Smaller Green Leafhopper Honey Flavour Black Tea produced by Junjie Lin Tea Garden (林俊傑茶園), a tea farm in Taiwan, won a Golden Fork award at the Great Taste Awards in London on Tuesday.
It was the second consecutive Great Taste Golden Fork from the Rest of the World awarded to a Taiwanese product, and the first tea to receive the honor.
The Great Taste awards are given out each year, with products receiving three stars if judged “exquisite,” two stars for “outstanding” and one star if “simply delicious,” the award’s Web site said.
Photo: CNA
Golden Fork awards are also given to a product recognized for being the “best tasting product in their region,” the Web site said.
Not only was the Taiwanese tea recognized as the best in its region — outside Europe — it was also chosen as one of the 10 contenders for the Great Taste Supreme Champion award.
Established in 1995, Junjie Lin Tea Garden is an organic tea garden in Hualien County, the awards Web site said.
Silvija Davidson, food critic and the convener of this year’s jury, said the tea was “a honey champagne of teas,” comparing it to Darjeeling tea, which is known as the “champagne of teas” because of its unique taste and aroma.
The tea farm’s owner, Lin Junjie (林俊傑), said that based on last year’s experience the jury seemed to prefer teas with distinct floral notes, so he adjusted the production process and made a black tea with a more floral aroma this year.
He confirmed that the award has helped increase sales.
Although he originally marketed his products himself, overseas wholesalers specializing in high-end teas have made enquiries about selling them, Lin said, adding that he signed a deal for a top-tier honey flavor black tea in July, which is expected to reach UK shelves next month.
Great Taste “is the world’s largest and most trusted food and drink accreditation scheme,” its Web site said.
This year, a total of 13,672 products from 115 countries entered the awards to be blind-judged by a panel of 500. Among the products, 5,590 were awarded one star or more, the Web site said.
There were 112 submissions from Taiwan, of which 65 were teas. Of the teas, four received a three-star recognition.
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