UK joins 'Tea Masters Cup!

1st Jul '19

The United Kingdom, a country that has made an invaluable contribution to the development of the global tea market and world tea culture, joins the Tea Masters Cup international system of championships.

In accordance with the signed agreement, the United Kingdom Tea & Infusions Association (UKTIA), uniting the largest British tea market operators, becomes the national coordinator of the Tea Masters Cup project in the UK and will launch their competition in 2020.

Great Britain is a country that has created and carefully preserves a unique tea tradition; it turned tea into a respected and sought-after profession. I am sure that the Tea Masters Cup championships will make tea and tea culture in the UK even more attractive and popular. Young professionals working with tea and in other related cultures will be able to fully realize their creative and professional potential with the help of Tea Masters Cup. We expect memorable performances from the British contestants. We are currently exploring the possibilities of developing TMC in the UK and the experience of other countries in organizing national tournaments. In particular, we plan to visit the national Canadian TMC, which will be held in Toronto, said Dr Sharon Hall, Chief Executive of the UK Tea & Infusions Association, commenting on the agreement between UKTIA and Tea Masters Cup.

Ms Weber, national coordinator of TMC Canada and President of Tea and Herbal Association of Canada (THAC), said 'we are pleased that our UK colleagues have joined Tea Masters Cup and we look forward to sharing our approach.' Ms. Weber, who also heads up THAC's successful Tea Sommelier programme, added 'it is great to see more countries joining the Tea Masters Cup international family. We fully support the project's aim to foster professional development and exchange of ideas among specialists in the hospitality industry, as well as those with a true passion for tea.

Ramaz Chanturiya, TMC Chairman, added that 'One of the main objectives of Tea Masters Cup is to create conditions for productive interaction between tea experts. We are pleased that the UK has joined TMC, and still more pleased that the British TMC is immediately involved in active international communications with TMC in other countries'.

The UK Tea & Infusions Association is an independent non-profit making body dedicated to promoting tea and herbal infusions and their unique story to consumers and the media, for the benefit of those who produce, sell and enjoy tea and herbal infusion products. UKTIA provides support and information of a technical, scientific and regulatory nature to the industry and works with the world's major tea producing and exporting countries, UK tea packers and allied UK companies who support the tea and herbal infusions supply chains.

Tea Masters Cup is a unique international system of competitions for tea professionals held in four different categories since 2013: tea preparation, tea pairing, tea mixology and tea tasting. Currently, 22 countries are registered to hold national TMC competitions. The international final of the Tea Masters Cup is held annually, following a series of qualifying championships in the participating countries. The 2018 finals took place Nov. 23-25, 2018 in Hue, Vietnam. Previous international finals were held in Turkey, South Korea and China.