elephantea was founded by the entrepreneurial father-daughter team of Ron and Shani Atapattu. Born and raised in Sri Lanka and descended from generations of tea growers and elephant activists, Ron exposed his daughters to his love of Sri Lankan culture and his commitment to preserving its beauty for generations to come. After Shani got married, Ron was even more committed to passing along the preservation torch so that the family’s Sri Lankan roots would continue.

On their one-year anniversary, Ron’s gift to the newlyweds was a planned trip for Shani and her husband to travel with him to Sri Lanka. While there, the family immersed themselves in the vibrant culture and experienced the many delicious varieties of native Ceylon tea. Ron, an avid tea drinker, made sure to educate his family on the differences in tea and the high quality and rich traditions in growing and producing the world’s finest teas.

After traveling through Sri Lanka’s beautiful countryside and visiting the Bogawantalawa Tea Estate, Shani was transfixed by the land and its people.

Ron ventured with his family through Sri Lanka’s verdant rain forests and jungles to observe up-close, the island’s native wildlife. Shani was smitten by the land and the majesty of the country’s wild roaming elephants. When she learned the sad reality that Asian elephants are severely endangered, with only approximately 50,000 remaining worldwide and only a few thousand of those left in Sri Lanka, she was moved to act.

Ron & Shani founded elephantea, a socially-responsible tea company dedicated to the support and growth of conservation efforts benefiting the elephant populations of Sri Lanka. After traveling back to the United States, Shani worked feverishly to grow what was only a dream into what is now a worldwide movement to create change: #SipTeaSaveElephants.

elephantea’s mission is to not only a create a unique selection of Ceylon’s finest teas but to raise awareness of the plight of Sri Lanka’s wild roaming elephants. Proceeds from every purchase of elephantea are used to support the varied elephant conservation programs in her father’s native country of Sri Lanka.