The　first　National　Dark　Tea　Competition，　co－hosted　by　Xianning　Municipal　People＇s　Government　and　China　Association　for　the　Promotion　of　International　Agricultural　Cooperation，　on　Tuesday　kicked　off　in　Xianning．　This　competition　collected　a　total　of　219　dark　tea　sample　registration　information　from　the　six　major　dark　tea　producing　areas　in　the　country．

The　competition　sets　up　special　gold，　gold　and　silver　awards　according　to　different　categories　of　dark　tea，　as　well　as　innovative　product　awards．　It　will　invite　senior　experts　from　Tea　Research　Institute，　Chinese　Academy　of　Agricultural　Sciences　and　the　tea　industry　to　review　according　to　GB／T　23776－2018　Sensory　Evaluation　of　Tea．

Before　the　review，　the　staff　will　classify　and　code　the　tea　samples．　Without　knowing　the　source　and　password　of　tea　samples，　the　quality　factors　such　as　appearance，　color，　aroma　and　taste　of　each　tea　sample　were　comprehensively　analyzed　and　scored　according　to　the　principles　of　fairness，　justice　and　openness　by　evaluation　experts．　The　results　will　be　announced　on　December　12．

Dark　tea　is　an　important　category　of　Chinese　tea　with　a　clear　historical　development．　It　produced　458，000　tons　of　tea　in　2023，　accounting　for　12.9％　of　China＇s　total　tea　production．　In　the　current　new　consumption　environment，　keeping　innovation　is　the　future　path　of　high－quality　development　of　the　tea　industry．

The　event　was　held　to　gather　the　dark　tea　categories　of　the　six　major　dark　tea　producing　areas　in　the　country，　actively　build　a　publicity　and　communication　platform　for　the　local，　promote　the　high－quality　development　of　dark　tea　in　the　country，　and　help　Chibi　green　brick　tea　to　further　enhance　its　influence．　（Xianning　Daily／Chen　Jing）