What we mean when we say pure...

Our mission at Westholme is to connect people with excellent tea experiences, and with nature. One the key ways we do this is by using the highest quality ingredients. We want you to be able to trust that when we say certain words like pure, natural, biodynamic, high quality, organic - we mean exactly that.
 
If there is ever any uncertainty, we invite you to please connect with us.
 
Many tea companies boast their teas are natural, pure, organic with no fillers or anything artificial to sweeten, flavour, preserve or colour. At first glance we think “this is great!” This is what we stand for as well. But then…we look a little closer and see ingredients such as natural flavours or perhaps extracts and essences. Often, these ‘natural’ additives actually contain multiple ‘hidden’ ingredients. ‘Natural’ can still include chemicals, derivatives, or GMO’s. Even organic compliant ingredients are still synthetically produced. Different binders, stabilizers and further additives and/or byproducts will not be explicitly listed. This is why, for example, it is not widely known that some teas can contain MSG, or tea bags may contain toxins.  
 
Sometimes we look and see that what is called tea actually contains no tea at all.
 
To us, this is not excellent quality, and this is certainly not natural.
 
For those who enjoy providing or purchasing teas or tisanes with additives, we never intend to pass any judgements. We understand we all have different priorities and preferences. By sharing this, we simply want you to know what OUR priorities and preferences and philosophies are.
 
Thus, we want it to be clear that we will NEVER compromise. We never add ANYTHING to our teas or tisanes. You will find that they are exactly what we say they are: pure ingredients of nature. We are truly of the belief that nature provides all that we need. Then, it is up to us to master the art of preparing and pairing plants. We have worked to create and perfect the unique recipes for our blends using precise combinations to highlight and bring out the flavours we desire. We do this to honour the work that nature does. We do not rely on a lab to do the work for us and create flavourings.
 
The only ingredient we use that is not in a pure dried plant form is the cold pressed, pure, certified organic Oil of Bergamot we use in our Earl Grey Blends. Additionally, we are very transparent that we prioritize sourcing certified organic teas, and in the occasions where an estate or farm is not certified we are very clear to communicate this. However, we do much research into where our teas come from, and we know that many small-scale tea estates (which are often beyond organic) are limited by the expense of gaining international certification status.
 
We often have customers coming to us, sharing stories of stomach aches, headaches or even allergic reactions to other teas. We understand the importance of being fully transparent about each and every single ingredient. For those who are striving to drink tea for health reasons, it should not involve detective work to find teas that support your endeavour for wellness. The only extra work we want you to have to do is to remember to “gently shake” your package of tea, so that the hand blended ingredients that sort themselves in the bag based on density are redistributed for your steeping.  
 
We certainly feel passionate about the work we are doing, and how we aim to contribute to the tea industry today, as well as honour the thousands of years of tea culture and tea history. Our ethos and values are what we have built this company on since day one. We hope to provide an alternative to the majority of other tea companies, small and large. The list of descriptors used to market tea is vast. We invite you to consider this in your awareness, and to look and ask questions beyond the marketing schemes - in the tea industry and beyond.