Tavalon premium teas just launched in Dubai – a smart move given the region’s tea culture. Currently available at the dramatic Supperclub, the brand recently sponsored Formula 1 in Abu Dhabi and will also be representing at the Dubai International Film Festival. We interviewed Chereen Zaki, Brand Ambassador for Tavalon Tea Middle East, to find out more, from what makes the perfect cup to the farm-to-table process.
What makes Tavalon tea special?
We’ve taken tea to a whole new level. Our tea is custom-blended by our tea sommelier, Chris Cason, specifically for various regional and cultural palates, using ingredients from the healthiest and most premium quality leaves in the world. We serve it hot, iced, blended, in cocktail/mocktails, baked, and cooked.
Tea is a huge part of society here in the region, but most are satisfied with a mass produced chopped up tea bag dropped in boiling water, which is like eating fast food to get your protein. Instead, we take something good for you and mix it with incredible unique flavors.
Tavalon is also all about education. Most people don’t understand just how good tea actually is for your health and the correct amount of time to steep it to get the maximum flavor and benefits. We provide one-on-one consultations to match flavors and benefits to our clients, as well as personally train the staff of our customers.
After Dubai, what market are you tackling next in the region? When can we expect Tavalon in Egypt?
We are just announcing our launch in Dubai, so our next step will most likely be the rest of the UAE. Egypt is definitely on the top of our list, so keep your eyes open, it won’t be too long!
Tell us about the e-commerce site.
We’re getting ready to launch our e-commerce site so that you can browse and order our loose-leafs, sachets, and tea-ware. We’re also excited to get our clients to share tips with one another. One client recently called and said, “add a tsp of vanilla and frothed milk to the Kama Chai Sutra for the best chai latte you’ve ever had!” We’re really excited to see that creativity in the region.
What’s the perfect way to make a cup of Tavalon tea?
It depends on what kind of tea you’re drinking. With black tea, such as our NYC Breakfast or Earl Grey Reserve, it is best to steep for up to 5 minutes to get the perfect flavor and all the benefits. Anything more than that and it will start to get bitter, similar to buying a filet mignon and overcooking it on the grill. Green teas are best steeped up to 3 minutes, and herbal teas up to 5 minutes.
We suggest a teaspoon of tea per 10 oz cup, but if you like it stronger, you can add a little more. The “beauTEA” of tea is that it is a personal experience and choice, we don’t prescribe a one-size fits all method to enjoy your tea. Our sommelier always leaves instructions and tips on each flavor, and we have mugs, teapots, timers, and the works to make it super easy to make.
What kind of Tavalon tea did Akon drink at the F1 VIP Lounge? Who else?
Akon was drinking our Cool Mint blend and loved it. Turns out he’s a huge tea lover. Members of Muse drank our Summer Fruits, it’s one of our best selling green teas with soft apricot flavor. Peter Gordeno from Depeche Mode was drinking our Crimson Punch, our sugar-free fruity herbal blend with cranberry, hibiscus, blood orange, apple, and cherry. Elissa loved our Blanc Teapot set and took one home. All the celebrities went home with our tea and/or tea-ware. It was great to see how much they all loved tea.
There was also Deigo Maradonna, John Martin from the Swedish House Mafia, Sean Kingston, and a number of VIPs from around the world.
What’s your favorite flavor?
That’s a tough one. The Peachy Oolong has been a long-time favorite but most recently, I’ve been drinking our Rooibos Vanilla everyday… and then there’s our Serenity tea, which is better than any sleeping pill. It’s a caffeine-free combination of chamomile (best chamomile comes from Egypt by the way!), peppermint, lemongrass, rooibos and vanilla beans. It’s like a spa day, followed by a teddy bear tucking you in at night with a hug.
So yeah, I still can’t decide.
What’s the ideal pair for Tavalon tea, food-wise?
If you’re eating something rich-flavored, I would suggest black tea. Regardless of what you eat, I always suggest drinking a green tea or cool mint after your meal. It really helps with digestion.
Tavalon does quite a bit of charitable work in the U.S., what kind of social good projects are you planning in the Middle East?
In the US, Tavalon has played a role in charitable work with Breast Cancer Awareness, Seeds of peace, St Judes hospital, and more. We intend on doing similar work here in the Middle East.
Can you fill us in on the makings of Tavalon tea? Where do you source the leaves from? Briefly, what’s the tea-making process like, from the farm to the Tavalon consumer?
We source our teas from all over the world: China, Sri Lanka, India, Japan, South Africa, South America, Egypt, Germany and many others – sourcing only the best from that years’ crops, and then creating blends out of them catered towards the modern palate (tea is not the #1 beverage in the US because most tea companies are trying to force-feed old, boring blends from other tea cultures… it just doesn’t work.) All of our new tea blends undergo a series of tastings – using a variety of people from different backgrounds, levels of tea experience, and ages, and only those that score 8.5 (out of 10) or above make the cut, meaning that we are sculpting new, unique tea blends catered towards a more modern palate.
WE SAID THIS: Looking forward to Tavalon’s expansion in the region!