Sikkim's Temi tea gets star rating at Great Taste Award

A first flush Temi tea from Sikkim has got a star rating at the 2022 Great Taste Awards which is recognised as a stamp of excellence and sought out by food lovers and retailers.

The tea has been sourced by a Scotland-based company- Unravel Tea from Temi tea estate of Sikkim and has got a two-star rating. The tea was sold as Himalayan Temi tea in the event.

Great Taste, organised by the Guild of Fine Food, London values taste above all else. All products in the line-up for judging are blind-tasted: every product is removed from its packaging so it cannot be identified, before entering a robust, layered judging process.

The awards were announced recently.

Twenty five grams of the tea is being sold for £7.50 by Unravel Tea.

The first flush is defined as the very first plucking of a tea plant's harvest season. Leaves plucked during the first flush are the youngest and the most tender part of the tea plant and are said to be the purest and freshest cup pf tea that the plant is capable of producing.

"First Flush Himalayan Temi is a bright floral Darjeeling style tea, you find something new in every sip," said an official from Unravel Tea.

A two-star rating means food that is “above and beyond delicious"

The judges said on the tea- "A beautiful quality of leaf. The infused leaf carries marked muscatel notes alongside light nuttiness and this is gently relayed to the infusion"

The Sikkim government said Temi Tea First Flush was one of the contenders for the award. Premium Tea brands all over the world participated in the event and more than 500 expert tea tasters tasted the teas.

"The appearance of the tea, tea liquor, and taste were assessed and evaluated by the tea tasters," the government said in a statement.

Established in 1969, the Temi Estate has a range of exclusive flavours. The garden was certified organic in 2008, and has won laurels from all around the world.

The tea is grown at elevations ranging from 1400 to 2000 metres above sea level, and it is said each season at the Temi Tea Estate moulds every flush differently.

Great Taste has a rigorous judging process, with comprehensive blind taste-testing of food and drink products from a staggering 110 different countries across the world, taking place over 90 days in both the Dorset and London judging venues, by a rotating panel of industry experts.

Great Taste’s prestigious judging panel is made up of over 500 food and drink professionals, including critics, chefs, recipe creators, buyers, retailers, journalists, broadcasters, and experts in the field.

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