2025 was a tough year for tea growers, worse than 2024. Yet 2026 will be tougher. At last month’s Global Dubai Tea Forum some of us gathered to talk about…

The UK’s Daily Telegraph offered its selection of the best Christmas images from around the world. There was Cookie, a cockapoo running around Peterborough dressed as doggie Santa, and from…

Since tea was first discovered, camellia sinensis has been revered for its value as a medicine, as a beverage, as the taste of nature. From Lao Tzu’s proclamation of tea…

Among the thousands of tributes that will be shared in appreciation of great father’s, mine – less than a year since I lost my father – centres on the greatest…

On 28th April, 2024 we curated the renaissance of Ceylon Cinnamon. Like the very first renaissance in the 12th Century, this one is sparked by a different perspective. Elevating the…

Everything needs to have a reason, framed in its purpose. Without reason and purpose, life and everything that is part of living decays into meaninglessness. Mark Twain brilliantly explained, “The…

There’s always a lingering fragrance around the Dilmah complex in Colombo. It is generally woody, sometimes tinged with citrus, occasionally fruity, and always pleasant. That’s the aroma of tea, varying…

Together with the Board and Team at Global Compact Network Sri Lanka it was an honour to present plans for more sustainable business at Network Sri Lanka’s ‘Compass 2024’ last…

There is a calm before the storm, with a few offers peppering social media, and then – on the Friday before the U.S. marks Thanksgiving – the frenzy begins with…

The Merrill J. Fernando Charitable Foundation was formed – like so many others of a similar nature – to help less fortunate people. That was the wish of its Settlor,…

A Tea Grower’s view of discount culture, ethical consumerism and the role of Ceylon Tea in a sustainable future Writing in The Australian last week, Damon Kitney headlined coverage of…

Earlier this month, Sri Lanka’s Environment Ministry and the Global Green Growth Institute invited stakeholder to consider Strategies and Actions to Accelerate Sri Lanka’s Transition to a Green Growth Pathway.…

In the last days of July 2022, a superlative fine Ceylon pekoe tea was crafted in very limited quantity of less than 1 kg., on Craighead Estate. It was intended…

There is no greater fulfillment than seeing potential achieved, and last Thursday we celebrated extraordinary achievement at the Merrill J. Fernando Innovation Awards. 10 young women, men or teams, were…

Loose leaf tea is a luxury in more ways than one. It encourages proper brewing, and the enjoyment of fine tea. This is more important than ever today as the serenity in a cuppa begins with brewing, continues through its appearance and expression of the influence of nature.

With or without milk, fine tea is a luxury that only demands a little respect. Fine tea is the ultimate taste adventure – infinite in its nature induced variety, a natural and inspiring herb that is imbued with natural antioxidant goodness and taste. That’s just one part of the story though for good tea requires good brewing. Whether with or without milk, tea can only delight when brewed properly. It’s not hard, but it is rewarding, and at a time that stress and chronic illness are increasing, we have never needed the goodness in tea more than now. The jury is out on whether tea should be taken with or without milk and it’s mostly a question of taste, but that debate should not distract anyone from drinking tea.

A new generation is driving change in a tea category where for decades price has meant more than taste or goodness. The trend they are forcing is about taste and wellness but so much more. As younger customers turn to tea, they are demanding a more sincere appreciation of ethics and sustainability. This offers a glimmer of hope for passionate tea growers who make tea for the love of the leaf.

A growing body of scientific evidence points to the human health benefits in tea. Yet tea growers who value quality suffer the consequences of discounting that drives them to compete with cheap, blends that are popular for the ability it gives brands to discount and lure consumers through price. That is harmful to an industry struggling to overcome an exploitative, colonial history and evolve into a sustainable, climate adapted, socially responsible tea industry.

Everything in life is about perspective. That’s to be expected, because what we believe is conditioned by what we know and that is naturally, our point of view. That makes…

Amidst the chaos and cost of COVID are looming climate and social challenges. A focus on cheap as a means of restarting retail post COVID has the potential to create greater dislocation than COVID itself.

In March last year, an accomplished and empathetic photographer, Yuriko Nakao visited Sri Lanka and the Merrill J. Fernando Foundation’s Western Centre on the outskirts of Colombo. Making pictures at…

The achievement of business men and women is universally measured in profit. My brother and I are singularly fortunate that the family business we joined three decades ago, was fundamentally…

Beyond the pumas that have emerged in Santiago and the peacocks in Mumbai, the impact of coronavirus on humankind has been devastating – 1.2 million people infected worldwide, and nearly…

On 1st September we inaugurated the MJF Centre East, the most ambitious combined humanitarian and environmental project that we have ever undertaken. Amongst the projects that the MJF Foundation, and…

The Colombo International Tea Convention 2017 concluded on Friday, elegantly supported by our most accomplished cricketer and commended by several of the international delegates as the most significant gathering of…

very individual has inherent ability regardless of their circumstances; poverty is debilitating, but not disabling, physical disability in most cases is ability in an untypical form. When the unemployed son…

On most days there is an aura of peace at the MJF Centre. Some kids drum, others sing, dance or perform acrobatics. Some kids look a little different – they…

For centuries the world has valued tea more than any other herb. Of course there is coffee, but the bean only shares a faint glimmer of the brilliance in tea.…

High Tea is as ubiquitous as tea itself, enjoyed by some for the elegance of the occasion, by others for delicious cakes and pastries that are an essential part of…

Over a breakfast of pancakes with roasted banana, maple syrup and crispy bacon beautifully paired with Dilmah Craighead Estate Seasonal Flush 2013, I read the comments of Michelin starred Chef…

Orders a cup of tea? …. unlikely? Maybe not for much longer. The Old Fashioned, a bourbon cocktail invented in the late 1800s, tastes sublime in its tea inspired ‘remix,’…

View Full Album There is a powerful emotion that the act of pouring a cup of tea evokes. Visually, the cues include the appearance of the amber liquid pouring into…

  There is no beverage quite like tea. Brewed from the leaves of a herb first recorded as a medicine five thousand years ago, tea has since been celebrated in…

Our second One Earth Photography Competition concluded on Friday with over 450 submissions, double last year’s; 27 winners across school and open categories; three million rupees in prizes. The numbers…

At 6.32am on the morning of July 20th, 2023 my father, Dilmah Founder Merrill J. Fernando, passed away at the age of 93. My brother and I lost the father…

In the one place in the world where I am honoured to be known as adjunct Professor of Sustainability and Doctor of Business (Honorary), I was privileged to offer suggestions…

Our Peoples’ Market happened last night in a riot of colour, festivities and fun. Kindness is what defines us as humans, and when it comes to kindness towards less fortunate…

Every good dish – and so every great Chef – needs good ingredients. Therefore also good artisans, soils, and ultimately Nature. This was the truth I shared with the global…

It was the anniversary of my father’s birthday earlier this month. Merrill J. Fernando was born on 6th May, 1930, in a village called Pallansena. He passed away in 2023.…

Honour that is extended to us must always be considered in proper context. My context is the legacy my father formed, which it is my privilege to steward. His context…

In 2011 my father inaugurated Sri Lanka’s first open air, urban butterfly garden at our MJF Centre West in Moratuwa, on the outskirts of Colombo. Yesterday it was reopened –…

On the chilly morning of 19th June, 2025 a group of friends and colleagues from media, grocery and hospitality industries and Dilmah gathered at Sydney iconic Opera House for a…