Events

The Leafies: International Tea Awards are the first and only dedicated tea awards in the UK, promoting excellence in the tea industry and fostering international collaboration between producers and buyers. 2023 marked the second year of the awards and another intake of exceptional teas from around the globe.

This is your chance to taste some of the outstanding teas that won awards at The Leafies 2023.

The ticket price includes delivery of six of the winning teas, including two Gold winners, showcasing artisan tea making from India, Taiwan, Japan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and even Portugal.

Together we will brew and taste these beautiful teas and we will be joined by some of the producers to hear about the culture and the craft that makes these teas so special.

The teas we will taste are:

1.     Kangra Black Tea, Mansimble Tea & Estate, India
Highly Commended, Category: Black Tea from India (other regions)
2.     Lóngfèng Xiá Oolong, Wang Family Tea, Taiwan
Highly Commended, Category: Oolong Tea from Taiwan (lightly oxidised)
3.     Matcha Asahi & Ujihikari, Furukawa Seicha, Japan
GOLD, Category: Powdered Tea (Matcha)
4.     Rose Label Reserve, Nepal Tea Collective
Highly Commended, Category: Black Tea (other regions)
5.     Sinharaja Wiry Tips, Lumbini Tea Valley, Sri Lanka
GOLD, Category: Black Tea (Sri Lanka)
6.     Kinstugi Cha, Camelia Unipessoal Lda, Portugal
Highly Commended, Category: Green Tea (new regions)

ABOUT THE TEA MAKERS

Mansimble Tea & Estate, India
Kangra Black Tea
Highly Commended, Category: Black Tea from India (other)
The Kangra region of India is relatively unknown in terms of tea growing, after an earthquake in 1905 devastated the region. Mansimble Tea focuses on reintroducing Kangra tea to a global audience, specialising in importing the first-flush, hand-processed in the traditional way. The business was established to supply tea while also dedicating a portion of its funds to building and maintaining a school to provide free education for local children.

Wang Family Tea, Taiwan
Lóngfèng Xiá Oolong
Highly Commended, Category: Oolong Tea from Taiwan (lightly oxidised)
The Wang family has been farming and producing tea for four generations in Taiwan. They take pride in their traditional and sustainable farming practices that have been passed down through the generations. Unlike most modern tea roasters that use electricity or gas, Wang Family’s teas are charcoal roasted, using local charcoal from a renewable forest. The charcoal tea roasting process is a delicate and time-consuming task that requires great skill.

Furukawa Seicha, Japan
Matcha Asahi & Ujihikari
Gold, Category: Powdered Tea (Matcha)
The Furukawa family has been growing tea in Uji/Gokasho, the birthplace of Ujicha, for generations. Using the traditional cultivation methods of Uji, they have an unwavering belief in preserving and passing down the culture and wisdom of traditional tea making in the region. Their Matcha is a rare example of both an organic Matcha and hand-picked one – nowadays, less than 1% of Japanese Matcha is hand-picked.

Nepal Tea Collective
Rose Label Reserve
Highly Commended, Category: Black Tea (other regions)
Led by second and third generation tea producers Nishchal Banskota and Pratik Rijal, Nepal Tea Collective was founded in 2016, with a vision to uplift a million farmers out of poverty by 2050. Sourcing loose-leaf organic teas directly from small-holder, sustainable partner farms in Nepal, Nepal Tea Collective employs a transparent direct-to-consumer model that bolsters community building between farmers and tea-lovers.

Lumbini Tea Valley, Sri Lanka
Sinharaja Wiry Tips
Gold, Category: Black Tea (Sri Lanka)
Chaminda Jayawardana & his team live and breathe the vision created by Chaminda’s father, Dayapala, who planted the first tea field in the valley of Lumbini in 1975, hoping to create great tasting teas that showcases how each variety express itself when sharpened by the soil and the sun of Ceylon.

Camelia Unipessoal Lda, Portugal
Kinstugi Cha
Highly Commended, Category: Green Tea (new regions)
Chá Camélia was born from a dream back in 2011, with the planting of the first 200 Camellia Sinensis trees. There are now just over 12,000 trees planted in Fornelo, where organic farming within a biodynamic system is central to everything the company does. Inspired by ancient Asian tea cultures, from Japan in particular, they produce high quality green tea by hand.

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