Our Tea Awards

GREAT TASTE AWARD WINNERS – UPDATED – 28th OCTOBER 2021

green tea, tea, koreatea

I am pleased to list my teas that have won awards at the ‘Great Taste Awards’ held in the U.K. each year by the Guild of Fine Food. The Great Taste Awards are open to entries from producers and importers from abroad and not confined to the U.K. I have entered the teas for years since 1999 and as you will see the awards have increased each year as I have increased the product range.

There are several years when I did not enter the teas during the listed period shown  below. The UK market is largely based on the blending of teas to a price structure that can be marketed easily, this means that the trade tend to stock tea brands that are easy for staff to handle and market, without much provenance or information as to how a tea was created by the tea-maker using his skills to allow the character of a tea to imerge from the natural conditions it is grown in, which may be elevation, the aspect of his estate to the prevailing weather changes at the time of manufacture in his factory with the type of machinery used. His tea fields will produce a different end character in a good dry period with a cool wind sweeping over the bushes than when the estate experiences varying periods of rain, including Monsoonal conditions when the tea quality will be poor and need lifting in quality by the addition of some tea from a drier period.

It is all very well winning awards and having my products acclaimed in competitions but there is little point wasting money on competitions unless the product is promoted by the trade and appreciated by the consumer. Filling the shelves with ‘Breakfast’ tea is easier, if rather boring but sells quicker than telling the interesting story behind Brunswick estate seasonal quality tea which adds an exciting flavour to the consumers tea experience.

It is to be noted that from 2008 onwards the naming of the awards was changed to stars with 3 stars being the top classification.

However it is important to understand that these are neither blended teas, nor are they what are termed ‘standard’ single estate teas which can be obtained from the auction all the year around. They are especially made for me to our specific requirement at a time of year called ‘Quality Season’ for the district that they originate from. Some of the estates will be made for me in the ‘Western’ Quality season that arrives in the Western range of mountains anytime from January to March and the season lasts for about 3 to 5 weeks. The other quality season is later in the year in the Eastern range of mountains. In a quality season a skilled tea-maker can create the special character for each of the districts above 3,500 feet elevation. 

Whilst not under any Fair trade mark, they are outside the fair trade remit in that special high prices are paid for teas of this caliber and individuality of manufacture. The returns to the estates are high and they are extremely appreciative of the promotional work that we undertake on their behalf. Each estate will receive a copy of the award card which they display with great pride.

Whilst I believe that these successes will boost the confidence of customers or potential customers and confirm that these are teas of exceptional quality. I realize that awards are not the only measure of quality. My confidence in these teas arises from our own experience as a family in the coffee and then tea industry in this island for five generations, working with our own estates until 1954. I returned to the island to plant for a company estate and was the last family member to leave. Nationalisation was best avoided and after the estates returned to Private hands I have worked with old friends and colleagues in the island to produce this specialist range of ‘Seasonal Quality’ teas.

Year Tea Award
1999Elpitiya Green Gunpowder  G.P. 1Silver
   
2000Earl Grey F.B.O.P Loose teaGold
 ‘Organic’ Thotulagala F.B.O.P. Silver
 ‘Organic’ Bio dynamic Iddalgashinna 
 Green (Chinese style) O.P. 1 SPLBronze
   
20012001 Earl Grey Tea Bags Silver
 St. James F.B.O.P.Silver
 Specialist Green Kandyan Blooms (bud and leaf only) Bronze
 Brunswick B.O.P. Bronze
 Chrystler’s Farm O.P. 1 Bronze
 
N.B. No Gold award was awarded in 2001 for any estate or blended teas entered.
 
2002Uva Highlands F.P. Silver
 Breakfast Blend B.O.P. Bronze
The above 2 new products were entered this year.
 
2003 Mahagastota (Lover’s Leap) F.B.O.P. Silver
 Western New Season B.O.P. Bronze
   
2004 Nuwara Eliya Valley Series Special Edition Box Gold
 Western New Season B.O.P. Silver
 Natural Earl Grey F.B.O.P Silver
 Brunswick B.O.P. Bronze
 Organic Venture B.O.P. Bronze
 Kotagala Valley series Special Edition Box Bronze
   
2005Uva Seasonal Best Dark F.P. Gold
 Uva Seasonal Best Light F.P. Silver
 Indian Darjeeling Single Estate F.B.O.P. Bronze
 Natural Earl Grey F.B.O.P. Bronze

Elpitiya Green Gunpowder G.P.1 Spl        
Bronze
  ‘SPECIALITY IMPORTER of the YEAR’  
   
 2006 Silver Tips Needles White Tea (Special clone) Gold
  Uva Seasonal Light  F.P. Gold
  Natural Bergamot Earl Grey F.B.O.P. Loose Tea Silver
  Natural Bergamot Earl Grey  B.O.P.F.  Tea Bags Silver
  Assam – Traditional Tippy grade Silver
  Breakfast B.O.P.F.  Tea Bags Bronze
   
 2008 Uva Seasobnal Best – Limited Edition  F.P. Gold 3 Star
  Uva Seasonal Best Light  F.P. Gold 3 Star
  Natural Bergamot Earl Grey  F.B.O.P. Gold 3 Star
  Iddalgashinne Bio/Organic Green Tea Bags Gold 2 Star
  Breakfast Blend  B.O.P. Gold 2 Star
   
 2009 Lover’s Leap  F.P. – Nuwara Eliya Gold 3 Star
  Lover’s Leap  O.P. 1 SPL Gold 3 Star
  Uva Seasonal Best Light  F.P. Gold 3 Star
  Uva Seasonal Limited Edition F.P. Gold 2 Star
  Iddalgashinne Bio/Organic Tea Bags Gold 1 Star
  Natural Bergamot Earl Grey Tea Bags Gold 1 Star
   
 2015 Nuwara Eliya (Lover’s Leap)  F.B.O.P. 3 Star
  Dimbula Brunswick  B.O.P. 2 Star
  Uva Seasonal Light  F.B.O.P. 2 Star
  Uda Pussellawa  F.B.O.P 1 Star
  Natural Bergamot Earl Grey  F.B.O.P 1 Star
   
 2017Brunswick  B.O.P. 1 Star
  Doteloya  B.O.P. 1 Star
  Nuwara Eliya F.B.O.P. 1 Star
  Iddalgashinna  O.P. 1 SPL Green Tea 1 Star
 Silver Tips (White Tea)  1 Star
  Breakfast Tea Bags 1 Star
   
 2018 Brunswick   B.O.P.F. Tea bags 2 Star
  Brunswick  B.O.P. Loose tea 1 Star
  Kenilworth. O.P. 1 Loose tea 1 Star
  Lover’s Leap  F.B.O.P. Loose tea 2 Star
  Nayapane   F.B.O.P. Loose tea 2 Star
  Silver Tips – White Tea – Single tea buds 2 Star
  Natural Earl Grey  B.O.P.F.  Tea bags 2 Star
   
 2019 Brunswick B.O.P. Sp Loose Single estate tea 3 Stars
  Doteloya B.O.P. Loose Single estate tea 1 Star
  Shawlands F.B.O.P. Loose Single estate tea 1 Star
  Natural Bergamot Earl Grey F.B.O.P. Loose Single estate tea 1 Star
   
2021Lover’s Leap F.B.O.P. Loose Single estate tea2 Star

Brunswick B.O.P. Loose Single estate tea1 Star

Brunswick B.O.P.F.  Single estate tea bags1 Star

Hellbodde B.O.P. Loose Single estate tea1 Star



 

 68 Awards to date

 
  

Scroll to Top