Great Taste, the world’s most trusted food and drink awards, has announced its stars of 2020. Out of 12,777 products sent in from 106 different countries, five Curious Teas were awarded Great Taste awards. Our Special Da Hong Pao, Yin Zhen Guangxi Silver Needle, Ashikita Yabukita Wakocha and Matcha Genmaicha all won a 1-star Great Taste award each, which means judges dubbed them a product that delivers fantastic flavour. And our Assam Koliapani Signature won a 2-star Great Taste award, which means judges dubbed it above and beyond delicious!

We are once again delighted to be be awarded for our teas this year. Without further ado, here are our award winning teas from 2020!

Da Hong Pao Special Big Red Robe is a traditional, superfine Te Ji grade Banyan Wuyi Rock Oolong from Fujian Province. The dark leaves produce an amber liquor that has a smooth, roasted and stony flavour with long-lasting sweet notes of exotic flowers. 1-Star Great Taste Award 2020.

Yin Zhen Guangxi Silver Needle is a delicate and flavoursome Yin Zhen from an unusual terroir in Guangxi Province where the neat silver leaves are picked from Fujian Bai Hao cultivar plants. It produces a fruity and woody liquor with a lasting, clean aftertaste and sweet honey notes. 1-Star Great Taste Award 2020.

Ashikita Yabukita Wakocha is a unique Japanese black tea from Tsuge in Kumamoto Prefecture. Large twisted leaves of Yabukita cultivar plants produce a bright amber liquor. The light and sweet taste has spiced notes of baked wheat and stone fruits with a clean, tangy aftertaste. 1-Star Great Taste Award 2020.

Kirishima Matcha Genmaicha consists of fine sencha leaves, toasted brown rice and superior grade matcha. Produced to organic standards in Japan, it is known as ‘popcorn tea’ for its distinctive and unusual flavour. The taste is a little creamy, with a distinctive toasted corn (popcorn) and vegetal profile. 1-Star Great Taste Award 2020.

Assam Koliapani Signature is a handmade Second Flush Assam from a small family-run estate in Koliapani Village. Large twisted leaves produce a bright clear liquor. The classic Assam profile has a sweet, malty, mineral and fruity taste with notes of molasses and caramel. 2-Star Great Taste Award 2020.

We search the world to find the best and most Curious Teas. It is the fourth year that we have entered the Great Taste Awards and we are excited to again pick up awards in the fourth year running! Close working relationships with our suppliers around the world enables us to source some fantastic, unusual and delicious teas. Great Taste Awards provides an important recognition for the teas that we source as well as recognition for the hard working farmers and producers.

These five Great Taste Award winning teas are joining our other 15 awarded teas which are all available in our shop. We hope you enjoy your tea adventures!

What are Great Taste Awards?

Judged by 144 of the most discerning palates, belonging to food critics, chefs, cooks, restaurateurs, buyers, retailers and producers, as well as food writers and journalists, Great Taste is the most coveted of all food and drink awards. As well as a badge of honour, the unmistakeable black and gold Great Taste label is a signpost to an outstanding product, which has been discovered through hours and hours of blind tasting.

This year’s winners have been found through a combination of remote judging and socially distanced judging sessions, after the lockdown began just one week into the schedule. This necessitated a swift and comprehensive reinvention of the Great Taste process to ensure that robust judging standards were maintained and the quality of feedback was not compromised, all in time to provide a much-needed boost for food and drink producers during the all-important Christmas period.

Recognised as a stamp of excellence among consumers and retailers alike, Great Taste values taste above all else, with no regard for branding and packaging. Whether it is cake, coffee, kippers or kombucha being judged, all products are removed from their wrapper, jar, box or bottle before being tasted. The judges then savour, confer and re-taste to decide which products are worthy of a 1-, 2- or 3-star award.

There were 12,777 entries into Great Taste this year and of those products, 205 have been awarded a 3-star, 1,294 received a 2-star and 3,818 were awarded a 1-star accolade. The panel of judges this year included; cook, writer and champion of sustainable food, Melissa Hemsley, cook, writer, stylist and voice of modern vegetarian cooking, Anna Jones, celebrated Spanish chef, José Pizarro, Kavi Thakrar from Dishoom, food writer and cook, Xanthe Clay, and baker and author, Martha Collison, as well as food buyers from Selfridges, Fortnum & Mason and Waitrose.

For more information about Curious Tea and our award-winning teas, please contact Alex at alex@curioustea.com.