great side-by-side with neighboring Gelanghe/Nannuo shengs to explore Menghai sub-regional character.

In summary

• Caffeine: Medium-High

• Storage & aging: Store cool, dry, odor-free, away from light; allow gentle airflow. Over 5–15 years, expect bitterness to settle, texture to grow silkier, and camphor/fruit to deepen. Longer term aging will increase complexity and desirable traits!

• Name: 2025 Yunnan Sourcing “Xi Niu Tang Pasha” Raw Pu-erh (Sheng)

• Region: Pa Sha, Menghai County (Xishuangbanna)

• Sub-area: Xi Niu Tang

• Elevation: ~1,600 m (Pa Sha max ~1,850 m)

• Trees: 100–200-year-old old arbor

• Harvest: April 2025 (first flush)

• Process: Traditional sheng; stone-pressed

• Net weight: 250 g per cake (7 per tong)

• Production: 60 kg total (≈240 cakes)

• Wrapper Design: Rafał Przybylok

In short: A small-run Pa Sha (Xi Niu Tang) sheng that’s strong and sweet with a golden, viscous body, long hui-gan, and that signature cooling, camphor-tinged length, ready to enjoy now and poised to deepen with age. Community notes on Pa Sha echo the same themes: sweet power, resin/camphor freshness, balanced bitterness, and durable fruit-sweetness.

About Pasha Mountain:

Pasha in the Aini language means tall and straight forest. According to local people, Pasha was settled more than 300 years ago by people from the Jinghong and Damenglong area of Xishuangbanna. At that time this area had no villages or cultivated land within 10 kilometers and was dominated by vast mountains filled with giant ancient tea trees. The Aini people, through foresight and diligent work, created their home on this land, relying on tea to earn a living. Pasha Ancient Tea Mountain is located in Menghai county to the Southwest of Gelanghe tea mountain. The highest elevation is 1850 meters, with an average of 1700 meters (the same as Lao Banzhang mountain). There are currently around 1000 acres of tea under cultivation. One hundred thirty years ago, the current Banzhang settlement was founded by residents of Pasha who moved there to cultivate tea. Pasha Ancient Tea Mountain is shrouded in fog year-round and features abundant rainfall. The tea producing area lies between 1600 and 1800 meters elevation and is in an area of luxuriant growth with rich ground cover and fertile soil. Tea tree growth is extremely productive, with an early budding period and long harvest periods, producing large healthy tea leaves with striking silver tips -- excellent quality tea. Pasha organic arbor tea is made from selected ancient arbor leaves grown at an elevation of 1700 meters on Pasha Ancient Tea Mountain in Menghai county.

This tea has been tested in a certified laboratory for 404 pesticides, and is within the EU MRL limits set for those 404 pesticide residues. For a full list of the 404 pesticides we tested for and more information about MRL testing and the EU Food and Safety commission click on this link.