We are in the age of the locally sourced, ethically made and environmentally friendly products. If it’s not packaged in recycled material or doesn’t have some sort of charitable backstory, we don’t want it.
Well, Merrill J. Fernando (photo above), founder and owner of Dilmah Tea, embraced these truths decades ago when he began his tea company in 1974 in Sri Lanka. He wanted to make his brand stand apart both flavorfully and ethically.
“When I was 22 years old [and training to become a tea taster in Mincing Lane, London], the tea plantations paid their tea workers 50 to 60 cents for a pound of tea, and that pound of tea was worth 15 to 20 times that amount in marketing, branding and value addition,” says Fernando. “And I thought, one day I am going to have my own brand of tea, and it will be the best tea in the world, and my profits I will share with the poor and the workers.”
As the fourth largest tea producer in the world, Dilmah Tea exports its 100 percent, unblended Ceylon (Sri Lanka’s former name) tea to 104 countries. And its entrance to the United States has just begun by way of local restaurateur Robert Del Grande and his wife, Mimi, who have brought the tea to Houston.
With the help of Mills Duncan of Duncan Coffee Company, the trio has plans to get Dilmah’s tea on the shelves of Houston’s supermarkets. In the meantime, if teatime is what you’re craving today, you’ll need to head to RDG + Bar Annie for a taste of the pure Ceylon tea.
Fernando built Dilmah Tea on the foundation of six pillars: single origin, human service, quality, customer service, respecting tradition and conservation. Of these six, Fernando’s passion for human service shines bright. “My commitment was to give a fair deal to the workers, to give their family a brighter future and for me to leave the world a better place when I go,” says Fernando.
With revenue from Dilmah Tea, Fernando is able to fund the Merril J. Fernando (MJF) Charitable Foundation — a charity whose goal is to help the disadvantaged and impoverished both locally and beyond. Within the MJF Foundation, Dilmah Tea’s profits have been able to bring education to the underprivileged children of Sri Lanka, empower women by teaching them profitable skills and restore the overall welfare of several communities.
