About Us
Dear Friend & Tea Lover,
My
name is Lalith Guy Paranavitana. I am the President of Empire Tea
Services LLC. I have been associated with the tea industry for over 38
years. I was the Manager of Nuwara Eliya Tea Estate in Sri Lanka
(Ceylon) and a Director of the Sri Lanka State Plantations (Tea)
Corporation, before immigrating to the USA in 1989. At the very
beginning, I managed and operated the Victorian style Empire Tea Room in
the Columbus Inn B&B. I started importing tea and blending shortly
thereafter.
The last tea estate and factory I managed was over 1250 acres and
produced over a million pounds of tea a year. I had over 1300 people
working under me. Later, as a Director, I directed 12 managers who were
managing estates and factories in our corporation. I have worked in all
5 tea growing regions of Sri Lanka and have traveled to India and
Bangladesh to visit tea estates and factories in those countries
Our warehouse and showroom is located at 4525 Progress Drive, in
Columbus, Indiana.
Our main focus is wholesale, selling to tea shops, coffee shops and
gourmet food stores throughout the USA. We have excelled in our Private
Label branding program and also conduct tea education programs for
budding tea entrepreneurs.
My
unique, experience and expertise, enables me to appreciate and discern
the various types of teas from around the globe and offer you a very
special selection of fine teas. I also take pride in creating new
blends. These teas, which are blended in small batches of less than 10
lbs and called Micro blended teas, have proven themselves over time and
I now ask you to be the judge. I try to simplify your tea selection and
have no intention of confusing you with 500 different types of teas.
Further, with a limited selection of less than 200 teas, I am able to
offer fresh teas consistently! I have taken the guesswork out of
selecting teas and offer you the best value for your money. If you have
questions, please contact me.
To round off the tea experience, I offer tea accessories, books on tea,
a wide range of Tea Pots and other accoutrements. I will not sell an
items that I have not tried myself and found to be satisfactory. I also
emphasize the need for customers to experiment with tea and learn the
nuances without getting intimidated by strange sounding names.
(Picture
to right: Award Winner - World Tea Expo 2004.)
Tea is a romantic beverage and closely associated with historical and
mythological information. The tremendous spectrum of flavors found in
tea caters to everyone's needs. From varietals and herbals to flavored
teas, hot or iced, for young and old.
Come and enjoy one of life's
simple pleasures. And remember to visit our showroom if ever you happen
to be in Columbus, Indiana!
(Picture
to left: 1982 - Lalith Paranavitana, then Manager of Nuwara Eliya
State Plantation and Factory, in Sri Lanka tasting tea, a daily ritual.)
1987
– Lalith Paranavitana (Picture
to right: Garlanded and pictured with his wife) at his
farewell as Manager of the Nuwara Eliya State Plantation and Factory. He
was promoted to the post of Director of the Sri Lanka State Plantations
Corporation (Nuwara Eliya / Talawakelle / Bandarawela regions) and
served till 1989 when he immigrated to the US with his family.
Lalith Paranavitana
President Empire Tea Services
Please feel free call us
at 1-800-790-0246 or use our
online form to contact us - we are here to help you.
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