The Hindu Business Line : Golden Leaf tea tasting competition on March 22

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Kochi March 2 The final tea tasting session and the award ceremony of the third edition of The Golden Leaf India Awards: Southern Tea Competition (TIGLIA) will be held here on March 22.

The response has been good and there was 10 per cent increase from that of the previous year. There are 208 entries. The number of estates participating has also increased from 79 last year to 89 now. The bought leaf segment has shown an 82 per cent increase this year, Mr Dharmaraj, Convener, TIGLIA Organising Committee, said.

Quality awareness

Mr Dharmaraj said that there was an increase of 17 million kg (mkg) of teas from South India last year after the last TIGLIA competition and the consequent quality awareness created.

The competition, a joint venture of Tea Board of India and the United Planters' Association of Southern India (UPASI), was successfully conducted twice earlier - first one was organised in September 2005 coinciding with the 112th annual conference of UPASI and the second one was held at Dubai coinciding with the Global Dubai Tea Forum in 2006.

Both editions of the competition were well acclaimed by the international jury and there was a unanimous acknowledgement of the improved quality profile of South Indian teas. The format and the protocol for the competition will be similar to the one followed in the second edition organised at Dubai.

Competition is open for black orthodox and CTC teas, organic orthodox and organic CTC teas.

Under the orthodox and CTC category there will be separate prizes for leaf and fanning grades, which will be region-specific, besides a special category for the bought leaf sector.

Regions include Anamallais, High Ranges, Nilgiris, Travancore, Wayanad and other minor regions comprising Karnataka, Nelliampathy, Madurai, Singampatti, Quilon, Thiruvananthapuram and Kanyakumari. For organic orthodox and organic CTC there will be separate prizes for leaf and fanning grades and the competition in this segment will be for the whole of South India.

Selection process

The process of selecting the best teas from various agro-climatic regions will be based on a multi-layer screening process using a scoring system that capture the various quality attributes of tea in an objective manner. The evaluation will be based on a scoring methodology which assigns scores on a scale of 0 to 10 for the various quality attributes such as dry leaf appearance, infused or spent leaf appearance, liquor attributes such as colour, aroma, briskness and strength.

Mr Dharmaraj said that regional logos would also be launched this year "preparatory to indicating geographical indicator status".

The Tea Board Chairman, Mr Basudev Banerjee would present the awards. The function will be followed by a two-day plantation tour as part of a reverse buyers visit, he said.

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