Our Story
The journey began in June 2012 on a trip to the village of Juifen in Taiwan which included a visit to the majestic A-Mei teahouse. This experience left a lasting impression and ignited a passion for tea and tea ceremony. Upon returning to the UK this passion developed into several trips to tea rooms, taking part in tea and herbal blending classes, sourcing rare and wonderful teas to try at home and an expanding teaware collection. After many years of research and enjoying tea as a hobby, the idea of The Aguma Tea Company was born in May 2018.
The concept of The Aguma Tea Company is to draw upon the natural herbal resources that are available in the African continent that have been utilized and enjoyed by our forbearers for many years.
The majority of commercial tea that is available in West Africa is imported from regions of the world, such as China and India, which is a missed opportunity when we are sharing a continent with the fourth largest tea exporting region in the world in East Africa. In a quest to change this and to promote pan-African business and African business collaboration, the Aguma Tea Company is founded upon the principles of putting Africa first. We source our products from other African countries, and we source our packaging and products in Africa to provide you an exceptionally African experience and the height of luxury at an affordable price.
African people all over the continent have a long history of using herbs and plants to heal, soothe and assist with recovery from injury and ailments. It is without a doubt that many herbs in our local environment have healing and restorative qualities.
Our Name
“Allow me to flow where the land meets the sky.”
The Aguma Tea Company is named after the Agumasta mountain range in the Volta region of Ghana. The Agumasta range is home to Afadjato the largest mountain in Ghana and one of the largest mountains in Africa.
Aguma is an adaptation of the Ewe word Agumatsa of which ‘ma – tsa’ means “allow me to flow”. This name is also given to the much loved Wli waterfall, which is the highest in Ghana. The Agu or Agoo is taken to mean “where the land meets the sky” in reflection of the overwhelming mountainous landscape of the Agumasta range.
So why the obsession with mountains? The link to mountains is inspired by the fact that the original ‘tea tree’ Camellia Sinensis where we get black tea and green tea, is grown at high elevations. Mountains have the power to inspire, humble and ground us and bring us back to balance, which is how we want our tea to make you feel.
Our Emblem
We have chosen the adinkra symbol of mpatapo as our emblem, which represents reconciliation and peacemaking. Our quest to build a truly African enterprise requires respect, appreciation and reverence for the global African family within Africa the diaspora. With unity and healing Africa will be elevated to its rightful place on the global stage.