WIN A YEAR'S SUPPLY OF DULWICH'S OWN TEA!

18 June 2009

Oliver Pugh
news@southwarknews.org

A year's supply of tea is being offered as a prize to one lucky ‘News’ reader by a family-run Dulwich tea company.

The winner of the competition, being run to promote a new blend destined for the area's eateries and delis, will have enough to drink six cups-a-day.

Growing tea has been the business of the Graham family since the late nineteenth century, when the Duke of Wellington was in India - the current managing director of Imporient, Daniel Graham, is the fifth generation.

"We were brought up in Dulwich," he said. "It's the starting point for our brand. We really want to make sure this new blend is available locally.  The tea we are putting into it is second to none.

"The plan is to expand it as much as we can, but it's always going to be a niche product," he added.
The Fairtrade leaves are picked at the family's Pfunda tea estate in Rwanda and then professionally tasted in Sydenham by Tresham Graham, Daniel's brother, and blended and made into tea bags in Herne Hill. 

Most of the company's trade is from bulk catering supply and export from its estate in East Africa, but Daniel said the 'retail' blend is something the family have talked about for a long time.

Despite the ties Birchall George Graham established in 1872, when after an eighteen-year tour with Wellington he went back to India to plant tea in Darjeeling, Daniel said there was no pressure on him to get into the business. 
He said: "Our dad was always very careful not to put pressure on us. It's actually what I wanted to do. We were free to do what we wanted."

Boxes of the 'Premium Blend' are available from the company's website at £3.50 each, from which a donation is made to The Point Foundation - a charity set up by The Grahams to help orphans who live opposite their tea estate.
The Dulwich company is also a member of the Ethical Tea Partnership.

To enter the competition the following question must be answered correctly: The Pfunda Tea Estate is situated on the banks of which Lake?
A) Lake Kivu
B) Lake Victoria
C) Lake Placid
Email answers and your name to: sales@imporient.com, with the subject as 'tea for a year'. The winner will be drawn at random from the correct answers received.

Those interested in entering the competition are advised not to stew over the question for too long as the closing date for entries is midnight July 1. The winner will be announced on July 9.

Top tips and information on the Pfunda Tea Estate can be found on the company's website:
www.imporient.com.

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