INTERNATIONAL TEA ACADEMY AWARDS
The Leafies celebrate the world’s finest loose leaf teas
The awards are open to tea farmers, producers, suppliers and retailers.
Your finest teas could win a prestigious Gold or Highly Commended Award.
Put your tea in the spotlight
The awards will bring global recognition to primary producers and enable them to reach new markets. Suppliers and retailers will be able to differentiate their award-winning teas with the International Tea Academy Award marque, The Leafies.
Tell the story behind your tea
There are over 30 awards for teas in different categories. Each tea will be evaluated according to a point system to ensure judging criteria stay comparable and consistent each year. Once the entries have been narrowed down to a short list in each category, judges may also consider the background stories of how the teas are grown and processed.
You can also enter, or nominate entries, in the five different Special Awards for those effecting positive change for the environment, the industry or their community.
Expert judges
We will soon release our full panel of expert judges, all passionate advocates of high grade tea. Judging will take place in October 2022.
London Award Ceremony
The Leafies award ceremony will be held at an iconic London venue in October 2022 with live links to the winners.
“The 2022 International Tea Academy Awards, The Leafies, are the first dedicated UK tea awards to celebrate the astonishing diversity of crafted teas from every tea-producing region in the world. We are thrilled to be part of this initative.”
Jane Pettigrew, Co-Founder and Director of Studies at the UKTA
WHITE
xxxx Natural
xxxx Scented
AGED WHITE
xxxx Cake or loose
GREEN – STEAMED
xxxx Natural
xxxx Scented
GREEN – ROASTED
xxxx Natural
xxxx Scented
MATCHA
xxxx Ceremonial
POWDERED TEAS
xxxx All categories
JASMINE
xxxx All categories
YELLOW
xxxx Natural
OOLONG: CHINA
xxxx Lightly oxidised
xxxx Heavily oxidised
xxxx Scented
OOLONG: TAIWAN
xxxx Lightly oxidised
xxxx Heavily oxidised
xxxx Scented
OOLONG: OTHER REGIONS
xxxx Lightly oxidised
xxxx Heavily oxidised
xxxx Scented
BLACK: CHINA, VIETNAM, MYANMAR, JAPAN
xxxx Natural
xxxx Scented
BLACK: INDIA, NEPAL, SRI LANKA
xxxx Natural
xxxx Scented
BLACK: OTHER REGIONS
xxxx Natural
xxxx Scented
ENGLISH BREAKFAST BLEND
xxxx Comprising a minimum 10% orthodox tea
EARL GREY
xxxx Naturally scented
PUERH (OR DARK TEAS)
xxxx Sheng (raw): under 5 yrs
xxxx Sheng (raw): aged over 5 yrs
xxxx Shou (ripe/cooked)
WELLNESS TEA BLEND
xxxx Natural herbal blend must contain Camellia sinensis
KOMBUCHA
xxxx Ready to drink
TEA FOR LIFE AWARD
For the tea farm/estate/garden demonstrating community empowerment, economic regeneration and/or uplifting the welfare of the people dependent on the tea farm/estate/garden for their livelihood.
PIONEER AWARD
For an exciting new garden/region/producer demonstrating imagination and innovation in tea cultivation and/or manufacture.
GAIA AWARD
For the farm/estate/garden demonstrating outstanding environmental stewardship.
MAVERICK TEA AWARD
For the bold, brave, creative tea producers developing successful experimental teas that don’t fall neatly into any category.
UKTA LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
A very special award for an individual who is well established, highly respected and has made a significant contribution to the advancement of tea knowledge, understanding and appreciation.
BEST IN SHOW
The ultimate tea award chosen from all the category winners. This is not a comparison of the finest teas but a unanimous vote from the judges on the most outstanding tea of all the winners. One year a tea may win based purely on flavour, but the story behind the teas will be available to the judges so this may also have some bearing on their decision.
FAQs
Any tea organisation around the world, from farmers and tea makers to tea suppliers and retailers, anyone can enter the teas they are proud of into The Leafies 2022.
The Leafies showcase carefully crafted teas which bring out the complexities of the leaf and the unique flavours of the terroir.
- Only loose leaf, no teabags
- Present as high quality (in most categories retaining the integrity of the whole leaf)
- Leaves can be processed in a traditional, artisan style or using modern techniques.
- Contain only natural ingredients
- Available for worldwide purchase online, even if only in small quantities
You will be sent your entry pack via email in July 2022. This will contain more details on award categories, entry guidelines, application form and payment.
For the tea category awards, entries cost £50.00 per tea. You can enter as many teas as you like but will need to complete a separate entry form for each tea submitted.
Entries for the Special Awards are free. You can nominate yourself or others.
You can register you interest at any time but your teas must arrive by 30th September 2022 to enter The Leafies. Get in touch with jo@theleafies.uk to discuss your entry.
You should send your tea as soon as you’ve completed your application form. The window for completing applications and sending teas is from 20th July-30th September 2022.
All teas should be sent to:
The Scottish Tea Factory
Braincroft
Crieff
Scotland
PH7 4JZ
United Kingdom
Send 50g of each tea carefully sealed and packed in protective outer packaging. Please ensure that postage includes tracking as we cannot take responsibility for any missing entries.
Each entry needs to be accompanied by a description of all of the ingredients and specific brewing guidelines (a print out form will be provided in the entry pack).
Yes. We will notify you via email when we have received your tea.
- Brand exposure in a global tea-focused market
- Worldwide promotional and networking opportunities
- An association with the UK’s leading professional tea educational body
- All winners have their names and background stories published on the UKTA website, broadcast in social media posts and in on-going marketing
- All winners receive The Leafies award category certificate
- Gold Award winners receive The Leafies trophy and trees planted in their garden, estate or brand name
- Highly Commended winners, have a tree planted in their garden, estate or brand name
- All winners receive The Leafies award-winning Gold/Highly Commended retail stickers
- All winners have the right to use The Leafies award-winning Gold/Highly Commended marque on their website and in their marketing collateral.
Yes. The ceremony will be held in October at an iconic London venue (TBA). A live link to stream the ceremony will be provided to any winners who can’t be there in person.