Innovative Competition Rules- Moving Beyond Elitism to Raise Overall Quality

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A display of different tea wares.

Red Oolong tea debuted in 2008, and that same year the first competition was held to encourage local farmers and refine tea quality through judge feedback. The contest introduced two major innovations:

  1. Quality over ranking: Instead of awarding a single "champion," teas were rated as gold, silver, or honorable mention. Any tea meeting the quality standard could earn gold. This shifted the focus from elite competition to collective improvement, giving every farmer the chance to be recognized.

  2. Variety and blending allowed: All tea types—Jhinshuan, Large-leaf Oolong, Chin-Shin-Dapan, Wuyi, and others—could compete. Tea masters could blend different varieties and batches based on flavor, prioritizing taste and creativity over strict classification.

These rules aimed to expand the pool of award-winning teas and raise overall quality, while allowing flexibility to balance batch differences, stabilize sweetness and complexity, and inspire flavor-driven innovation. 

The competition accepted both hand-picked and machine-harvested teas, promoting cost savings and wider participation. Leaf differences were balanced by expert control of withering and roasting.