About Dilmah

Dilmah set out to put the grower's name back on the box. Merrill J. Fernando, a Sri Lankan tea taster, had spent decades watching the value of Ceylon tea flow to multinational packers rather than the country that grew it. In 1988 he launched Dilmah, named after his sons Dilhan and Malik, on a then-radical promise: single-origin tea grown, picked and packed at source in Sri Lanka, sold under the producer's own brand. It was one of the first producer-owned tea brands to reach global retail, and it is still run by his sons.

The range is rooted in pure Ceylon black tea, brisk, bright and golden, alongside Earl Grey, green and a flavoured line that stays closer to real ingredients than most. Because the tea is single-origin and packed at source it avoids the long blend-and-rebag chain that flattens mainstream tea, and the freshness shows in the cup. The MJF Foundation and Dilmah Conservation are funded directly from the business, supporting schooling, disability care and environmental work across Sri Lanka. For our shelf Dilmah is the textbook Ceylon cup with a genuine conscience attached: the Pure Ceylon Black is the reference for what Ceylon tea should taste like, clean and brisk with no off notes, and the flavoured range is more honest than its price suggests. Few global brands can say the grower, the packer and the name on the box are the same hand. Dilmah genuinely can.

Key facts

• Innovation Pioneers Known for bringing single-origin Ceylon tea to the world market, Dilmah pioneered the garden-fresh philosophy that all leaves are packed at source within weeks of plucking.
• Family Owned Three generations of the Fernando family steward the company, with Dilhan and Malik Fernando continuing the founder's commitment to ethical tea.
• Master Blenders Decades of expertise sit behind every batch; the master blenders quality-check each lot to ensure consistent strength, character and garden-fresh taste.
• Garden-Fresh Single Origin Every leaf is sourced from selected Sri Lankan estates and packed at origin, never blended with cheaper teas from elsewhere or sent to overseas re-packing plants.

The founders

Brand timeline

1. 1988 Merrill J Fernando founds Dilmah

   Sri Lankan tea broker turned producer launches the family brand after 40 years arguing tea should be packed at origin, not shipped raw to UK packers. Name DIL + MA from sons Dilhan and Malik.

2. 1990 Garden-Fresh standard set

   Dilmah commits to the Garden-Fresh principle: every leaf picked, withered, rolled, oxidised, dried, blended and packed at the source within days. The category standard before this was bulk-shipped, port-blended tea.

3. 2003 MJF Charitable Foundation launches

   Merrill J Fernando Charitable Foundation founded to channel brand profits into Sri Lankan worker welfare programmes, schools, hospitals and Cinnamon Trust conservation work. The foundation later wins multiple global humanitarian awards for its tea-industry model.

4. 2018 Family-run, ethically certified

   Sons Dilhan and Malik Fernando run the business alongside their father, with the MJF Foundation continuing to channel brand profits into Sri Lankan worker welfare.

5. 2026 Stocked at Teas.co.uk

   Hand-picked into the curator selection for the full Dilmah single-origin range: Premium Ceylon Black, Earl Grey, Caramel, Ginger and Honey, and the loose-leaf Pure Ceylon Green.

Sustainability

Dilmah is a pioneer in sustainable Sri Lankan tea production, with ethical sourcing built into the business model rather than bolted on as a marketing afterthought. A meaningful share of every pack funds the Merrill J Fernando Charitable Foundation, which channels brand profits into plantation-worker welfare, schools, hospitals and conservation projects across the tea-growing regions. The brand is a long-standing member of the Ethical Tea Partnership and is independently audited for wages, working conditions and environmental management on the estates that supply its leaf, and every component of the finished product, from the leaf itself to the bag, the carton and the inks, is chosen with that same standard in mind.

• Single-Origin Sri Lankan 100% Pure Ceylon tea grown in Sri Lanka's highland and lowland estates, with full traceability back to the growing region.
• MJF Foundation Welfare A portion of every pack funds the Merrill J Fernando Charitable Foundation, which supports plantation workers, their families and rural communities.
• Packed at Source Blended, flavoured and packed within Sri Lanka by Dilmah's own team, retaining freshness and keeping value in the country that grows the tea.
• Ethical Tea Partnership Dilmah is a long-standing member of the Ethical Tea Partnership, audited for wages, working conditions and environmental management on the estates.