Commercially Available is defined as teas with a minimum inventory of 20 kilograms for retailers and 50 kilograms for suppliers available for sale and stored in North America.
Teas must meet their respective category definitions
Please do not send an Oolong for a Green Tea category or a Blended tea flavored with an essential oil - no matter how delicate the oil. Teas that do not meet the category definition are automatically disqualified and the fee will not be refunded for entry. The judges are professional cuppers in the industry with over a century worth of combined experience.
The official seal image and the title, “North American Tea Champion” and the words “North American Tea Championship” award winner are non‐transferable.
Only submitting companies, entrants, have use of the seal and titles for promotional and marketing purposes.
All submissions must be packaged and labeled as directed. Any submission packaged and/or labeled incorrectly will be automatically disqualified.
Entries sent in an open pouch, or pouches that open easily and result in tea falling out of the packaging, will be disqualified upon receipt. The Competition Coordinators will not touch the tea or re‐package any tea product.
Entries sent without a label noting the category will be disqualified upon receipt. Competition Coordinators will not assume which category the tea belongs in.
Label information must match what is noted on all entry forms, i.e. tea name and type. Competition Coordinators will not assume entrants meant to send a different sample.
All submissions (the tea samples) must be received by Feb. 24, 2012. If received after Feb 24, 2012, the submissions will be disqualified.
Entrants can submit into numerous categories and multiple submissions per category; however, only the highest rated tea submitted by the company in the category will place as a winner if one is ranked.