傳統上，茶葉的消費習性是需當場試喝品茗，才能安心選購，要改變數百年來的茶葉消費方式並不容易。當時農會總幹事-林光演 先生，具有宏觀的視野，認為茶葉必須要有行銷策略，才能將凍頂茶直接推動給消費者，因此於民國六十五年鹿谷鄉農會辦理鄉首次的茶葉比賽展售會。
Traditionally, tea consumption habits required on-site tasting to ensure peace of mind in purchasing. Changing this centuries-old method of tea consumption was no easy task. At the time, the secretary-general of the Farmers' Association, Mr. Lin Guangyan, with his visionary outlook, believed that tea needed a marketing strategy to directly promote Dong Ding tea to consumers. Therefore, in 1976, the Lugu Township Farmers' Association organized the township's first tea competition and exhibition.
地處台灣心臟地帶的南投縣，六十年代的交通狀況並不佳，因此地方各界積極的造橋鋪路，期待鹿谷農會比賽茶能為茶 村帶來商機。接著隔年也就是民國六十五年的五月在鹿谷國 小舉行首屆優良凍頂茶比賽及展售會，當時參賽茶樣只有104件。為了確保茶農的權益，農會限定一個會員只能參加一件茶樣；六十五至六十八年由農會聘請幾位資深茶農，將茶農繳來的茶葉以四方道林紙現場包裝，由於工作量大，速度較慢，六十九年改為由茶農先備周農會領取包裝紙，自行在家先把茶葉一斤斤用紙包包好，農會的工作人員，再從所有的茶包中隨机抽取一包，作為評審之用。後來參賽規則為繳交二十 二台斤茶(俗稱一辦茶)，一斤為評審時用茶，一斤則由鹿谷農會購買，入圍者套上主辦單位的包裝，依其等級由「特等 獎」一名、頭等獎約佔2%、二等獎則佔6%、三等獎則為8%、之後再分為二朵梅及三朵梅。
Located in the heart of Taiwan, Nantou County faced poor transportation conditions during the 1960s. As a result, local communities actively worked on building bridges and improving roads, hoping that the Lugu Township Farmers' Association's competition tea could bring business opportunities to the tea villages. The following year, in May 1976, the first Premium Dong Ding Tea Competition and Exhibition was held at Lugu Elementary School, with only 104 tea samples entered at the time.
To protect the rights of tea farmers, the Farmers' Association limited participation to one tea sample per member. From 1976 to 1979, the association employed several experienced tea farmers to package submitted tea leaves on-site using quadrilateral Doulin paper. However, due to the large workload and slow progress, in 1980, the process was modified. Tea farmers were provided with packaging paper from the Farmers' Association in advance to package one-jin (600g) portions of tea at home. The association staff then randomly selected one package from all submissions for evaluation.
Later, the competition rules required submitting 22 Taiwanese jin of tea (commonly referred to as "a half-pallet"). Of this, one jin was used for judging, and another was purchased by the Lugu Township Farmers' Association. Winners were packaged by the organizers according to their grades: one "Special Prize," about 2% awarded First Prizes, 6% Second Prizes, and 8% Third Prizes. Further distinctions were classified into "Two Plum Blossoms" and "Three Plum Blossoms."
為了求更公平、公正，隔年改為必須將22斤散茶交給主辦單位，現場取樣、包裝，評審後若未達到比賽之品質標準者，大會則將已包裝好之茶葉外包裝拿掉，即為未入圍的茶。
To ensure greater fairness and impartiality, the following year, participants were required to submit 22 jin of loose tea to the organizing committee. Sampling and packaging were conducted on-site. After the evaluation, if the tea did not meet the competition's quality standards, the packaging of the prepared tea would be removed by the committee, indicating that the tea was not selected.
由於品牌的建立，加上市場的需求，從民國七十二年起，將一年一度的春茶比賽，改為一年辦理兩次比賽展售會，開啟了冬茶展售會之風潮。
近年來，消費者對食品安全非常重視，政府也於民國九十三年冬茶開始對比賽茶抽樣藥檢，因此，農會必須多收購兩百克茶葉來配合檢的工作，讓消費者得以購買到優質、安全、健康的茶葉。據鹿谷農會提供的資料，單單就鹿谷鄉農會所舉辦的比賽茶 ，一年的營業額就超過二億六千萬元，一年二季僅四天的交 茶，就達到約6千辦茶(大約為13萬台近茶葉)，數量十分的 驚人，嚴然成為全台最大
的比賽場，造就了台灣的另一項奇 蹟，它豎立了凍頂茶的招牌，連大陸的高官也都指名要凍頂 比賽茶，也就不難理解，什麼叫有錢也買不到頂級的凍頂比賽茶。
Due to the establishment of the brand and increasing market demand, starting from 1983, the annual spring tea competition was expanded into two annual events—a spring tea competition and exhibition, followed by the creation of the winter tea exhibition trend.
In recent years, consumers have placed great emphasis on food safety, prompting the government to implement pesticide residue testing for competition tea starting with the winter tea event in 2004. To comply with this measure, the Farmers' Association required an additional 200 grams of tea leaves to facilitate testing, ensuring that consumers could purchase high-quality, safe, and healthy tea. According to data from the Lugu Township Farmers' Association, the annual revenue from the tea competitions held by the association exceeds NT$260 million. In just four days during the two annual tea hand-in periods, around 6,000 "half-pallets" of tea (approximately 130,000 jin of tea leaves) are exchanged—a truly astonishing figure.
Lugu has become Taiwan's largest competition venue, creating another miracle for Taiwan. It has firmly established Dong Ding tea as a prominent brand, even attracting high-ranking officials from Mainland China who specifically request Dong Ding competition tea. This highlights why top-tier Dong Ding competition tea is often referred to as "unattainable even with money."
而正因為比賽茶的名氣大，有利可圖，市場上有一股歪風，自已設立一個名稱來主辦，其參加件數也由自已人混充數十 件，茶葉評審則是自已人裁判兼球員，特等裝、頭等獎自已 冠上頭銜來蒙混。所以在選比賽茶時須要小心選擇較具知名的比賽場及比賽規模，才不會讓自已的荷包失了血。
Due to the significant reputation and profitability of competition tea, some unscrupulous practices have emerged in the market. Certain groups set up their own competition names and inflate the number of entries with their own submissions, while appointing themselves as both judges and participants. They falsely award titles like "Special Prize" or "First Prize" to mislead consumers. Therefore, when selecting competition tea, one must be cautious and choose competitions with greater recognition and scale to avoid financial loss
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