In a competition running deep into the night, we have found a winner. Yes, the results surprised The Biscuit too. The venerable Irish Breakfast tea easily defeated the swank Silver Needle and also earned the black tea conference a place on top, at least for this year.

A panel of 3 judges (The Biscuit was not one of them) scored the teas using the following guidelines found at The Simple Leaf :

Dry Leaf Appearance (See / Touch / Hear): 2 points
Wet Leaf Appearance (See / Touch): 1 point
Smell / Aroma (Smell): 2 points
Liquor Color (See): 1 point
Flavor (Taste): 4 points

Considering those numbers, the Irish Breakfast beat on the Needle 23-13.

You can buy the tea online from Tea Zone or check out their nice little shop in Somerville, Mass.

There’s a lot more fun stuff in store in the next few days or so. You’ll get to see The Biscuit and a host of other people react to their first bite of Durian, which is amusing to say the least. Keep eating!