Dilmah Tea Review

THE COMPANY:
Dilmah takes pride in their teas. Their founder, Merril J. Fernando, has dedicated his life (60 years) to the perfection of tea. His journey started in the 1950's, and in 1988 he launched Dilmah. He along with his two sons, Dilhan and Malik (from whose names the brand name was coined), make it a family business. Dilmah is the first producer owned tea brand in the world and for 21 years they have been making their fine tea.

DILMAH'S CEYLON TEA:
Most other tea brands are blended tea, a mixture of tea from all over the world. Dilmah tea is set apart from most. It is a single origin tea. It comes from a single source: the fabled tea gardens of Ceylon (Sri Lanka), renowned for its high quality tea. Dilmah uses traditional, centuries-old processes. Their garden fresh Ceylon tea is handpicked (two tender leaves enclosing a bud, because the flavor of the tea is concentrated there), perfected, packed at source, and shipped within days to tea drinkers around the world. This means it is fresher, more flavorful, and you will be getting more of the antioxidants from the tea/Camellia sinensis plant.

SUSTAINABILITY AND ETHICS:
Dilmah is also an ethical company. Earnings from Dilmah remain in Sri Lanka, are shared with their workers and the community, and are reinvested to make tea a sustainable crop. Merril shares his success with his workers and the community through his MJF Charitable Foundation.

They also recognize that the environment and its protection are integral to human welfare. Dilmah Conservation focuses on the protection and study of the Asian Elephant to try and lessen the human elephant conflict in Sri Lanka. In the Symbiosis Arboretum project they are eventually going to plant 500 hectares (about 1236 acres) of natural vegetation and re-introduce plants that have become extinct or rare in Sri Lanka. These plants are very important to the eco-system. This will also help further the study of agricultural practices and how to not negatively impact the environment. Dilmah Conservation also has a Kids' Club that might be a great learning opportunity for your children to learn about conservation.

MY THOUGHTS:
One of my favorite times of the day is sipping/savoring a good cup of tea on my own. I like the quiet alone time. Call me a tea connoisseur. I love tasting different varieties and flavors. Dilmah tea is one I had never tried and am very glad that I got the chance to.

They sent me one box of Ceylon Green tea with real Cinnamon and one box of Earl Grey to try. Each tea bag is individually foil wrapped to seal in flavor. I was very eager to try them both.

The Ceylon Green tea with real Cinnamon smelled and tasted wonderful! Green tea is rich in catechins, a beneficial antioxidant. I love that they added cinnamon...it is such a wonderful spice! True cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum, synonym C. zeylanicum) is the spice obtained from the bark of a small evergreen tree belonging to the family Lauraceae. The true cinnamon tree is actually native to Sri Lanka.

This Earl Grey tea is Ceylon black tea with bergamot flavor. I love the stronger flavor and citrus accents of this Earl Grey tea. Black tea has thearubigin and theaflavin compounds that also provide antioxidant benefits originally attributed solely to green tea. The bergamot orange flavor and aroma is derived from the oil extracted from the rind of this fragrant citrus fruit. This is added to the black tea to make it an Earl Grey tea. The Dilmah version has a fuller, richer flavor.

SOCIAL NETWORKING:
Dilhan has a blog that he keeps. I love how he calls it Integritea...so clever :) Follow Dilmah tea on twitter. Join their group on Facebook.

HOW TO ORDER:
You can purchase Dilmah tea from their website. They offer a great variety of teas to choose from. Buy any Gourmet 125g pack and get a tea scoop FREE!