Golin brews up localised tea blends to celebrate inclusiviTEA in Asia

Golin has unveiled InclusiviTEA, a bespoke collection of tea blends inspired and created by its employees across Asia. Each of the artisanal crafted blends represents six of Golin’s locales across Asia, incorporating Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Singapore and Taipei, titled by the phone codes instantly reminiscent of each city. Launching in line with Singapore’s Racial Harmony Day on 21 July, the progressive range offers tea-sippers the chance to reflect on the power of diversity, equity, and inclusion across the region.

Darren Burns, president of Golin Asia Pacific, explained that with InclusiviTEA, its very literal tastemakers have gone beyond sharing. "Our blends represent the diversity and inclusivity of our teams, and demonstrate how the championing of this is a vital component in how we work together to create change in Asia for Asia," he said. Burns added that DEI is at the forefront of every part of Golin's wide ecosystem: impacting its people, industry, work for its clients and wider communities.

Shouvik Prasanna Mukherjee, Golin's chief creative officer for Asia Pacific, said: "One phone call from our founder Al Golin in 1956 created a special brew of changemakers we are proud to call Goliners today."

He added that just as the phone code unites every individual in a city, and with tea playing a huge role in cultures across Golin's markets, InclusiviTEA represents both the unity and diversity needed to create meaningful change. Mukherjee also heads the agency's creative intelligence team.

• 062 JAKARTA: The black jasmine tea with sugar rocks named Teh Manis reflects the sweet, fragrant and sparkling nature of Indonesian hospitality, and is part of a diverse tea culture across the 17,000 islands that make up the Indonesian archipelago.

• 065 SINGAPORE: A small yet resilient species of ginger with orange-red bracts and white flowers bloom across Singapore, like a tribute to the little red dot. This tea called Teh Halia is topped with condensed milk for a rich sweetness that balances the spicy, bright ginger.

• 852 HONG KONG: The mild fragrance of White Peony Tea reflects the beauty and prosperity of Hong Kong. Yum Cha, a traditional Hong Kong brunch of dim sum, is accompanies by the sooth aroma and flavours of this white tea.

• 8610 BEIJING: Jasmine Pearl Green Tea plays an unforgettable role in traditional Beijing life. It has become one of the synonyms of "Beijing Taste" which permeates the childhood memories of many Beijinger.

• 8621 SHANGHAI: Renowned for its trendsetting culture, Shanghai’s Passion Mint Green Tea is a rich source of antioxidants to help combat environment stressors. Adding a tropical twist of passion fruit keeps tea drinkers’ skin glowing with health.

• 886 TAIPEI: Shui Xian Oolong Tea represents scenic Taipei, home of the world-famous bubble tea. This oolong tea is mild and refreshing at first while the sweet aftertaste lingers to impress; mirroring the vibrancy and energy of Taipei.

The launch of InclusiviTEA follows last year’s RACEipe For Change, a printed recipe book with a flavourful DEI twist, sharing traditional delicacies from the multiple cultures of the Golin Singapore team including thunder tea rice, bibimbap, moussaka, chicken and pork adobo, Nyonya chap chye, and cedar plank salmon. According to Golin, the raceipes fuel its creative engine and its a celebration of the distinct flavours of its identities. They also intend to break stereotypes, with an Indian sharing her favourite pasta recipe, a salsa dip from a Malay to a twist on the Old-Fashioned cocktail from a teetotaller.

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