14. Family

As long as I can remember, there have always been four members of our little family:

1. Mum

2. Dad

3. Me

4. Merrill J Fernando - purveyor of the world's finest single origin Ceylon tea.

Most people will know Merrill as the friendly face of Dilmah tea, beaming into households across the globe from the lush tea fields of Sri Lanka. His welcoming smile, trustworthy face and warm eyes have made him the strangely persuasive, exotic uncle you've never had. Merrill could literally sell you anything with those dulcet tones delivering his iconic line: "Do try it". Powdered Rhino horn? I think I will try it Uncle Merrill :)

Thankfully, Uncle Merrill has stuck to tea and like many other Kiwis, Dilmah has been the beverage of choice in our household for the last two decades. Steaming hot Dilmah two or three times a day is the norm, often paired with a gingernut. No sugar though, we're not savages. There have been a worrying number of days where I've consumed more Dilmah tea than actual standalone glasses of water. Which is why what occurred today is all the more distressing.

Let May 13 2020 go down in the annals of Pethe family history. It was this day that our household decided to turn its back on a part - no - a pillar of our family, only a few days after his 90th Birthday (for real look it up). Today we switched tea brands.

Although this new tea is admittedly almost indistinguishable in taste and at a better price point, it still felt like we'd done wrong. This new tea wasn't a part of my childhood. This new tea didn't flow through my veins.

How will I cope?

Would the country of Sri Lanka ever let me into its borders?

Would I ever be able to meet Uncle Merrill's TV gaze again?

He would still be smiling, but that smile would no longer be meant for me.

I guess it's just Mr Fernando now.