Honey-Scented Black Tea Competition Results Announced: Century-Old Tea Factory in Sanxia, New Taipei, Taiwan, China Wins Grand Prize

 

Sanxia District in New Taipei City is known for its "honey-scented black tea," and the New Taipei City Honey-Scented Black Tea Competition is held every year. Although this year's event was postponed due to the pandemic, 270 tea samples still entered the competition. The Sanxia Farmers' Association announced the winners yesterday, selecting one Grand Prize, 14 Head Prizes, 23 Gold Prizes, and 31 Silver Prizes. The Sanxia Farmers' Association pointed out that the tea leaves were generally in good condition this time, with rich flavor, fully presenting the honey scent and floral-fruity aroma, and the overall tea quality was improved.

 

 

The Sanxia Farmers' Association stated that the honey-scented black tea produced in the various tea districts of New Taipei City is mainly made from tea leaves picked from small-leaf tea trees. The black tea is produced from May to September each year and managed without spraying pesticides. After waiting for the tea green leafhopper to suck the tender tea leaves, the tea leaves undergo a series of changes. After careful processing and roasting by experienced tea masters, a honey-scented black tea with a subtle natural fruity aroma is produced, which also helps raise the price of summer and autumn tea leaves.

 

The tea leaves entered in the New Taipei City Honey-Scented Black Tea Competition came from tea districts including Sanxia, Pinglin, Shiding, Sanzhi, Shiding, Linkou, Xizhi, Shenkeng, and Shimen. The Sanxia Farmers' Association invited tea experts including Qiu Chuifeng, deputy director of the Tea Research and Extension Station under the Council of Agriculture, Executive Yuan, and Su Yanshuo, director of the Wenshan Branch Station, to serve as judges.

 

⟦NL> The only Grand Prize was won by the century-old Risheng Tea Factory based in Sanxia, which has been operating for more than a hundred years. The factory owner, Zhou Pingguo, has already won the Grand Prize 3 times. He said that this year's climate was very good, the honey flavor of the black tea was quite sufficient, and the tea green leafhoppers had fully sucked the tender tea leaves. The most crucial part should be the tea-making process, which must be handled just right; selecting stems and removing incomplete tea leaves also requires a great deal of effort.

 

Zhang Yongju, director-general of the Sanxia District Farmers' Association, said that honey-scented black tea has very low production, tastes great whether drunk hot or cold-brewed, and has high market acceptance. When purchasing, consumers can look for the "New Taipei Good Tea" competition tea, which absolutely offers a double guarantee of reassurance and safety. The public is also welcome to visit the tea districts of New Taipei City during the production season to taste honey-scented black tea and support local tea farmers in New Taipei City through action.