Wow - what a week that was in Dublin.

A great way to kick off the international version of the Tea Brewers Cup.

Entrants spanned different regions and backgrounds, and brought along varied experiences in the way that they would brew their teas.

Just as a recap if you haven't read the previous blog posts (and why haven't you..?) - the format was as follows:

 

Heats -

Three teas given and the clock started.

45 minutes to deliver all the three teas over to the judges.

The top three contestants went through to the finals.

 

 

Entrants :

Will Pitts - Origin Coffee

Maria Erkens - Maria Erkens Tea

Alex Read - Strangers Coffee

Joshua Clarke - Clifton Coffee

Nicola Greenwood - Tea Kup

Paul Ross - Saint Espresso

Paul Whitehead - Bunn Brewers

Anne Pawlak - Postcard Teas 

Caroline Heck - Canton Tea

Andrew Tolley - Taylor Street Baristas

Kate Johnson - Established Coffee

Karlijn Dapper - Tea Lifestyle

Philip Blake - Waterloo Tea 

Freddie Forrester - Good & Proper Tea

Nick Wright - Established Coffee

Alice Evans - Canton Tea

Jessie May Peters - Honor Coffee.

 

Results - Heats

1st - Will Pitts - Origin Coffee

2nd - Andrew Tolley - Taylor Street Baristas

3rd - Philip Blake - Waterloo Tea

4th - Jessie May Peters - Honor Coffee

5th - Freddie Forrester - Good & Proper Tea

6th - Nick Wright - Established Coffee

 

Finalists -

Will Pitts

Andrew Tolley

Philip Blake

 

Finals -

4 hours to play with 6 teas, understanding what the teas can deliver and perfecting recipes.

Six rounds of eight minutes, during which the contestants brewed up each of the teas against each other.

The winner of each round was announced before the commencement of the next round. The one with the most wins was crowned the World Tea Brewers Cup champion.

 

Results - Finals

Winner - Philip Blake - Waterloo Tea

Runner Up - Andrew Tolley - Taylor Street Baristas

Third Place - Will Pitts - Origin Coffee

 

More than the winners - the competition brought together seven tea companies and three manufacturers who all shared the same goal of working together and driving forward the tea industry.

Particular thanks to Jen from Canton Tea and Tim from Postcard Tea, who along with yours truly spent much of the two days tasting and scoring the teas. 

Also, to Suki, Rishi, Solaris, Good & Proper, Marco Beverage, BWT and Hario who allowed the competition to become a reality and oiled the wheels throughout with their guidance and support.