NEW YORK (March 16, 2016) — Penton’s North American Tea Championship (NATC) named the best hot teas from the fall 2015 harvest and the best packaged single-service teas during its recent evaluation, Feb. 25 – 26 in Las Vegas, Nev. NATC is the only independent and professionally-judged tea competition in North America, and all of the high-quality winning teas are commercially available in the marketplace. Visit teachampionship.com to learn more.
Companies that took home an esteemed first-place award in either the Fall Hot Tea or Packaged Single-Service evaluation include: DoMatcha; Farmer Brothers; Florapharm; Garden to Cup Organics; ITO EN; Newby Teas; Rishi Tea; SAHPAT teas; Silk Road Teas; Soleil Industrial Inc. DBA Golden Tea Leaf Co.; The Tea House; and Walters Bay.
Honorees will be featured at the North American Tea Championship Winners Tasting Circle at World Tea Expo (WorldTeaExpo.com), June 15 - 17 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nev.
David De Candia, one of the NATC evaluators and director of tea at The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, headquartered in Los Angeles, Calif., said, “I was very pleased to see the large amount of quality entries for the Fall Hot Tea and Packaged Single-Service evaluations of the North American Tea Championship. Congratulations to all of the winners.”
Lydia Kung, an NATC evaluator, tea buyer and expert with Eastrise Trading Corp./VeriLeaf LLC in Rosemead, Calif., noted, “This February event covered various autumnal teas – in addition to the Packaged Single-Service teas – and it therefore seems very fitting that the category earning the highest points consistently was Oolong, a group that ranges from lightly oxidized teas akin to green teas, to darker, layered cups that demonstrate the pleasures to be found in this category. The sheer variety of teas in the Oolong category, and the NATC-winning Oolong teas, should entice more consumers to explore this group, complex in the making and complex for the senses.”
All NATC tea submissions were evaluated blind and through organoleptic analysis of the following characteristics: dry leaf (hot tea competition only), brewed color, brewed aroma, brewed flavor, brewed mouth-feel and brewed harmony. An overall numerical value on a 100-point scale was then calculated based on the ratings of each characteristic. Winners were determined by rank. Judges evaluating the teas were not allowed to enter teas from their own company.
A complete list of first, second and third-place winners from the North American Tea Championship’s Fall Hot Tea and Packaged Single-Service Tea evaluations is available at teachampionship.com.
Fall Hot Tea first-place winners include (Company, Winning Tea and Category):
Packaged Single-Service Tea first-place winners include (Company, Winning Tea and Category):
The next North American Tea Championship will be held May 12 – 13, 2016, at the Wilbur Curtis corporate headquarters in Los Angeles, Calif., for an evaluation of iced teas. To inquire about entering the competition, e-mail info@teachampionship.com.
ABOUT PENTON
Penton is an innovative information services company that empowers nearly 20 million business decision makers in markets that drive more than 12 trillion dollars in purchases each year. Our products inform with rich industry insights and workflow tools; engage through dynamic events, education and networking; and advance business with powerful marketing services programs. Penton is the way smart businesses buy, sell and grow.
Headquartered in New York, Penton is privately owned by MidOcean Partners and Wasserstein & Co., LP. For more information, visit http://www.penton.com or follow us on Twitter @PentonNow.
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Note to Editors: Press passes to World Tea Expo, June 15 – 17 in Las Vegas, Nev., may be requested. E-mail akiel@akprgroup.com.
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