Dubai breaks two new Guinness World Records

By Sheena Amos

Largest Cup of hot Tea in the World and largest Human Maze

DUBAI 26 January, 2018: Dubai broke two world records in two days – adding the many it already has claimed.

Global Village prepared ‘The Largest Cup of Hot Tea in the World‘ yesterday surpassing the earlier record set last year for the biggest cup of tea in the world in Shanghai.

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And, at Dubai Festival City, Novo Cinemas broke the record for ‘The Largest Maze, Human Maze’.

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The title “Largest Cup of Tea in the World” is now registered as achieved by Global Village. The tea cup has a height of 3.66 meters, a top inner diameter of 1.42 meters. The height of the ruler for the volume of 5,000 liters in the cup was 3.66 meters. The tea cup has been on display at Global Village from 23rd January and guests can view it there till 1st of February 2018.

Bader Anwahi, CEO of Global Village said: “It is a special moment for us to have achieved the title with this singular achievement. Tea drinking is an integral part of our culture in the UAE. We are proud of achieving this new record which shows our drive to be the best in the world, and another achievement for UAE, and we are passionate about being the best family destination for culture, shopping and entertainment in the world. With every season, we extend our capabilities in order to make our guests happy”.

The preparations

It took 120 chefs several hours to make the 5,000 liters of Karak tea that was served free to over 50,000 guests at Global Village at an average serving of 100 ml in each of their cups. The pre-preparations for attempting the feat began at 4 am. The ingredients were brought in then and preparations continued until Global Village opened at 4 pm. When the park opened, the last bit of preparation was done in front of guests and media who cheered the chefs on. Karak tea from the “Largest Cup of Tea in the World” was then poured into tea cups and dallahs or flasks of guests for their consumption for free.

Karak Preparations

Genuine ingredients

The ingredients used by the chefs to prepare 5000 liters of Karak tea, in addition to the vast amounts of water, included 155 Kg of Lipton Tea Powder, 270 Kg of Milk Powder, 360 Kg of Sugar, 4.5 Kg of Cloves, 135 kg of Ginger, 27 kg of Cinnamon stick, and 27 kg of Cardamom powder. All this was brewed over several hours in much more than 5000 liters of water to create the best possible and authentic taste.

Partners in the achievement

Chefs who helped prepare the ‘“Largest Cup of Tea in the World” were part of the Emirates Culinary Guild and were led by Chef Uwe Micheel, President of Emirates Culinary Guild and Assistant Vice President of World Association of Chefs Societies. In addition, Global Village partnered with Lipton as the Official Tea Partner and Aquafina as the official water sponsor.

“We know that Karak is among the most liked refreshments preferred by people in the UAE and we thank Global Village for taking the initiative to meet the challenge of achieving title with this achievement. With this record, we have also been able to communicate our love of Karak to the world and to showcase the organizational and culinary skills of chefs based in the UAE. We have used the best ingredients and preparation practices to surmount this challenge in the most transparent way. Finally, I would like to congratulate our 120 chefs who made this record possible,” said Uwe Micheel.

Waqas Javed, Refreshment Marketing Director Arabia at Unilever said: “As the leading brand Tea brand globally, Lipton is honored to be a part of creating a world record for this iconic beverage – karak tea. In line with Lipton’s values that seek to inspire and connect people around a hot cup of tea, we fully support this initiative by Global Village to celebrate the region’s diversity and culture.”

A World of Teas

Guests continue to experience the most fantastic tea experiences at Global Village in Season 22. Whether it’s a traditional clear brew or a creamy Karak, they have been sampling delicious teas from around the world. It has introduced several distinct tea experiences that represent various tea drinking cultures from around the world. These range from the various varieties of Chinese herbal teas to black tea from Turkey and Jerak from Ethiopia, saffron tea from UAE, and mint tea from Morocco to Jasmine tea and Bubble Tea from Japan, among others.

This season, Global Village is home to 23 restaurants and cafes with unique meals and flavors that include nine new cuisines from Mexico, China, the Gulf and Cuba. Guests can also sample the world’s best street food experience at more than 120 kiosks that offer a wide range of authentic snacks, sweets and beverages, many of which are only available in Global Village in the entire region.

Global Village continues to offer shopping experiences, cultural performances, entertainment events and surprises every day until 7th April 2018, and is open from 4 pm to 12 am from Saturday to Wednesday and from 4 pm to 1 pm on Thursdays, Fridays and public holidays. On Mondays, it is dedicated to families and women only.

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The Largest Human Maze

Meanwhile, crowds had gathered on 24th January on the boardwalk of Festival Bay in Dubai Festival City, to witness Novo Cinemas break the Guinness title for ‘The Largest Maze, Human Maze’.

Officially awarded by a Guinness adjudicator on-site, the maze was assembled using 301 members of the public as the walls and passageways, smashing the previous record by 51 people. A selected number of the region’s media were the first to run the maze, weaving themselves in and out of the labyrinth to find hidden Novo Cinemas prizes before reaching the end of the maze.

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‘The Largest Maze, Human Maze’ record title attempt was in celebration of the release of film Maze Runner: The Death Cure, opening at Novo Cinemas on Thursday 25th January. The record attempt was followed by a special Imagine ‘Mazer’ show at Dubai Festival City, consisting of water, fire and lasers.