2025 Yunnan Sourcing "Ai Lao Secret Garden" Old Arbor Raw Pu-erh Tea Cake
Entirely first-flush Spring 2025 material from a high, remote site in the Ai Lao range (Jingdong County). The “Secret Garden” grove sits around ~2,100 m, just below one of Ai Lao’s upper ridges, among the highest-altitude pu-erh gardens in Yunnan. Trees here are naturally vigorous and, at this elevation, often show a hybrid character of small- and large-leaf types (sinensis × assamica), producing thick, burly leaves with lots of downy buds. Gardens remain pristine thanks to limited access and few roads.
Stone-pressed in small batches near Kunming; a low-temperature bake sets and protects the cakes after compression. 250 g per cake, bundled 7 cakes per bamboo-leaf tong. Total production 40 kg. Wrapper illustration by Fabio Cesaratto.
In Summary
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Name: 2025 Yunnan Sourcing “Ai Lao Secret Garden” Old Arbor Raw Pu-erh (Sheng)
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Region: Ai Lao Mountains (Jingdong), Simao/Pu’er
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Elevation: ~2,100 m (high-altitude site)
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Leaf character: High-elevation small/large-leaf hybrid tendency
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Harvest: Spring 2025 (first flush)
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Process: Traditional sheng; stone-pressed, low-temp baked post-press
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Net weight: 250 grams per cake (7 per tong)
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Production: 40 kg total (160 cakes)
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Wrapper Illustration: Fabio Cesaratto
In short: A high-mountain, old-arbor Ai Lao sheng, orchid-honey fragrance, thick soupy body, and a long, sweet finish, crafted to drink now and integrate & round out beautifully with age.
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.
We drink the Spring 2018 Yunnan Sourcing "Ai Lao Secret Garden" in this video:
