Tea Championship Tags the Best Iced Teas

June is National Iced Tea Month and the North American Tea Championship (NATC) named the 25 best, premium iced teas in key categories. 

The NATC is an independent, professionally judged tea competition in North America and a premier platform for showcasing quality teas. 

Visit TeaChampionship.com for a complete list of first-, second- and third-place winners in the NATC Iced Tea Class.

Some of the NATC victors were scheduled to be featured in the North American Tea Championship Winners Tasting Circle at World Tea Expo May 29-31 at the Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center, Long Beach, Calif. And all of the high-quality NATC-winning teas are commercially available in the marketplace.

Companies with 2014 first-place iced tea awards from NATC include Argo Tea; Bhakti Chai; Crystal Geyser Water Co.; Dr Pepper Snapple Group; Honeybush Health Ltd.; Immaculate Leaf; ITO EN (North America); Kelley Organic/Eastsign Foods; Mellow Monk LLC; QTrade Teas & Herbs; S&D Coffee and Tea; Shangri La Tea Co.; and Walters Bay.

ITO EN, S&D Coffee and Tea, QTrade Teas & Herbs and Kelley Organic/Eastsign Foods boast the most first-place wins in the NATC Iced Tea Class.

“All of this year’s North American Tea Championship winners in the Iced Tea Class are exceptional and highly recommended for summer 2014 and beyond,” said George Jage, director of the NATC. 

“The NATC had a lot of high-quality iced teas to choose from. Most notably, we’re seeing an increase in premium iced tea offerings for foodservice, so we added four Best Value Awards in foodservice in different categories. We also presented a Best Packaging Award. Congratulations to all of this year’s winners; we expect them to get lots of attention from consumers and the foodservice industry, especially in the warmer months ahead.”

All NATC tea submissions were evaluated blind and through organoleptic analysis of the following characteristics: dry leaf, brewed color, brewed aroma, brewed flavor, brewed mouth-feel and brewed harmony. An overall numerical value on a 100-point scale was then calculated based on the ratings of each characteristic. Winners were determined by rank.

Wilbur Curtis, a leading manufacturer of tea brewers and accessories, was the official equipment supplier for the North American Tea Championship Iced Tea Class evaluation. Global Customized Water was the official water supplier.

The next North American Tea Championship will be held this summer for an evaluation of spring teas. Entries will be accepted and details will be at TeaChampionship.com once dates are established.