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

NEW YORK, May 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- 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 http://worldteaexpo.com (#WTE17).

The complete list of Gold, Silver and Bronze-winning teas is available at the Global Tea Championship website: http://www.teachampionship.com. The Global Tea Championship Iced Tea winners include (Company, Name of the Winning Tea - Category):

Gold Medalists:

• Crystal Geyser Water Company, Tejava The Unsweetened Tea – RTD
• Templar Food Products, Lotus Blossom White Tea with Organic Coconut Water #2300 – RTD
• Karkade Tea Inc., Karkade Tea – RTD
• Mighty Leaf Tea, Red Berry Iced Tea – Commercial Fresh Brewed

Silver Medalists:

• Templar Food Products, Peach Zen Matcha Green Tea #2117 – RTD
• Templar Food Products, Ginger Starkrimson Pear Oolong Tea #2300 – RTD
• New Age Beverages Corp., Marley Mellow Mood, Peach Raspberry Black Tea – RTD
• Argo Tea, Carolina Honey – RTD
• Farmer Brothers, Farmer Brothers Black Sweetened Tea – Liquid Concentrate
• Teavana, Teavana Ready-to-Drink Passion Tango Craft Iced Tea – RTD
• Argo Tea, Hibiscus – BIB
• China Mist Tea Company, Hibiscus Raspberry Frenzy Herbal Iced Tea – Commercial Fresh Brewed
• Royal Cup Coffee & Tea, Green Mint Iced Tea – Commercial Fresh Brewed
• China Mist Tea Company, Orange Blossom Ginger Iced White Tea – Commercial Fresh Brewed
• S & D Coffee and Tea, Premium Blend – Commercial Fresh Brewed
• TeaSource, Minnestoa N'ice Tea – Commercial Fresh Brewed

Bronze Medalists:

• ITO EN, Ocha Kyoto Uji Matcha – RTD
• Try My T, Try My Tea – RTD
• Templar Food Products, Pineapple Mango African Mountain Tea #1410 – RTD
• S & D Coffee & Tea, Mangrove Bay Green – Commercial Fresh Brewed
• Teakina, Teakina Traditional Black Tea – RTD
• Farmer Brothers, Black Unsweetened Tea – Liquid Concentrate
• SAHPAT Teas, Ginger+Turmeric+Hibiscus Herbal Tea – RTD
• New Age Beverages Corp., Xing Blueberry Green Tea – RTD
• Milo's Tea Company, Milo's Famous Sweet Tea – RTD
• Wnutritional, Luminus Tea Hibiscus – RTD
• Rooibee Red Tea, Rooibee Red Tea Summer Peach – RTD
• Shangri La Tea Company, Raspberry Cooler – Commercial Fresh Brewed
• Mighty Leaf Tea, Caribbean Isle Green Iced Tea – Commercial Fresh Brewed
• Farmer Brothers, Classic Black Tea – Commercial Fresh Brewed
• Shangri La Tea Company, Tropical Passion – Commercial Fresh Brewed

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."

Wilbur Curtis, a leading manufacturer of tea brewers and accessories, was the official equipment supplier and brewing host for the Global Tea Championship Iced Tea Class 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. To inquire about entering the competition, e-mail [email protected].

About Informa
The Global Tea Championship is part of Informa, the international business intelligence, academic publishing, knowledge and events group. Informa serves commercial, professional and academic communities, helping them connect and learn, and creating and providing access to content and intelligence that helps people and businesses work smarter and make better decisions faster.

Informa has over 7,500 colleagues in more than 20 countries and a presence in all major geographies. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a member of the FTSE 100.

SOURCE Global Tea Championship; World Tea Expo