Sri Lanka to break ‘World’s Largest Cup of Tea’ record

Sri Lanka will attempt to break the record for the ‘World’s Largest Cup of Tea’ on Saturday, 9 October 2010, energised by Viva. The history-making event is to take place at BRC Grounds, Colombo 5.

The current record is for 660 gallons of tea by Health Centre in Fort Scott, Kansas, USA. The record attempted by Viva would be for over 1,000 gallons in a single cup. The process of making the tea would start at 3 a.m. with the boiling of 4,000 litres of water in specially engineered boilers. The management of GSK said this would take approximately three hours to complete.

Once this step is completed, 64 kg tea, 160 kg sugar and 875 kg Viva will be used to make a delicious, energy-packed giant cup of tea. The public is invited to witness the brewing at BRC Grounds.

“Viva is one of the fastest growing malt brands in the country and it is significant for us to be associated with Sri Lanka’s most loved beverage. The record is a tribute to the thousands of tea consumers in the country who consume their tea with malt,” said Sachi Thomas – Chairman & Managing Director of GSK.

The final mix would be transferred with specially fabricated pumps into the large cup. This is will take a further two hours. The whole process is said to be completed between 9:30 a.m. and 10 a.m., at which point the record will be broken and the Guinness representative will confirm its success.

“Sri Lanka has been creating many positive headlines since the end of the war. I believe we should all do whatever possible in our little way to contribute towards this. We are all part of one big family and we sincerely hope the entire nation join hands with us on Saturday to make this a success,” said Thomas.

Guinness representative from London Alison Ozanne will be flown down to evaluate the process and hand over the certificate to Thomas. In accordance with Guinness World Record rules, a certified quantity surveyor would inspect the entire process and sign a witness statement confirming the amount of tea pumped into the large cup.

“The reason why we chose a Saturday is that we wanted everyone to be able to be a part of this moment. This is not GSK’s achievement, this will be what all of us as Sri Lankans achieve,” stated Srikanth Selladurai, Director Marketing – GSK, Sri Lanka.

Once the record is broken, the large cup would travel to different parts of the city in a convoy in true Sri Lankan spirit, accompanied by a band. Arrangements have been made at different points in the city for the public to sample the record breaking brew ‘Viva with tea’.

They can also see the cup at the following locations when the convoy stops to serve the beverage to the public – Vihara Maha Devi Park at 12.45 p.m., Maradana at 1.40pm and Borella at 3 p.m. Let the true Sri Lankan in you cheer the glorious moment, Saturday, 9 October 2010 at 10 a.m., BRC Grounds, Colombo 5.