About me - a life steeped in tea
From the moment I could walk, I walked among tea gardens. My name Lahiru means “the rising sun in the morning”, and nothing pairs better with the sunrise than a cup of tea to refresh one's soul. This is the story of how tea became my destiny and still flavours me to this day.
At just 5 to 7 years old, while most of my friends were still playing around, I was already learning to read the land — guided by my father, G. L. Thilakarathna, a visionary who pioneered organic tea and revolutionised instant tea vending globally. My earliest memories are rooted in the misty hills of Needwood Estate, Haputale (the world’s first internationally certified organic tea factory), where I trailed behind him through the emerald waves of tea gardens — breathing in the earthy scent of young leaves and the wisdom of generations.
I listened intently as he spoke to farmers, experimented with sustainable methods, and slowly, leaf by leaf, transformed a conventional tea factory into a fully organic haven — long before "organic" was a global trend. He wasn’t just making tea. He was reshaping the future of Sri Lankan agriculture, and I was there, absorbing it all.
As I grew, so did my role.
By 16 — sometimes even earlier — I stood beside him at global exhibitions like World Expo, Gulf Food, DTTC Global Tea Forums, FoodEx Japan and many Sri Lankan exhibitions, pitching the story of Ceylon Tea
