When Dilhan Fernando says he believes tea is something that brings families together, he’s talking about his own. “Every morning at 6 a.m our bedroom is invaded by the kids,” he says, explaining that his family of five like to have that first cup of tea together.
“Every child has their own mug,” he adds. For Dilhan, whose name provides the first half of the brandname Dilmah (his brother’s name, Malik, provides the rest), the involvement of his children in his work is nearly inevitable. Like his father, Merrill, before him, he has conveyed to them the delight to be found in a good cup of tea, but more importantly, he wants them to understand it in a broader context. “I really believe that in those two leaves and a bud lies a very potent symbol not only for our generation but also for our country,” says Dilhan.
He begins on a personal note. In the corner of his office is a 3.5 litre air pot filled with piping hot water. “By the end of day, I have drained it to the last few drops,” says Dilhan. “Clearly, I drink a lot of tea every day.” Every cup is valued he tells me, not just for the pleasure of sipping a hot beverage but the plentiful health benefits associated with tea.
More often than not, Dilhan is drinking a brew created from leaves harvested at an altitude of 3300 feet in the Dombagastalawa estate. He describes its flavour as crisp and warm, with a beautiful burst of colour; dubbing it a very “generous” tea. The eloquence of his descriptions tend to border on the rapture one would normally reserve for wine – but reinventing the art of tea drinking is something of a mission at Dilmah.
This week, they will be welcoming another 70 students in to their tea school and he hopes to impress on them how tea can be much more than a commodity, with its correct preparation being nothing less than an art form. Talking brewing times and types of water, Dilhan notes that paying careful attention provides rich dividends in flavour. But even before leaf meets hot water, Dilhan says the processing of the tea demands its own artistry. From teas that have been delicately smoked to teas that are allowed ferment, the process can imbue a leaf with a range of subtle flavours.
Dilhan’s own introduction to the tea trade came well short of his tenth birthday. Merrill’s decision to reinvent his business by becoming a producer who actually owned his own tea brand instead of a just a middle man was a paradigm shifting choice. “It was at the time a revolutionary business model. It was something that not only consumed him but the whole family in the process. Both my brother and I were very involved in the business even as children and we became a part of his mission at a very young age,” says Dilhan.
For all the work he pours into developing new teas and markets to sell them in, Dilhan still enjoys returning to the high, green hills where the tea itself grows. Just last week he took his children with him, taking the time to show them Dilmah projects that included an entrepreneurship programme for ex-combatants and a reforestation plan he’s personally overseeing.”I want my kids to be a part of that,” he says, “they are passionately involved in what we do.”
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