Historie

On this enlightening (and, at times, bumpy) journey, four simple, yet powerful, mantras have lit our way, beautifully expressing what we believe and how we behave, and setting us apart from other herbal tea companies: Be Pukka. Be the best. Be brave. Be ‘wow’.

Don’t worry, you’re never too far away from your Pukka favourites – you’ll find a good selection of Pukka products at all good healthfood store as well as an ever growing selection of Pukka teas in your local supermarket.

The World Wildlife Fund is best known as the world’s leading independent conservation body. Like Pukka, it sees how the health of the planet is intimately connected to our own health and happiness, and so works to protect wildlife, plants and the environment. We’re privileged to be renewing our partnership with WWF for the second year in a row, after helping to raise over £66,000 for its conservation work last year.

The true value of guggul is a sticky golden resin that lies within its twiggy branches, so valuable it was once a gift given to kings. Nowadays, guggul is as valuable and popular as ever, but sadly over-harvesting is leaving its numbers in decline and the entire species under threat. To help conserve this powerful natural treasure, we’ve partnered with an organic project in a remote area of Rajasthan.

Behind every cup of delicious Pukka tea is a person, family, or community on the other side of the world that made that cup of tea possible. From Mr Shastry in India to Filip in Bulgaria, our growers are far from remote traders, they’re our partners and many have become our friends.

Mr Shastry is no conventional farmer. Based in South India, he’s a visionary for a better world, a pioneer in India’s organic movement, and a committed conservation activist. We’ve worked with Mr Shastry since 2001, buying much of our organic Ashwagandha, Ginger, Brahmi, Tulsi and Turmeric from him. Not only is he an inspiration, he’s proof that herbs change lives.

Pukka was the perfect choice for Sebastian and Tim, our founders, when they were creating their fledgling business. This ancient Hindi word has so much meaning behind it – making it more than just a name to us: it embodies our vision, our values, our relationships with our growers, and every single cup of tea or herbal supplement that we create.

In the year 2001, a creative entrepreneur with a passion for natural-health, Tim Westwell, placed an advert in a Bristol cultural magazine. The ad ran for two weeks – with only one response, from an enthusiastic young herbalist called Sebastian Pole. He’d had an idea.