Istanbul, Turkey
Tea Preparation, Tea Pairing, Tea Tasting
5 countries
New: the first international competition, TMC travel program
The first Tea Masters Cup International was held at September 3–5, 2015 in Istanbul (Turkey) in Tea Preparation, Tea Pairing and Tea Tasting categories. Tea masters from Belarus, Latvia, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine participated in the tournament.
Natalia Lomayeva (Russia) became the champion in the Tea Preparation category. In the Tea Pairing category two people shared the world title: Anastasia Shif (Belarus) and Daria Mikheyeva (Russia). In the Tea Tasting category the winner was Anna Pleshakova (Russia).
After the end of the competition, all participants took a two-day trip to visit some of the best tea plantations and factories in Turkey, located in the north of the country, near the town of Rize, the birthplace of Turkish tea. This trip was not only memorable — participants enjoyed rafting, excursions to mountain villages and a climb to a waterfall — but it also helped establish friendships among tea professionals from many different countries.
The competition in Turkey was organized in cooperation with Rize Commodity Exchange (Turkey). The General sponsor of this international competition was Çaykur, one of the largest tea companies in the world, the leader of the Turkish tea industry. The official partners were The Turkish Tea Association and the Rize Commodity Exchange.