Toronto resident Harvey Lin turned the Chinese gastronomic world upside down, stealing the coveted title of “Milk Tea King” at the annual International Milk Tea Competition held in Hong Kong.

“It’s kind of like being told that the best Italian pizza comes from Scarborough,” said a jubilant Aaron Liu, sipping milk tea Tuesday at the crowded Marathon Donuts & Coffee Shop on Midland Ave. north of Finch Ave. E. in Scarborough.

Lin, 31, co-owner of Marathon, has been brewing milk tea for only five years, making him a novice compared to his master competitors who have 10 or more years of experience.

“This is the biggest competition, so we’re really happy,” said Lin’s wife, Tracy Chiu, 28, who was busy fielding congratulations and pouring tea in the standing-room only shop.

Lin won the competition on Saturday, but his pregnant wife had to wait till 4 a.m. Sunday morning (4 p.m. Hong Kong time) to hear the news.

“It’s really great that Canadians can take the title because it makes the world realize that our standards are very high. We have had a lot of immigration over the years and a lot of skilled people coming here,” Chiu said.

Chiu runs the shop with Lin and her brother and co-owner, Tony Chiu, who won the Canadian milk tea (or kam cha as it’s popularly known) competition in 2011.

Their humble doughnut shop, purchased four years ago, is not the likeliest candidate for fine Chinese tea. It sells lottery tickets, noodles and tuna sandwiches. You can get “Thousand Island Pork Chop and Fries” for $4.99, as well as conventional tea and coffee.

More than 350 people from Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Melbourne, Shanghai and Guangzhou participated in the annual milk tea competition.

Lin, who was raised in Canada but is originally from Taiwan, was one of six finalists.

The premise of the tournament is simple: brewers are given 20 minutes to make the perfect milk tea.

“When I first started, I brewed less than 10 cups of milk tea a day,” said Lin after the competition in Hong Kong. “I only brewed more cups in a day after I took over the café.”

The tea is a holdover from British colonial culture, a blend of east and west and originating in Hong Kong cafés. Instead of regular milk, the Chinese typically use evaporated or condensed milk.

Brewers begin by boiling the tea leaves in scalding hot water, then carefully swing the pot to allow the leaves to mix and soak in the water. The tea is then left to brew for 10 minutes.

Once the tea leaves turn a darker colour, they are separated from the water with a sackcloth bag. With deft movements, contestants filter the tea several times to extract the full flavour. They then add condensed milk either before or after pouring the tea into cups.

For Lin, the trick to a good cup of milk tea comes from the tea leaves he uses.

“I buy my tea from East Hainan, China,” says Lin. “I mostly use oily tea (you cha).”

“Oily” tea is a type of tea where the leaves are stir fried in oil.

“People usually associate tea with the western culture, but there’s a Chinese tradition of drinking milk tea that is not as known abroad,” says competition judge Chau Kai Leung.

Immediately after Lin was proclaimed champion, he was whisked to a booth to offer a public demonstration.

The contest, organized by the Association of Coffee and Tea of Hong Kong, is in its third year. Winners from outside of Hong Kong were flown in by sponsors for the weekend competition.

There is no cash prize. The winner is crowned “Milk Tea King,” and goes home with a medal, trophy and a teacup made of gold.

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Chiu says her husband, who returns Wednesday, may not serve the winning Hong Kong blend here because it may be too strong for Canadian tastes.

The tea at Marathon — bold and complex, but buttery smooth — is already considered quite strong compared to Canadian competitors.

With files from Trinna Leong