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Global Tea Championship Presents ‘Gold,’ ‘Silver,’ ‘Bronze’ Medals for the Best Iced Teas of 2017, Just Prior to National Iced Tea Month

By Aaron Kiel May 15, 2017 5:24pm
Industry Analysis Resources Tea Nerdery Features
Some Honorees Will Be Featured at the Global Tea Championship ‘Winners Tasting Circle’ at World Tea Expo, June 13 – 15 at the Las Vegas Convention Center North Hall The Global Tea Championship (GTC), an independent competition that evaluates and distinguishes the highest quality and best tasting specialty teas, presented four Gold, 12 Silver and 15 Bronze medals to the best, premium iced teas in various categories, just prior to the National Iced Tea Month this June. The evaluation was held May 11 – 12 in Montebello, Calif. at the Wilbur Curtis headquarters, and all of the high-quality winning teas are commercially sold around the world. This is the first competition in which the Global Tea Championship has used the Gold, Silver and Bronze medal designations. The Championship previously used First, Second and Third-place winning classifications. The new designations are meant to further elevate the honor of being recognized by the Championship, and to better identify GTC winners on packaging/labels, thus, making it easier for companies to effectively market their awards. The Global Tea Championship Iced Tea Class is divided into several categories, according to market application and sales channels, including: 1) Ready-to-Drink (RTD), 2) Food service (Commercial Fresh Brewed, Bag-in-Box or BIB) and 3) Instant (Soluble Powder, Liquid Concentrate). Each category is then separated into various sub-categories, to represent popular products currently being sold in the marketplace. All Global Tea Championship winners will be featured in an October 2017 Global Tea Buyers Guide, which will be distributed digitally worldwide. And all winners will have the opportunity to showcase their winning teas at World Tea Expo 2017 in the “Winner’s Tasting Circle” (if they are exhibiting or attending the show) – with a chance to win a People’s Tea Choice Award. World Tea Expo takes place June 13 – 15, 2017 at the Las Vegas Convention Center North Hall (with a pre-conference program June 12). See worldteaexpo.com. The complete list of Gold, Silver and Bronze-winning teas is available at the Global Tea Championship website: teachampionship.com. The Global Tea Championship Iced Tea winners include (Company, Name of the Winning Tea - Category): Gold Medalists: Silver Medalists:  Bronze Medalists: ‘It’s Really Difficult to Earn a Global Tea Championship Medal…’ Scott Svihula, founder of Orlando, Fla.-based Hula Consulting, an independent consultancy offering product development, sourcing and regulatory compliance, and one of the GTC evaluators, said, “We congratulate all the winners of the Global Tea Championship’s Iced Tea Class, and I look forward to seeing them in the Winner’s Tasting Circle at this year’s World Tea Expo, where they will have a chance to win a People’s Tea Choice Award, voted on by the attendees of the show. It’s really difficult to earn a Global Tea Championship medal, and all those that did score an award should be very proud of their teas.” Royce Van Twest, a leading tea professional with nearly 50 years of experience, and vice president of QTrade Teas & Herbs in Cerritos Calif. – also one of the GTC evaluators – noted, “It was such a pleasure to taste and experience all of the GTC entries from leading tea manufacturers from around the world – some 100 entries total. Congratulations to all of the winners and those who participated. And if you’re one of the teas that did not win, know that it doesn’t mean your tea is not good. In fact, we tasted many good teas. It’s just means that the standards for winning at the Global Tea Championship is high, to help us identify the teas that are above average to superior in quality.” John Cullicott, president and COO of Walters Bay in Austin, Texas, noted, “It was encouraging to see new participants in the flavored and herbal categories compete in this Iced Tea evaluation of the Global Tea Championship. I think this is a clear indication that the industry is reacting to consumer demands for more iced tea options, in addition to traditional unflavored black iced tea.” Wilbur Curtis, a leading manufacturer of tea brewers and accessories, was the official equipment supplier and brewing host of the Global Tea Championship Iced Tea Evaluation. GC Water was the official water sponsor. The next Global Tea Championship, the Spring Hot (Loose Leaf) Tea evaluation, will be held Sept. 16-17, 2017 in Boulder, Colo. See teachampionship.com.

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