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Raising a hearty cuppa to gentle giant behind famed brew-By Yomal Senerath-Yapa Source:Sundaytimes For decades he has not only been the face of Dilmah but the mascot of 100% pure Ceylon tea as well. As Merrill J. Fernando, with his new autobiography, looks back on 93 years of blessed, serendipitous living, it is occasion to raise a hearty cup of Irish Breakfast or Moroccan Mint to the doyen. The practice of having Merrill’s face on the tea packaging of Dilmah was made necessary because of fake products in the market but it also ensured that generations cherished his genial visage across the globe for the personal or ‘family’ touch of his farmer-grown tea. For Merrill, it all began 93 years ago, in 1930, when he was born in the balmy village of Pallansena, Negombo, where he bathed in the Maha Oya and was an altar boy at the church of ...