Resplendent and Indulgent Ceylon: Q&A with Malik Fernando

January 15, 2025

Malik Fernando joined his family's tea business to sell tea. Dilmah Tea, named for him and his brother, Dilhan, was started by his father, Merrill Fernando. Dilmah put Ceylon tea on the consumer's map, drawing attention to the island's flavourful black tea. After a couple of decades in the business, Malik became an "accidental hotelier" when he opened Ceylon Tea Trails in 2005. In an incredibly short time, he has built a luxury hospitality brand, Resplendent Ceylon, that today includes Ceylon Te

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Aravinda Anantharaman

Writer, editor, columnist, tea reporter, and running Copac Media, a creative consultancy. Her interests are history and literature, and their influence on contemporary society. Aravinda has published with Penguin Random House (India).

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One Comment

Indi Khanna
on January 15, 2025 at 7:25 am •Reply

What a lovely vision coming through in this interview.
The two gentlemen, having taken the baton from the hand of their dad, are very ably carrying the legacy forward.
Merrill was(is) of course a legend, leaving both Dilhan and Malik with a tough job on their hands to match up to the heritage.