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1 Tea Championship Overview The North American Tea Championship is an independent competition, judged by professional cuppers, to distinguish the highest quality & best tasting teas commercially available in the North American marketplace. The Tea Championship is made up of three classes: Hot Tea, Iced Tea, and Packaged Single Service Tea. Each class consists of its own categories and judging panel. The Hot Tea Class is evaluated twice a year: July for spring teas, and February for fall teas. The Iced Tea Class is evaluated once a year in April/May. The Packaged Single Service Tea class is evaluated once a year in November. Winners of the Tea Championship are announced after each respective evaluation, personally and in the press release. Winning companies receive a formal announcement letter that includes the tea s rating and ranking as well as a print-ready seal that can be used for all promotional materials and packaging. Winning companies also have an opportunity to showcase their teas at the annual World Tea Expo, the premier trade event for the industry, in the North American Tea Championship Tasting Winners Circle if exhibiting. Packaged Single Service Tea Class 1) Summary The Packaged Single Service Tea Class includes black, green, white, oolong, pu-erh, and herbal tisanes and blends and will be evaluated November 12 th and 13 th, 2015 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Class includes popular tea types pre-portioned and packaged for single service (teabags, sachets, instant, K-cups). Loose leaf tea and iced or cold-brewed single-service items will not be accepted in this competition. *NEW FOR 2015* K-Cups will now be accepted for the Packaged Single Service evaluation. Entries of this type will be brewed on a Keurig Model #B70 machine. Brewing time, strength and water temperature will be in accordance with the machine s default specifications, unless otherwise specified. Cup size options: 3.25oz, 5.25oz, 7.25oz, 9.25oz, and 11.25oz Water temperature options: º F If your entry does not fit into the Keurig Model #B70, teas will be emptied into the compatible refillable K-Cup dispensers and brewed in similar fashion. To send specific instructions on your K-Cup entry, or should you have any questions about this new addition Copyright 2015 World Tea Media Page 1

2 to the competition, please contact Monique Hatchett at Pack Size options include: ct. packs 25 ct. packs Under 25 ct. packs Each submission into the competition is evaluated blind and through organoleptic analysis of the following characteristics: brewed color, brewed aroma, brewed flavor, brewed mouth-feel, and brewed harmony. An overall numerical value on a 100-point scale is then calculated based on the ratings of each characteristic above. First, second, and third place winning teas are determined by rank and must reach the particular scoring thresholds in order to receive corresponding awards. 2) Important Dates October 30 th 2015 November 4 th 2015 November 12 th and 13 th 2015 November 24 th 2015 Entry Forms Due Submissions Due Evaluations Winners Announced 3) Eligibility Any company located in North America that sells commercially available tea. 4) Fees a) The cost to enter is $ per submission; there are no refunds. b) Fees must be paid upon submission of the entry form. 5) Terms and Conditions Upon entry into the Tea Championship, and in exchange for the opportunity to win, each entrant agrees: a. Permit the North American Tea Championship to use the competitor s name, entry name, and any images/ media in any format taken at the competition without charge for the purpose of promotion of the competition and its award celebration. b. Entrants are highly encouraged to include use of the official seal image and/or title North American Tea Champion and words, North American Tea Championship in reference to entrant s winning teas in verbal, electronic or printed marketing materials. c. The official seal image and the title, North American Tea Champion and the words North American Tea Championship award winner are non-transferable. i. Only submitting companies, entrants, have use of the seal and titles for promotional and marketing purposes. Copyright 2015 World Tea Media Page 2

3 d. Packaged Single Service Teas are evaluated blind by non-entrants: professional cuppers and foremost retail buyers of tea. Entrants may not attempt to contact judges prior to the competition in regards to submissions. e. Evaluations will be held in Las Vegas, Nevada. i. All entry samples must be shipped to the address below no later than November 4, Any submission received after that date will be automatically disqualified. Monique Hatchett c/o North American Tea Championship rd Avenue, Box 5137 Chula Vista, CA f. All submissions must be packaged and labeled according to the guidelines following. Any submission packaged and/or labeled incorrectly will be automatically disqualified. g. Entrants can submit into numerous categories and multiple submissions per category; however, only the highest rated tea submitted by the company in the category will place as a winner if one is ranked. h. Submissions into any given category must meet the category description. Any submission that fails to meet the definition will be automatically disqualified. i. Should a particular category be deemed disqualified, the entrant will be refunded the fee associated with that submission and product sent will be donated to a local food bank. 6) Categories Definitions of each category follow the grid below. North American Tea Championship Categories Packaged Single Service Tea Class Category Black Tea Black Tea Blends Unflavored Black Tea Flavored Pan-fired Green Tea Steamed Green Tea Jasmine Scented Green Tea Green Tea Blended/Flavored Oolong Tea Oolong Tea Blended/Flavored Pu-erh Tea Pu-erh Tea Blended/Flavored White Tea White Tea Blended/Flavored Herbal Awards Copyright 2015 World Tea Media Page 3

4 Herbal Blended/Flavored 7) Categories Definitions Black Tea- Black, fully oxidized tea of any variety from any origin. Flavored Black Tea- Black tea of any variety and from any origin blended with herbs, fruits, essential oils, spices and/or any other flavoring agents. Steamed Green Tea Green tea of any variety and from any origin that is first processed by steam to denature the enzymes and does not meet the criteria for a Signature Famous Tea category. Pan-Fired Green Tea Green tea of any variety and from any origin that is not first processed by steam and does not meet the criteria for a Signature Famous Tea category. Blended Green Tea Green tea of any variety and from any origin blended with herbs, fruits, and/or spices that does not include any flavoring agents. Flavored Green Tea Green tea of any variety and from any origin blended with herbs, fruits, essential oils, spices and/or other flavoring agents. Puer Tea Straight puer tea, green or dark, loose or compressed. White Tea Made according to classical styles of processing. Leaves are not processed by frying or rolling, but by withered controls and gentle oven, cool drying and/or sun drying techniques, alone or in combination. Blended White Tea White tea of any variety and from any origin blended with herbs, fruits, and/or spices that does not include any flavoring agents. Flavored White Tea White tea of any variety and from any origin blended with herbs, fruits, essential oils, spices and/or other flavoring agents. Flavored Herbal Blends Flavored botanical blends that do not contain Camellia sinensis or Rooibos. Rooibos blends are evaluated in February. 8) Entry Preparation a) Prepare one 1 package/box of each submission with the following typed label: i) Category submitted ii) Name of tea iii) Type of tea (if blended or flavored, primary flavor) iv) Company name Copyright 2015 World Tea Media Page 4

5 1. Entries sent in an open pouch, or pouches that open easily and result in tea falling out of the packaging, will be disqualified upon receipt. The Competition Coordinators will not touch or re-package any tea product. 2. Entries sent without a label noting the category will be disqualified upon receipt. Competition Coordinators will not assume which category the tea belongs in. 3. Label information must match what is noted on all entry forms, i.e. tea name and type. Competition Coordinators will not assume entrants meant to send a different sample. 9) Competition Procedures a) Upon receipt of entry forms, all submissions receive a unique code identifier. b) Upon receipt of submissions, Competition Coordinators code the submissions respectively on the outside of the packaging. The tea is never opened. Submissions are then separated into categories and stored in a dark, cool room until evaluation day. c) Roughly twenty minutes before a given category is evaluated, the teas are put into matching coded paper boats in a private room. d) The boats are then covered and transferred to the cupping room and placed on the tables in alignment with the corresponding codes there. e) The category is cupped and evaluated. i) Categories are cupped in an order based on best for palate, caffeine levels, and primary flavors. 10) North American Tea Championship Entry Form Entry is available online. Competition Management will send receipt confirmation. Important Contact Information Monique Hatchett Tina Young Education Manager Championship Coordinator monique.hatchett@fwcommunity.com tinayoung.teachampionship@gmail.com Copyright 2015 World Tea Media Page 5