AN'S SECRET
VIETNAM FERMENTED TEA
DARK (FERMENTED) TEA
★ WILD TEA
Hoàng Su Phì, Hà Giàng, Vietnam
AN'S SECRET is a fermented tea crafted in the Hoàng Su Phì region of northern Vietnam from the leaves of ancient tea trees using a unique processing technique. This fermentation creates a style setting it apart from other teas, as it sits between and bridges the worlds of Pu'Er and Red tea. The infusion is vibrant and complex, revealing floral aromas, honey-like sweetness, refreshing fruity acidity, and remarkable aging potential that allows its character to continue evolving over time. MORE
AROMA
Woody, ftuity
TASTE
Herbal, honey, medicine
HARVEST: 2022
DARK (FERMENTED) TEA
★ WILD TEA
Hoàng Su Phì, Hà Giàng, Vietnam
AN'S SECRET is a fermented tea crafted in the Hoàng Su Phì region of northern Vietnam from the leaves of ancient tea trees using a unique processing technique. This fermentation creates a style setting it apart from other teas, as it sits between and bridges the worlds of Pu'Er and Red tea. The infusion is vibrant and complex, revealing floral aromas, honey-like sweetness, refreshing fruity acidity, and remarkable aging potential that allows its character to continue evolving over time. MORE
AROMA
Woody, ftuity
TASTE
Herbal, honey, medicine
HARVEST: 2022
Fermented tea also known as Hei Cha has an excellent healing effect, as it contains theaflavins - substances that can resist tumours, and prevent the formation of blood clots and coagulation. Hei Cha improves immunity, inhibits the spread of cancer cells, prevents cardiovascular diseases, and much more. It is believed that this kind of tea prolongs life.
Learn more about the BIOCHEMISTRY OF A TEA LEAF
Learn more about FERMENTED TEA
EASTERN (PIN CHA) ★
Temperature: 99 °C
Amount: 3-7 grams per 120 ml of water
Steeping: 10-30 sec x 7+
WESTERN (INFUSION)
Temperature: 99 °C
Amount: 2-3 grams per 250 ml of water
Steeping: 1-2 min x 3
Learn more about TEA BREWING METHODS
Tea absorbs surrounding aromas and moisture and loses its properties, including taste and aroma. Store it in a dry and cool place. Avoid direct exposure to the sun and high temperatures.
TEMPERATURE: 20-25°C
HUMIDITY: 50-60%
BEST BEFORE: No expiration date!
*When properly stored, this tea gets better with time!
TEMPERATURE: 20-25°C
HUMIDITY: 50-60%
BEST BEFORE: No expiration date!
*When properly stored, this tea gets better with time!
Learn more ABOUT STORING AND AGING PU'ER TEA
2022 AN'S SECRET by AN SHIM TEA
ABOUT
2022 AN'S SECRET is one of the most distinctive teas we have ever encountered. Created by our long-time friend and tea master, Uncle An, in the Hoàng Su Phì region of Hà Giang Province, it is produced exclusively from the first spring harvest of ancient tea trees. Developed using his own closely guarded processing technique, this tea falls outside any established tea category and became one of the inspirations behind our Out-Of-Type collection - a selection dedicated to original teas that cannot be defined by conventional classification.
Produced from a traditional one bud with two leaves plucking standard, the fresh leaves undergo a controlled fermentation for a relatively short period before the process is stopped to preserve a unique semi-fermented character. Rather than becoming a fully fermented tea, it continues to evolve naturally through post-fermentation during storage, gradually developing greater depth and complexity while retaining its vibrant personality.
The result is a tea with a captivating organoleptic profile, combining characteristics rarely found together in a single infusion. A true master's creation, a one man-one terroir tea, it has been aging in our warehouse since 2022, becoming progressively more harmonious and expressive each year.
With its extremely limited production, it is one of the rarest teas in our collection.
TERROIR
Hà Giàng Province, located in the far north of Vietnam along the border with China, is one of the country's most important tea-producing regions and home to some of Southeast Asia's oldest tea trees. The region's high elevations, ranging from 1,000 to over 2,000 meters above sea level, combined with frequent mountain mists, abundant rainfall, rich soils, and significant day-to-night temperature fluctuations, create ideal conditions for producing teas of exceptional complexity, sweetness, minerality, and aging potential.
Hà Giàng is particularly famous for its Shan Tuyết tea trees, a unique Vietnamese tea variety often referred to as "Snow Mountain Tea." Many of these ancient trees grow naturally in remote mountain forests, where their deep root systems absorb nutrients and minerals from multiple geological layers. Harvested by local ethnic minority communities using traditional methods, Shan Tuyết teas are celebrated for their floral aromas, honey-like sweetness, rich texture, vibrant mountain character, and long-lasting aftertaste, making Hà Giàng one of the most respected tea terroirs in Vietnam.
Within the many tea-producing areas of Hà Giàng, Huang Su Phì is widely regarded as one of the region's finest terroirs. Located on steep mountain slopes close to the Chinese border, its ancient tea forests thrive at high elevations under cool temperatures, dense seasonal mists, and pristine natural conditions. The combination of rugged terrain, mineral-rich soils, and centuries-old Shan Tuyết tea trees produces teas with remarkable depth, vibrant energy, and pronounced sweetness.
ORGANOLEPTICS
The dry leaves produce a bright, deep aroma with pronounced sweet-and-sour woody notes, complemented by hints of traditional herbal medicine and gentle enzymatic fermentation. Warmed in a preheated teapot, the fragrance becomes softer and sweeter, revealing floral nectar, honey, and delicate pastry-like nuances. After rinsing, the leaves open with expressive aromas of dried fruits, ripe berries, aromatic wood, and subtle herbal complexity.
The infusion is a deep amber colour with a rich, warming aroma combining notes of baked pastries, honey, dried fruit, and aged wood. The taste is vibrant, layered, and remarkably complex, balancing refreshing acidity with natural sweetness, woody depth, floral elegance, and honeyed richness. A gentle initial bitterness quickly transforms into a long, sweet aftertaste, while each successive infusion reveals new dimensions of the tea's character. After the first few infusions, the liquor becomes noticeably softer, rounder, and deeper, with the bitterness disappearing almost entirely, leaving a smooth, comforting, and satisfying tea experience.
The body is rich, silky, and well-structured, coating the palate with remarkable depth while remaining lively and refreshing throughout the session. The tea carries a calm yet uplifting energy that gradually settles both body and mind, each infusion bringing another layer of harmony.
2022 AN'S SECRET is one of the most distinctive teas we have ever encountered. Created by our long-time friend and tea master, Uncle An, in the Hoàng Su Phì region of Hà Giang Province, it is produced exclusively from the first spring harvest of ancient tea trees. Developed using his own closely guarded processing technique, this tea falls outside any established tea category and became one of the inspirations behind our Out-Of-Type collection - a selection dedicated to original teas that cannot be defined by conventional classification.
Produced from a traditional one bud with two leaves plucking standard, the fresh leaves undergo a controlled fermentation for a relatively short period before the process is stopped to preserve a unique semi-fermented character. Rather than becoming a fully fermented tea, it continues to evolve naturally through post-fermentation during storage, gradually developing greater depth and complexity while retaining its vibrant personality.
The result is a tea with a captivating organoleptic profile, combining characteristics rarely found together in a single infusion. A true master's creation, a one man-one terroir tea, it has been aging in our warehouse since 2022, becoming progressively more harmonious and expressive each year.
With its extremely limited production, it is one of the rarest teas in our collection.
TERROIR
Hà Giàng Province, located in the far north of Vietnam along the border with China, is one of the country's most important tea-producing regions and home to some of Southeast Asia's oldest tea trees. The region's high elevations, ranging from 1,000 to over 2,000 meters above sea level, combined with frequent mountain mists, abundant rainfall, rich soils, and significant day-to-night temperature fluctuations, create ideal conditions for producing teas of exceptional complexity, sweetness, minerality, and aging potential.
Hà Giàng is particularly famous for its Shan Tuyết tea trees, a unique Vietnamese tea variety often referred to as "Snow Mountain Tea." Many of these ancient trees grow naturally in remote mountain forests, where their deep root systems absorb nutrients and minerals from multiple geological layers. Harvested by local ethnic minority communities using traditional methods, Shan Tuyết teas are celebrated for their floral aromas, honey-like sweetness, rich texture, vibrant mountain character, and long-lasting aftertaste, making Hà Giàng one of the most respected tea terroirs in Vietnam.
Within the many tea-producing areas of Hà Giàng, Huang Su Phì is widely regarded as one of the region's finest terroirs. Located on steep mountain slopes close to the Chinese border, its ancient tea forests thrive at high elevations under cool temperatures, dense seasonal mists, and pristine natural conditions. The combination of rugged terrain, mineral-rich soils, and centuries-old Shan Tuyết tea trees produces teas with remarkable depth, vibrant energy, and pronounced sweetness.
ORGANOLEPTICS
The dry leaves produce a bright, deep aroma with pronounced sweet-and-sour woody notes, complemented by hints of traditional herbal medicine and gentle enzymatic fermentation. Warmed in a preheated teapot, the fragrance becomes softer and sweeter, revealing floral nectar, honey, and delicate pastry-like nuances. After rinsing, the leaves open with expressive aromas of dried fruits, ripe berries, aromatic wood, and subtle herbal complexity.
The infusion is a deep amber colour with a rich, warming aroma combining notes of baked pastries, honey, dried fruit, and aged wood. The taste is vibrant, layered, and remarkably complex, balancing refreshing acidity with natural sweetness, woody depth, floral elegance, and honeyed richness. A gentle initial bitterness quickly transforms into a long, sweet aftertaste, while each successive infusion reveals new dimensions of the tea's character. After the first few infusions, the liquor becomes noticeably softer, rounder, and deeper, with the bitterness disappearing almost entirely, leaving a smooth, comforting, and satisfying tea experience.
The body is rich, silky, and well-structured, coating the palate with remarkable depth while remaining lively and refreshing throughout the session. The tea carries a calm yet uplifting energy that gradually settles both body and mind, each infusion bringing another layer of harmony.
"If you have attended any of our tea events, you have probably heard me mention Uncle An many times. Over the years, our friendship has grown into a close partnership built on countless expeditions, shared knowledge, and even tea production projects that we have carried out together. A third-generation tea master with Taiwanese roots, Uncle An possesses a remarkable ability to reveal the full potential of ancient tea trees. Every tea he creates has its own identity, yet they all share a distinctive signature that becomes instantly recognisable after just a few sips.
Many of Uncle An's production techniques remain closely guarded secrets, and 2022 AN'S SECRET is perhaps the most fascinating example of his experimental approach. When he first introduced this tea in 2022, I immediately recognised its potential and secured a small quantity to observe how it would evolve over time. Watching it mature in our warehouse has been a rewarding journey, confirming that truly exceptional teas continue to develop long after they leave the factory.
One of the greatest privileges of my career has been meeting remarkable tea masters and discovering rare teas that challenge conventional understanding. Uncle An is undoubtedly one of those people, and his teas continue to inspire both my work and my passion for tea. If you have the opportunity, I also encourage you to experience GREEN FOREST, RED FOREST, MẬT ONG HỒNG TRÀ, and HỒNG TRÀ PAI HAO. Each of them reflects his unique vision of tea making and is produced in very limited quantities."
— Andrei Ivanovs, Founder of AN SHIM TEA
Many of Uncle An's production techniques remain closely guarded secrets, and 2022 AN'S SECRET is perhaps the most fascinating example of his experimental approach. When he first introduced this tea in 2022, I immediately recognised its potential and secured a small quantity to observe how it would evolve over time. Watching it mature in our warehouse has been a rewarding journey, confirming that truly exceptional teas continue to develop long after they leave the factory.
One of the greatest privileges of my career has been meeting remarkable tea masters and discovering rare teas that challenge conventional understanding. Uncle An is undoubtedly one of those people, and his teas continue to inspire both my work and my passion for tea. If you have the opportunity, I also encourage you to experience GREEN FOREST, RED FOREST, MẬT ONG HỒNG TRÀ, and HỒNG TRÀ PAI HAO. Each of them reflects his unique vision of tea making and is produced in very limited quantities."
— Andrei Ivanovs, Founder of AN SHIM TEA
AN SHIM TEA - VIETNAM
Try one of the best Vietnamese tea representatives from AN SHIM TEA COLLECTION