Feisal Samath in Sunday Times
Merrill Fernando with his sons
When Sri Lanka’s top tea brand, Dilmah marked 25 years in the global market, it celebrated the anniversary in style with 150 invitees at the Sydney Opera House! “I don’t think any Sri Lankan has had a celebration at this prestigious venue; We did,” said a proud and enthusiastic Merrill J. Fernando, widely considered Sri Lanka’s ambassador of tea and the flag bearer of ‘Pure (unblended) Ceylon Tea’ for more than two decades overseas.
Inviting the Business Times to his sprawling residence on Buthgamuwa road at Rajagiriya, Mr. Fernando tucked into an everyday Sri Lankan meal of stringhoppers, eggs, sambol, fish and potato curry with his fingers while going down memory lane to share the story of Dilmah and his success as an entrepreneur. The 83 year-old iconic tea businessman whose face has been on millions of Dilmah tea packets over the years, never in his wildest dreams imagined that boyhood visits to tea estates owned by families of school mates would transform him into an innovative tea producer. Continue reading →
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Muttukrishna Sarvananthan 
