Special Single Region Teas Mark a Dilmah Milestone

Special Single Region Teas Mark a Dilmah Milestone

New Zealanders are the first to witness a special moment for the Dilmah family.

Merrill J Fernando, colloquially known throughout the country as “Mr Dilmah”, returned this month to the exact same spot in an Auckland studio where his famous catch phrase “Do Try It” was coined more than 20 years ago by Kiwi adman Daron Curtiss of Curtiss and Spence.

The phrase is now heard in many languages and in 103 countries.

With Merrill at the studio was one of his two sons, Dilhan, who is taking over a large portion of his workload now he is in his eighties. Dilhan’s elder brother, Malik (the name Dilmah is made up from their two names), runs the tea company’s many operations in Sri Lanka.

At Toy Box studios Merrill and Dilhan watched new TV footage shot in Sri Lanka a few months ago by a New Zealand crew. It had been edited in time for their arrival in New Zealand for several events to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Dilmah.

Daron Curtiss, who is still working with Dilmah, says the new TV material focuses on the company’s determination to maintain its integrity as the provider of quality tea from a single origin. Dilmah claims it is the only global tea brand grown, made by artisans and packed at origin by tea growers.

Some of the Dilmah classics – like Earl Grey, Ceylon Supreme, English Breakfast and English Afternoon – have been repackaged to mark the anniversary and the distinctive difference of each being from a single region.

Dilmah English Breakfast comes from Dimbula Valley, Earl Grey from the Rathnapura region, English Afternoon from the cooler Nuwara Eliya and Ceylon Supreme from the Maskeliya region. Like wine, tea has terroir created by the environment and altitude in which the tea bush, Camellia sinensis, grows. 

But it is also the first time that Dilhan is seen by TV viewers in the Dilmah tea gardens talking on behalf of the company, before Merrill signs off as usual.

Merrill told a group of close friends in Christchurch on this trip that while he will continue visiting New Zealand, he is passing the work baton to Dilhan for both Dilmah internationally and his MJF Charitable Foundation. The foundation, which helps the people of Sri Lanka and its conservation and environmental initiatives to the tune of around US$3 million a year, also quietly assists charities in New Zealand.

ENDS

© Scoop Media