Lemon-Lime Tea from Podravka gets a record number of awards.
The Superior Taste Award is being decided by a judgging panel made up of members coming from 15 prestigious European culinary and sommelier associations. Podravka, a Croatian food processing company, has been participating in the competition for the Superior Taste Awards since 2008, reports Poslovni.hr on June 1, 2016.
Its first product that was recognized at the contest was Podravka Beef Stew, followed by a series of other products from Podravka’s range, such as spices, soups, tomato puree, Dolcela pudding, fruit juices, meat products, spring and mineral water, etc. Between 2008 and 2016, Podravka’s products received a total of 72 Superior Taste Awards. This year was a record one when it comes to individual awards – the company received as many as 23 awards. Moreover, Podravka’s Lemon-Lime Tea has received the “over 90 percent grade” third year in a row from three different judging panels, and thus earned a special status and a Crystal Taste Award.
Superior Taste Award is being given by the International Taste & Quality Institute – iTQi, which is headquartered in Brussels. iTQi is a leading global organization committed to tasting and promoting superior products from the food and beverage sector. Companies from 120 countries are currently a part of the competition for this important award.
Some of the top culinary and sommelier associations the judges come from are Maîtres Cuisiniers de France, Academy of Culinary Arts, Hellenic Chefs' Association, Academie Culinaire de France, Verband der Koche Deutschlands, Federacion de Asociaciones de Cocineros de España, Federerazione dei Cuochi Italiana, and many others.
The assessment and grading process is rigorous, and it involves sensor-grading which is based on the method called “blind tasting”. This kind of tasting puts an emphasis on the intensity of the taste of the product itself, without comparing it to other products. The items that score over 70 percent are given the Superior Taste Award. In addition, products which keep winning for three consecutive years and are recognized by three different judge panels will receive the Crystal Taste Award, while the Diamond Taste Award will be awaiting those which receive three stars seven times within ten years.
