Events

ABOUT THE TEA MAKERS

Gryphon Tea, Singapore
Bullseye Blend
Highly Commended, Category: Wellness Blend
Gryphon Tea is a premium tea brand founded in 2006 by Lim Tian Wee, the fourth-generation owner of Lim Lam Thye Pte Ltd, a major tea exporter based in Singapore since 1918. The company prides itself on its high-quality, premium blended teas, which are sourced from all over the world. Bullseye is an energising blend of Green Yerba Mate, American Ginseng, GABA Green Tea, Peppermint Leaves and Lemon Peel.

Jantle Group, China
Ya Shi Xlang
GOLD, Category: Oolong, China (lightly oxidised)
Jantle Group took both the Highly Commended and Gold award in this category. The judges noted the pleasing aroma, peachy fruity flavours and delicious mouthfeel of these teas, of which will taste the Gold Winner. Wenli Gou, founder of Jantle Group, is a former UK Tea Academy student. Some of the judges were immensely proud to know a UKTA alumni was creating these exquisite teas, which won these accolades in a blind tasting. It goes to show how the right training can have tremendous results.

Zen Zen Thé, Taiwan
Red Oolong Tea
GOLD, Category: Oolong, Taiwan (heavily oxidised)
Zen Zen Thé is a contemporary tea space founded in 2021 by tea master Jerry Lan. Zen Zen carefully crafts Taiwanese tea and offers food pairings through collaborations with numerous Michelin starred restaurants. This highly fermented and heavily roasted oolong tea scored top marks with the judges, who described it as a “bright and beautifully made tea with a sensationally sweet, fragrant aroma and pleasing depth of flavour. Delicious both hot and cold.”

Amba Tea Estate, Sri Lanka
Amba Uva Oolong
Highly Commended, Category: Oolong tea (other regions)
Amba Estate is a community-run social enterprise. Their organic farm nestles at 1000m, high above the Ravana-Ella waterfalls in the Uva mountains of Sri Lanka. They are most famous for their hand-made teas – being the first estate in Sri Lanka to start hand-rolling black and green teas. Their teas have been sold or served in many of the most famous shops and restaurants around the world. The Uva Oolong is an exceptionally well-made tea with delicious honey notes on the nose and liquor.

Lochan Tea, India
Doke Black Fusion
Highly Commended, Category: Black Tea (new region)
Lochan is an organic certified tea garden in the Bihar Region of India that was planted in the mid 90’s with Assamica cultivar tea bushes, now hand producing white, green, oolong and black teas. They are also experimenting with growing fruits and spices. Doke black fusion is a black tea that is entirely handmade and organically grown.

Sashimacha Yoshida Tea Farm, Japan
Izumi 2023 2nd Flush
Highly Commended, Category: Black Tea, Japan
This rare tea is made by a sixth-generation tea farmer on Yoshida tea farm, which was established in 1839. Masahiro Yoshida started making black tea 10 years ago, from a forgotten varietal called “Izumi”. In 2012 he perfected the process of making high-quality black tea by applying a Chinese tea processing method that preserves the leaf shape and maximizes the characteristics of the Izumi tea aroma. Yoshida tea farm hopes to reintroduce this delicious forgotten Izumi variety to not only future generations of tea drinkers but also as many people as possible