Ksenia Hleap has been working at the Agency for the Valorization of Agricultural Products (AVPA) in Paris, France for 7 years, mainly responsible for communication and development work. According to her introduction, the AVPA Association helps agricultural producers increase the value of their products and has a good international reputation. The “Tea from the World” tea competition has been held for eight times, and the winning products will be recognized by multiple partners and contribute to marketing. AVPA welcomes more high-quality tea and producers from China to participate in the future.
Ksenia introduced that AVPA is a non-governmental, non-profit organization whose goal is to help agricultural producers increase the value of their products, focusing on coffee, vegetable oils, chocolate, and tea products. The association was established in 2005 and maintains contact with over 10000 manufacturers from 50 countries. Currently, there are approximately 1000 active members across 5 continents, mainly composed of agricultural producers and enthusiasts. AVPA aims to enhance consumers’ and distributors’ awareness of the value of agricultural products, stating that high-quality products should receive higher treatment and producers should be given the support they deserve.
Every year, more than 700 agricultural producers from around the world travel to Paris, France to participate in competitions organized by AVPA. Ksenia said that the association’s nearly 20 years of operation have earned AVPA a good international reputation. The “Tea from the World” tea competition has been successfully held for eight sessions. The tea competition aims to increase the value of tea and herbal tea in the gastonomy culture on the basis of traditional consumption of tea products. The tea products participating in the competition come from traditional tea producing countries such as China, India, Sri Lanka, as well as new tea products from Africa, Latin America, Southeast Asia, and even Europe.
The participating tea products are roughly divided into two categories: single variety tea, which is classified and evaluated according to different tea processing methods; Herbal tea, blended tea, and flavored tea. Ksenia explained the evaluation mechanism of the competition, which first involves a professional technical team to select tea samples with a medium to high level. The technical team is chaired by sensory evaluation expert Carine Baudry, and multiple experts evaluate tea products based on appearance, aroma, and taste factors. Taste is an important consideration factor, requiring balance, harmony, and aftertaste. The final review team is composed of experts who have access to end consumers, mainly from the French food and beverage industry, such as practitioners in restaurants, teahouses, tea shops, etc. They can choose tea category selection, and after tasting each tea sample, they need to answer 16 questions, consider comprehensively, and finally decide on the winning tea samples.
Ksenia mentioned that China is a major tea planting and production country, but AVPA only has access to a very small amount of tea produced in China. She hopes that in the future, more high-quality tea and producers from China will participate in the competition. At present, the AVPA website provides services in six languages including French, English and Spanish etc.. After registering on the website, participants need to deliver tea samples before the end of September each year. After the October review period, participants or their representatives in November can participate in the award ceremony held in Paris and meet potential partners such as distributors and brand owners through AVPA. They can also attend the Affaire De Cadeaux exhibition held in Paris at the same time to seek more opportunities for cooperation.
The awards won in the competition, Ksenia said, are helpful for marketing. At least in the tea trade of countries such as Africa and Europe, AVPA’s awards are recognized by the industry. The logo of the award can also be printed on the packaging like a trademark to enhance the product’s recognition. AVPA has been also regularly organizing tea tasting events, invited industry experts to participate, and further promoted award-winning products. AVPA also provides additional fee based services, such as promotional activities and market research within France, as well as testing of products attempting to enter new markets. Ksenia emphasized that AVPA values the concepts of “terroir” and geographical origin. She also reminded that although AVPA does not conduct chemical testing on products, the French market is very strict, and manufacturers need to pay attention to relevant testing standards.