Our local and international honours
Tea Estate is home to award-winning tea, visitor experiences, and business practice. Our prestigious awards include international tea honours from USA, United Kingdom, and Hong Kong, as well as business and hospitality awards. We are proud to be putting Waikato, New Zealand on the map not only as a world-class tea producer, but as a must-visit destination.
GLOBAL TEA CHAMPIONSHIP
The Global Tea Championship™ is an independent competition, blind-tasted and judged by tea professionals to distinguish the highest quality & best tasting teas commercially available.
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
UKTA - THE LEAFIES
One of The Leafies highest accolades for an estate or individual who is well established, highly respected and has made a significant contribution to the advancement of tea knowledge and appreciation.
It is an outstanding achievement as it embodies the qualities of all the other Special Awards, demonstrating a long term commitment to pioneering tea culture, community initiatives and a tireless dedication to environmental regeneration.
GOLD - HIGHLY OXIDISED OOLONG
UKTA - THE LEAFIES
The Leafies celebrate the world’s finest loose leaf teas and bring primary tea producers exposure to a global tea focused market.
Zealong won the top award in its category for its highly oxidised oolong tea - Aromatic oolong
- 20 teas entered from all over the world
- 12 judges comprising 8 nationalities
- Judging in Fortnum & Mason’s Food & Drink Studio
HIGHLY COMMENDED - AGED TEA
UKTA - THE LEAFIES
The Leafies celebrate the world’s finest loose leaf teas and bring primary tea producers exposure to a global tea focused market.
Zealong won the top award in its category for oolong tea aged over 5 years - Zealong Aged tea is from 2010 and is available in store
- 320 teas entered from all over the world
- 12 judges comprising 8 nationalities
- Judging in Fortnum & Mason’s Food & Drink Studio
GLOBAL TEA CHAMPIONSHIP
The Global Tea Championship™ is an independent competition, blind-tasted and judged by tea professionals to distinguish the highest quality & best tasting teas commercially available.
NATURAL AND ORGANIC AWARDS
Highlighting the very best products at the Natural and Organic Products Expos, Zealong tea has been honoured in the people’s choice Best New Organic Beverage category at both the Europe and Asia expos.
GREAT TASTE AWARD
Known as ‘the Oscars of the food world’, Oolong tea grown at Zealong Tea Estate was awarded a prestigious Great Taste Award in London, 2016 after being entered by retailer Whittard of Chelsea.
WORLD TEA EXPO PEOPLE'S TEA CHOICE
During the 2018 World Tea Expo in Las Vegas, Global Tea Championship winning teas were invited to participate in the Winners’ Tasting Circle, where attendees of the industry-only event tasted and voted for their favourite teas.
BEEF AND LAMB EXCELLENCE AWARD
The Beef and Lamb Excellence Awards are New Zealand’s longest running culinary awards, acknowledging the expertise of our greatest chefs. Zealong Tea House has been rewarded twice for its tasty, skillfully composed and superbly presented beef and lamb dishes.
EUROSHOP RETAIL DESIGN AWARD
As part of EuroShop, the world’s number one retail trade fair, an international team of experts nominates the best stores from around the world with the most successful store concepts for the ERDA.
NEW ZEALAND COMMERCIAL PROJECT AWARDS
This prestigious awards programme sets the benchmark for commercial construction in New Zealand, and is all about celebrating the completed construction project (big or small) and the team relationships that achieve them.
WESTPAC WAIKATO BUSINESS EXCELLENCE AWARDS
The Westpac Business Excellence Awards take place all around the country, in conjunction with local Chambers of Commerce. Zealong Tea Estate was the 2016 Winner in Waikato’s Community Contribution category.
TRIPADVISOR CERTIFICATE OF EXCELLENCE
Zealong Tea Estate has been award TripAdvisor Certificates of Excellence every year since 2013 for both their restaurant and tour experiences, earning two spots in the Hall of Fame.
PRIDE IN PRINT AWARDS
The Pride In Print Awards are a pinnacle of recognition for the best in visual print communication products of any given year. Rocket Print won Gold for the labels on Zealong Catering Packs (packs of 30 tea bags or 200g loose leaf), which were designed in-house by Zealong.
QUALMARK ENDORSEMENT
Qualmark provides evidence that our business has been independently validated as a quality tourism business. It provides instant recognition for customers that your business will deliver a quality experience.
FRANCE GOURMET SELECTION AVPA TEAS OF THE WORLD GOLDS
Waikato’s Zealong Tea Estate has been presented with three awards at the Gourmet Sélection fine food show in France – The AVPA Teas of the world competition.