The 9th edition of the Chinese Tea Wonderful Game, a prestigious event dedicated to tea culture, recently concluded in the West Lake District of Zhejiang Province, China. The event, known for its comprehensive celebration of tea culture, attracted enthusiasts and professionals from around the world, including a notable participant, Anna Dragunova from Russia, a 21-year-old student at the Tourism College of Zhejiang. She achieved recognition by winning the gold award in the foreign participants category.
Spanning three days, the event took place in Longwu Tea Town, establishing itself as the nation’s foremost tea-themed gathering. It emphasizes the central role of tea enthusiasts and businesses in celebrating and evolving the rich tea culture. The event’s broad scope encompasses significant aspects of tea culture, industry, and technology. It features various competitions, including tea art, Song Dynasty tea battles, new-style tea brewing contests, and competitions for tea table and tea space design.
This year’s event was notable for its record-setting achievements: over 1,000 contestants reached the final round, and 182 medals were awarded across 31 gold, 61 silver, and 90 bronze categories. This represented the highest number of competition categories, the largest participant turnout, and the broadest geographical representation in the history of the event.
Among the distinguished participants was Wu Ruixue, a 36-year-old chief flight attendant with China International Airlines’ Zhejiang branch. Wu, who developed a passion for tea in 2013 and started studying it in 2017, showcased her skills in various aspects of tea artistry. Her comprehensive performance, which included creativity in themes, tea table arrangement, and tea infusion quality, earned her a silver prize in the “sisters” category of the tea artistry competition.
The games also featured a special international contest titled “My Story with Chinese Tea.” Dragunova, sharing her experience, expressed her admiration for the art of Chinese tea making, describing it as an amazing and beautiful process.
Besides the competitions, the event included additional activities like Chinese tea parties, cultural fairs, and salons. These gatherings aimed to promote tea culture, support the development of the tea industry, and advance tea technology.
A major highlight of this year’s event was the focus on the emerging trend of new-style tea beverages. This category encompasses milk tea, herbal tea, fruit tea, tea-infused alcohol, and tea with coffee. These contemporary tea drinks, known for their convenience, affordability, and diverse flavors, have particularly resonated with the younger demographic.
The new-style tea brewing competition featured two categories: “new-style tea beverage products” and “creative new-style tea brewing.” The former included wellness tea blends and special tea-infused mixes, while the latter offered contestants the freedom to create innovative tea beverages. The competition attracted 121 participants nationwide, including tea-major students, practitioners in new-style tea brewing, and seasoned enthusiasts, with 30 teams making it to the finals.
Since the recognition of “mixologist” as a new profession by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security in March 2021, the new-style tea drink industry has been experiencing a renaissance. The average age of contestants in this category was under 30, highlighting the youth-driven nature of this trend.
New-style tea beverages are crafted using high-quality tea leaves, combined with various extracts, and infused with elements like fresh milk, imported cream, or fresh fruits. These beverages offer a wide range of flavors, expanding from traditional tea and milk to combinations like tea and fresh milk, tea and fruit, or tea and cheese.
Shao Jiancheng, deputy director of the rural industry development department at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, emphasized during a thematic salon that the rise of the new-style tea drink industry represents not just the preservation of traditional Chinese tea culture, but also its integration with current market trends. This fusion has made these beverages one of the most dynamic and popular forms of consumption.
According to data from the Xinhua News Agency, the market size of the new-style tea drink industry exceeded 290 billion yuan in 2022, boasting about 450,000 stores nationwide and an annual consumption of over 200,000 tons of tea.
Luo Jun, the founder of the National Cha Lab, remarked at the salon that the globalization of new-style tea drinks presents a unique blend of Chinese tea culture. This “harmony in diversity” approach enriches the global palate, offering a fresh perspective on traditional tea consumption.
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