Suki Tea celebrates their largest Great Taste Award win to date!
This year Suki Tea have won 13 stars across 7 products in the renowned Great Taste Awards; including two top accolades of 3 stars for the Ayurvedic and *NEW* Oolong Orange Blossom blends.
At the awards, judges are simply presented with the drink to taste and provide valuable feedback. Great Taste is simply about just that, taste, with many judges tasting and commenting on each product before a rating of 1, 2 or 3 stars are awarded. No packaging or smart marketing gimmicks buy brownie points here. To win the 1-Star represents a ‘simply delicious’ product, a 2-Star means that a minimum of 10 judges thought it ‘outstanding’, and 3-stars commends a product that is considered ‘totally exquisite and faultless’.
Belfast-based Suki Tea is celebrating the news that a further 7 of their tea products have wowed the judges in this year’s Great Taste Awards. “As each year goes by and another set of award winning produce is announced we are always excited and extremely humbled by the awards we pick up, and feedback we receive, on our blends. The endowment of a 3 star award against two of our blends in the 2016 awards is fantastic news” says Oscar Woolley, co-director at Suki Tea.
Suki Tea received awards for new blends Japanese Matcha, Rooibos Crème Brulee, and Oolong Orange Blossom. Oolong Orange Blossom picked up the top award of 3 stars, the pale liquor was praised by the judges for its delivery of “delicately citrus and floral flavours as well as a pleasing savoury note.” The judges also awarded the Japanese Matcha and Rooibos Crème Brulee 1 star, commenting respectively “a vibrant cup colour and vibrant flavour with powerful depth” and “Innovative. A pleasant, lingering, comforting flavour, whilst also surprisingly refreshing”.
“With the launch of a number of brand new blends this year it is great to have seen three of these awarded, and one [Oolong Orange Blossom] with 3 stars none the less! Great Taste is such a widely trusted award so having this extra ‘stamp of approval’ on the new blends is invaluable in their success. We are absolutely delighted that our continued efforts in innovation and in house creativity continue to pay off year after year” says Esme Porter, Sales/Marketing executive and manager of Suki Tea’s Innovation and New Product Development.
The second 3 star award went to the well-established Ayurvedic. The judges were elated with this sampling calling the blend “a joyous drink: sweet, spicy, honeyed and comforting … Blended with skill and vision by someone who understands their ingredients.”
Both Suki Tea’s Indian Spiced Chai and Whole Peppermint were awarded 2 stars each.
Judges commented on the Whole Peppermint: “The liquid is beautifully bright with a similarly bright, crisp and invigorating flavour … wonderfully refreshing.” Meanwhile the classic Indian Spiced Chai blend was said to have a “…gentle tea base, and there is gentle heat from the spicing … a well-balanced spice mix, the cloves don’t overpower, growing a touch creamier when milk is added.”
Finally the judges awarded Suki Tea’s Chamomile a ‘simply delicious’ 1 star commenting “A fantastic looking blend with lots of flowers that are not damaged at all, they’ve held together, which we admire … A pleasant clean chamomile delivery in terms of taste.”
Belfast’s Boutique Blender, Suki Tea, was first set up in 2005 by business partners Annie and Oscar in their quest for the perfect cuppa. After both having spent time separately travelling Asia they returned to Northern Ireland inspired with a vision to provide ethically sourced high quality loose leaf tea delivered with a ceremonial experience.
Still hand-packing tea in Belfast and with a close knit team of 15, over the years they have now won over 40 Guild of Fine Food Great Taste Stars. The tea has been served up at cafes, restaurants, and hotels around the UK and across the world for a number of years now and is also available to buy at www.suki-tea.com as well as many independent delicatessens and garden centres.
