Drinking tea is a treasured tradition in both Taiwan and the U.K. These two tea cultures came together this month at a mixology competition in Taipei. Formosa News reporter Stephany Yang takes you there to see the results.

Taiwanese-British actor Rhydian Vaughan mixes Taiwanese oranges, pineapples, mangoes and lemon together with British tea. Then he adds honey and mint leaves. Vaughan mixes up a storm at a mixology competition held by a British tea company. He''s the ambassador of the event.

Rhydian Vaughan
Actor
I think Taiwan''s tea is also very special. I wanted to connect tea to the unique offerings of Taiwan''s land. This embodies the transcendence of culture. I used Taiwan''s fruits and mixed it with mint tea. I want this to be a refreshing drink on a hot day.

Ten contestants competed for the top prize at the competition. They had to incorporate local Taiwanese agricultural products with tea, and to pair the tea with desserts. They also had to keep the audience entertained.

The winner of the competition was Richie Su. Her mixology performance, titled "Shadow in the Cage," was inspired by an umbrella used by the British royal family, the Fulton Birdcage. She mixed vanilla chrysanthemum honey tea, chamomile tea, and Earl Grey with maqaw.

Richie Su
Winner
I started out with lemon leaves from Taiwan. But the taste didn''t pop enough. Then I found the kaffir lime leaves from Thailand. I used a crystal ball because I wanted to create the color of the British national bird, the robin. When I first smelled the floral fragrance of vanilla chrysanthemum honey tea, I thought it was very special. It was an aroma I hadn''t experienced before. It just so happened that I had maqaw lik on hand.


One of the judges of the mixology competition was Richard Stokes-Green, the new director of the British Chamber of Commerce. Stokes-Green assumed his post this July.

Richard Stokes-Green
Executive Officer of the BCCT
It''s a great opportunity to show how when two cultures collide, you can achieve great things. I think today was a great example of that. We''ve got traditional English tea from Twinings being mixed with fantastic fruits from Taiwan, creating great flavors.

The British Chamber of Commerce supports U.K. businesses that operate in the Taiwan market.

Richard Stokes-Green
British Chamber of Commerce in Taipei CEO
Our main responsibility and obligation is to promote the interests of our members. Many of those members are UK businesses operating in Taiwan. But also Taiwanese companies that are looking to export to the UK. We are trying to promote the U.K. and Taiwan, as well as facilitate government''s engagement as well. Obviously, there are always challenges in doing business in different cultures, where possible, we facilitate that business through our engagement with the government of both UK and Taiwan.

Through supporting events like the mixology competition, the British Chamber of Commerce aims to deepen business engagement between Taiwan and the U.K.