Taiwanese tea wins major honor at U.K. food award

London, Sept. 11 (CNA) The Smaller Green Leafhopper Honey Flavour Black Tea produced by Junjie Lin Tea Garden (林俊傑茶園), a tea farm in Taiwan, won the "Golden Fork" at the U.K.-based Great Taste Awards, on Tuesday.

This is the second consecutive "Great Taste Golden Fork from the Rest of World" awarded to a Taiwanese product, and the first tea to receive the honor.

The Great Taste Awards is awarded each year, with products receiving three stars if determined "Exquisite," two stars for "Outstanding" and one star if "Simply Delicious," according to the award website.

"Golden Fork" trophies are also given to a product recognized for being the "best tasting product in their region," the website said.

Not only was the Taiwanese tea recognized as the best in its region -- outside Europe -- it was also chosen as one of the 10 contenders for "Great Taste Supreme Champion."

Established in 1995, Junjie Lin Tea Garden is an organic tea garden located in Hualien County in eastern Taiwan, according to the award website.

Silvija Davidson, food critic and the head coordinator of this year's jury, told CNA that the tea was "a honey champagne of teas," comparing the tea to Darjeeling tea, which is called the "champagne of teas" because of its unique taste and aroma.

Its owner, Lin Jun-jie (林俊傑), told CNA that from last year's experience, the jury seemed to prefer teas with distinct floral notes, so he adjusted the production process and made a black tea with more floral aroma this year.

Lin confirmed that the award has helped increase sales.

Although he originally marketed his own products, Lin's products are now on the global market and overseas wholesalers specializing in high-end teas have asked about selling them.

Lin added that he struck a deal for a top-tier honey flavor black tea in July, which is expected to hit the shelves in the U.K. in October.

Great Taste "is the world's largest and most trusted food and drink accreditation scheme," according to its website.

This year, a total of 13,672 products from 115 countries entered the awards to be blind-judged by a panel of 500. Among the products, 5,590 received a star award, the website said.

There were 112 submissions from Taiwan, with 65 being tea. Of the 65 teas, four received a three-star recognition.