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Real High Tea
Having a cup of tea has always been an occasion and an art in itself. High tea is a culmination of this age-old tradition. Lamenting the irony of the diminishing role of tea within the high tea occasion, the Fernando family of Dilmah repute vowed to put the tea back in the high tea and thereby created the occasion now we know as the Real High Tea.
‘Real’ is a reference to tea that is made in the traditional way; that is handpicked, withered, rolled, fermented, and baked to ensure the quality of the tea – the same way Dilmah is made. And tea, thus produced deserves the place of honour at any tea table.
The Dilmah Real High Tea Challenge
The Dilmah Real High Tea Challenge seeks to redefine high tea as the world knows it now, by infusing a touch of the contemporary, to create a quality experience as a tribute to real high tea.
The Dilmah Real High Tea Challenge was inaugurated by the Fernando family in Colombo, in 2007, with the objective of ‘putting the tea back in high tea’. The Challenge has travelled through Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, United Arab Emirates and will continue to Malaysia, Netherlands, Chile, Hong Kong and Macau and will culminate in a Global Challenge which will be held in Sri Lanka in 2014.
Professionals and Consumers have the chance to take part in the Challenge. The Professional Edition of the Dilmah Real High Tea Challenge is open to professional culinary teams to craft and prepare their own Real High Tea. The Dilmah Tea Aficionado Real High Tea Challenge is an invitation for tea enthusiasts to craft their own recipe in one or more of four given categories, where each recipe must include Dilmah tea in it.
Dilmah and WACS entered into a global partnership in 2012 and now all Dilmah Real High Tea Challenges are WACS endorsed events.
Dilmah believes that family values of integrity and ethics and the passion for quality that a producer would usually have, are fundamental to ensuring a sustainable future for our world. Therefore, the criteria for judging contestants in the Real High Tea Challenge rewards the use of local produce made by artisans, and family or owner operated businesses. Ultimately an eminent panel of judges will assess how pleasurable each participating team’s High Tea suggestion is, in relation to the values it embodies, the knowledge it shares, the quality and harmony of flavour it represents.
