Dilmah Australia tea appreciation dinner

Gastrology recently joined Dilmah Australia for an evening of tea appreciation and culinary exploration hosted by Dilhan C Fernando, son of Dilmah Founder Merrill J Fernando. 

Dilhan’s desire is to share the pleasure in tea with a new generation of tea drinkers, and to bring an entirely contemporary approach to a traditional beverage combining elements of tea in gastronomy and mixology.  We loved Dilmah’s vision of going past the humble cuppa and showcasing a new innovative approach to tea! 

Over the course of the evening, our tastebuds were treated to a carefully curated tea infused menu crafted by Executive Sou Chef Sam Kung and tea infused cocktails by Fung Le, both from Mr Hive restaurant - Crown Melbourne. Each course was expertly matched with tea and wine pairings by both Dilmah tea and Mr Hive’s sommeliers. 

Highlights from the dinner included a delicate Hokkaido scallop ceviche served with a spring time Oolong foam and fresh ginger and hearty slow-cooked beef short ribs served with aromatic early grey waffle and root vegetables fresh from the garden. 

The tea served on the night had been handpicked from Dilmah's single origin tea field in Sri Lanka and is noted as one of the most expensive and rare teas in the world, due to its limited growth each year. Tea doesn’t get much more premium than this and on average 100g will cost in excess of $200! 

Our favourite food/tea pairing was dessert – Decadent chocolate brownie served with earl grey ganache, banana and mandarin splash paired with a perfectly brewed earl grey tea. We loved how the citrus flavours from the mandarin splash echoed the aromatic bergamot in the earl grey tea. Simply stunning. 

Find out more about Dilmah Australia here.