The organic oolong tea, grown by a monk from a local temple, was presented the champion award in the "2008 Taiwan high-end organic tea competition, " which was co-sponsored by the Taiwan Tea Association and Agriculture and Food Agency under the Council of Agriculture.

The champion organic oolong tea was selected from 51 types of tea entered in the contest.

The purpose of the competition is to build public awareness of consuming organic tea and to help create a safe and eco-friendly environment for tea drinkers, said Taiwan Tea Association Secretary Liang Ming-chan.

Tea growers who applied to participate in the contest must first have their goods certified by one of the four organic groups and are required to provide production profile for their product before their goods could be sent for tests of chemical residues at a specific government-run laboratory, Liang said.