"When you taste Baronchi tea, you taste more than a century of Sri Lankan heritage."
Our Story
P. L. Baronchi was a pioneer in introducing tea cultivation to southern Sri Lanka, then known as Ceylon. His youngest son, P. L. Buddhadasa, carried that legacy forward with fresh ambition, investing astutely in tea and earning a reputation for both quality and business acumen throughout the twentieth century.
Mr. Buddhadasa opened and planted the Allen Valley and Andaradeniya Group in the Morawak Korale district, constructing state-of-the-art tea factories on respective properties. He went on to own Semidale Estate in Akurassa, and built Mahakanda Tea Factory in Neluwa, one of the largest bought leaf factories in the country.
Long before ethical sourcing became a business priority, Mr. Buddhadasa pioneered the bought leaf concept, where a privately owned estate accepts green leaf from small-scale growers, financially empowering farming families who would otherwise have no market access.
Today, Mr. Buddhadasa's son Chatu Lokuge continues this heritage, bringing the family's much-loved Sri Lankan teas to wholesale partners worldwide.
Heritage Timeline
Pioneer tea cultivator in southern Sri Lanka, introducing tea cultivation to a region renowned for producing a strong, malty brew.
Opens Allen Valley and Andaradeniya Group in Morawak Korale and constructs state-of-the-art tea factories in these locations. Acquires Semidale Estate in Akurassa and builds the Mahakanda Tea Factory in Neluwa.
Financially empowering hundreds of small-scale growers.
Chatu Lokuge establishes Baronchi Tea as a wholesale supplier, initially in Australia and New Zealand, expanding to UK, USA, Canada, South Korea, Germany and China.
Baronchi Tea continues to supply premium, ethical, single-origin Ceylon tea to a select group of wholesale partners worldwide.