2026 update: match the tea to its competition
When choosing a 2026 champion tea, start with the competition name, year, season, category and award, then match the producer and batch to the packaging. Regional competitions assess different teas, so the full award description is more useful than the word “champion” on its own.
The official examples below were checked on October 24, 2026. The original accounts of 2022 competitions remain in the historical section further down.
| Competition and year | Award information | Official report date | What to check |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 Lugu Township Farmers’ Association spring tea competition (ROC year 115) | Special Prize: 蘇煜倫; first and second places within the First Prize ranking: 林毓姝 and 范瑞宗 | May 27, 2026 | Match the association, spring season, year and award—not just the Lugu origin. |
| Third Pinglin Xiangyun Black Tea Competition, 2026 (ROC year 115) | Special Prize: 周孫正 of 周印茶園 | July 24, 2026 | This is a Xiangyun black tea award; distinguish it from Wenshan Baozhong competitions. |
See the Nantou County Council’s Lugu report and New Taipei City Government’s Pinglin report. These are examples from separate competitions, rather than a nationwide ranking.
A tea-making award and an award-winning batch are different things
On October 3, 2026, New Taipei City’s Agriculture Department reported that 周育成 and his trainee 林尚旻 received the Special Prize in Pingxi’s autumn tea-making skills competition. The official account describes a skills exchange between mentor and trainee. For a purchase, check whether the product is the actual award-winning batch from that year; a maker’s award does not automatically apply to every tea they sell.
Taiwan hosts tea Tea Championship competitions yearly so that high-quality tea can be provided to consumers with different tea options through fair and equitable channels. In addition to creating a good environment for tea farming, farmers’ associations in various regions also help improve tea farmers’ tea-making skills by conducting evaluations and tea-making technique competitions.
In recent years, due to abnormal climate, rising temperature and insufficient rain, the tea industry is also facing great challenges. In such an environment, tea farmers must take care of the tea gardens more attentively, and because the yield is not plentiful, tea requires meticulous care once picked in to successfully hand over a competition worthy product.
The categories of the tea trial in competitions are subdivided into the appearance, colour, aroma and taste. The colour of the tea is checked before and after brewing, the aroma is inhaled from the teacup before ingesting, followed by exhaling through the nasal cavity, then finally the tea is carefully inspected at the bottom of the cup to comprehensively evaluate the quality.
What is Champion Tea?
2022 Taiwan Champion Tea: Historical Records
2022 The Best Taiwan Champion or Taiwan Competition Tea are~
1.New Taipei City Pinglin District Peasant Association-Winter Wenshan Baozhong Tea Municipal Evaluation – Taiwan Champion Tea
In 2022, Pinglin District, New Taipei City held a city-level evaluation of Wenshan Baozhong tea during winter, and the grand prize was won by “Xinghong Tea House”. Xinbei Pinglin has a reputation for being “Bei Baozhong” and is the largest production area of Baozhong tea, with an annual output of 310 metric tons, accounting for 65% of Taiwan’s tea market.
Wenlin Baozhong Tea Evaluation is an annual tea competition event. Aligning with the quality, special prizes, first prizes, second prizes, participation prizes and excellence prizes are up for grabs, packaged uniformly by the farmers association.
In 2019, it set a record of NTD $1 million for one catty. Since then, the special prize of Pinglin Baozhong tea has been named “Million Champion Tea”.
The main characteristic of Baozhong tea is its “fragrance”. The naturally curled buds and leaves are cord-like in appearance and light green to black in colour, whilst the brew is honey yellow and green, fresh and elegant with a tangy aroma.
Due to the heavy rainfall in the winter of 2021, the Wenshan Baozhong tea in the winter of 2022 needs to be specially removed due to excess tea leaves. The Wenshan Baozhong tea from Xinghong Tea House, which won the special prize, is clear and translucent, with a honey-green colour and an aroma of orchid, jasmin, and gardenia.
Read More:
Pouchong Tea Features & Origin – Same as Green Tea?
The gentle sound of the tea leaves rustling in my cup is a soothing reminder of the sound of your voice whispering sweet nothings in my ear.
Tea Classroom – Champion Tea
2.National High Quality Oriental Beauty Tea Evaluation Competition – Taiwan Champion Tea
The Hsinchu Key Tea Competition is an annual “National Quality Oriental Beauty Tea Evaluation Competition”. The judging results were announced at the Longtan District Farmers Association on July 8, 2022. Although the judging results were live broadcasted online during the epidemic prevention period, the tea tasting was anything but careless, and the number of entries had also increased by 10% compared to the previous year.
Tea farmers from Miaoli, Hsinchu, New Taipei and Taipei also participated in this event, and the grand prize was won by Yang Ruilong, a farmer from Emei Township.
It has been 40 years since Yang Ruilong, a tea farmer, took over the cultivation of Oriental Beauty Tea from the previous generation. Relying on hard work and persistence in organic planting, he has won many awards in the Oriental Beauty Tea Competition, and has been well-received by judges and the public.
Every year, in the face of different tea quality conditions, tea farmers constantly adjust tea-making methods in order to produce the same high-quality tea, an attitude, and technique really worthy of applause.
Due to the fact that there are many counterfeit teas on the market, this year’s Oriental Beauty Tea Tasting Conference added an “anti-counterfeit seal” on the outside of tea pots, which means safety and government certification. Strict checks at every level are to make consumers feel at ease in buying and consuming.
Taiwan Champion Tea | Taiwan Competition Tea
3. 2022 Sun Moon Lake Black Tea Evaluation
– Taiwan Champion Tea
The annual black tea evaluation held at Sun Moon Lake in Nantou is one of the most important competitions for black tea in Taiwan. Because the Sun Moon Lake black tea in 2022 was affected by diseases, insect pests, climate and other factors, there were fewer tea samples than the previous year, but the quality of the tea was still consistent. “Sun Moon Lake Black Tea Appraisal” specially evaluates the four major black tea varieties of Taiwanese No. 18 (Hongyu), Dayezhong, Taiwanese No. 21 and Taiwan Camellia, and accordingly selects participants for the special prize, first prize, gold prize and excellence prize.
In 2022, tea farmers Shifa, Wang Shunzhong, Yang Longhuan, and Guo Hanyuan won the Taiwanese Tea No. 18 (Red Jade), Dayezhong, Taicha No. 21, and Taiwan Camellia Grand Prize respectively. The jury believes that the quality of Taiwanese No. 21 this year is very stable, and the citrus-like pomelo fragrance in the tea is obvious. It was difficult to distinguish among the 4 pieces that entered the finals. In the end, the tea farmer Yang Longhuan’s sweet, fragrant and rich, yet balanced tea brew won the grand prize.
Also worth mentioning is the Sun Moon Lake Black Tea Appraiser “Tea room”, which is always victorious. In 2017, they won the championship of the four major black tea categories. In 2022, the founder Zhuang Shifa once again won the tea king with Taiwanese No. 18. Sun Moon Lake black tea has been planted for a long time, and it is more than capable of mastering the tea produced in different years. After minor adjustments, it is possible to produce the world-famous Sun Moon Lake black tea.
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As I take a sip of tea, I am reminded of the moments when our lips met and the love we shared.
4.Taichung High-quality Lishan Tea Evaluation and Promotion Marketing Activities – Taiwan Champion Tea
“Taichung High Quality Lishan Tea Evaluation” organised by Taichung City Bureau of Agriculture & Heping District Farmers Association. In 2022, a total of 500 groups of farmers participated in the competition. After the judging committee scored the tea, Huang Jiadong won the special prize, the first prize went to Huang Mingcun, the second prize went to Chen Xiuman, and the third prize went to Shi Zhongjie.
Lishan tea is a high-quality alpine tea in Taiwan. The competition mainly focuses on spring Qingxin oolong tea produced in the Lishan area. Experts from the tea industry improvement field of the Agriculture Committee of the Executive Yuan serve as the review committee, and evaluate the shape, colour, and aroma.
Lishan has a large temperature difference between day and night and sufficient water vapour, which is in line with the natural environment for all tea plantations. Lishan high mountain tea is harvested by hand, only picked 2 to 3 times a year, so the output is small.
The tea leaves are thick, with high pectin content, the tea brew is honey yellowish green and slightly floral with a fruity aroma. The high-quality competition tea is strictly controlled by the Heping District Farmers Association, and is packaged in a unified manner with anti-counterfeiting labels, so that consumers can buy high-quality Lishan tea with peace of mind.
Read More:
What is Lishan Tea? High Mountain Tea of Taiwan?
5.Zhushan Town Farmers Association Shanlinxi Spring Tea Competition – Taiwan Champion Tea
Every year, the “Shanlinxi Spring Tea Competition” hosted by the Farmers’ Association of Zhushan Town receives high attention. In 2022, Cai Jiawen and Yang Xiaowen won the special prizes for oolong tea and new variety tea respectively. In addition to the spring tea competition, competitions are also hosted for winter tea, one surely not to be missed!
Tea is an important agricultural specialty in Nantou, and Shanlinxi is a representative term for Taiwanese tea. Through the tea competition, the outstanding tea of the year is selected as the world’s high-end Taiwanese tea, which not only motivates tea farmers through competition, but also creates public awareness to the efforts of local tea farmers.
Read More:
Tongding Oolong Tea – One of the Best Teas!
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Taiwan Champion Tea. Boutique Tea Brand – ABoxTik
Every tea produced by the Taiwan champion competition is persistent with the sweat and dedication of the local tea farmers. ABoxTik strictly selects local tea from Taiwan, including Dongding Oolong, Jinxuan Oolong, and Dongpian Sijichun, complemented by our impeccably crafted packaging, which makes an excellent choice for gift giving.
ABoxTik is a brand dedicated to sharing tea information with everyone, including tea history and efficacy. I also hope that everyone can learn more about these teas that fill our lives, and the secrets of tea that carry out history. If you are interested in tea and want to know all kinds of knowledge about tea, you are welcome to continue following our article updates, and our previous articles, or visit our official website directly to discover an ideal tea for yourself.
Five checks before buying competition tea
- Organizer and full competition name: different associations or cooperatives may run competitions in the same growing region.
- Year and season: an award ceremony reported in 2026 may concern the previous winter. Use the competition year shown on the award.
- Tea category and award level: keep Special Prize, First Prize and category awards distinct.
- Producer and batch: match the package, award details and product description.
- Seal, weight and storage: check original or repacked packaging, the quantity and storage condition before comparing prices.
2026 champion tea questions
Are Special Prize and First Prize the same award?
Use the distinctions published by the organizer. The 2026 Lugu spring report lists the Special Prize separately from the First Prize ranking. Recording the full award helps compare like with like.
Does every tea from an award-winning maker count as champion tea?
An award relates to a specific competition and batch. Ask the seller to confirm the year, season, award and packaging for the product being offered.
Should champion tea be a gift or an everyday tea?
Start with the flavors the recipient—or you—enjoy, then consider the award and budget. Explore our Taiwanese tea flavor guide to understand the options; for competition tea, check the specific award and batch before buying.