In the serene coastal town of Pallansena, Negombo, a boy was born to two hardworking Ayurvedic doctors in 1930. Little did they know that their son, Merrill J. Fernando, would one day become the ‘World’s Most Experienced Teamaker’, serving flavourful brews made with the finest two leaves & a bud, handpicked, perfected and packed amidst the rolling hills of Ceylon.
Although the name Dilmah came into existence later, the story of Merrill J. Fernando and his passion for tea began in his early twenties when he began his career at AF Jones. When the British Colonial system was still prevailing, it was believed that Sri Lankans could not taste tea because they ate too much curry. Merrill J. Fernando proved this theory wrong when he was selected as one of the first ever Sri Lankan tea tasters to learn about tea in Mincing Lane, London.
He travelled to England with Joesph Travers & Sons in 1954 to learn more about the tea industry. After a year of hard work and dedication, he was appointed director of AF Jones in 1958. He went on to buy the company with his two partners when the owners decided to return to England. In the following years, his life was enriched by the arrival of his two sons, Malik and Dilhan, while the company he built, MJF Co Ltd, made its highest net profit for tea sold.
The road ahead looked bright, and Ceylon Tea Services Ltd was established in 1982.
In 1985, Merrill J. Fernando renamed his tea company to the now globally recognized brand name, Dilmah, in honour of his sons Dilhan and Malik. With unprecedented success in Sri Lanka, his vision was to share the unparalleled taste of Ceylon tea with the world. This led to the launch of Dilmah in Australia in the following years, accompanied by a legendary campaign featuring the iconic line “Do try it,” which helped cement Merrill J. Fernando and his Dilmah as a household name.
The rest, as they say, is history, still in the making, because the Dilmah story never stops brewing…
