Marcela and her mum Polyana Tupinamba came up with their idea after Polyana was diagnosed with osteoporosis and came to join her daughter in Sussex where she had been at University.
They started working on their D’Amazonia tea concepts in 2020 and their teas hit the shelves the next year.
Marcela said: “The name D’Amazonia means From the Amazon in Brazilian Portuguese. This immense rainforest is home to 40,000 plant species and is often called the ‘lungs of the world’. This is because it breathes out 20% of the earth’s oxygen. So there’s a clear link between the health of the Amazon and the health of our planet.”
Marcela, recognising that her mum wanted to embrace a healthier lifestyle after her diagnosis decided early that she’d join her on an enhanced gym pilgrimage to ensure Polyana stuck to the task in hand.
She said: "At the beginning we tried to last the distance with an enhanced caffeine regime, initially coffee fixes and latterly energy drinks. Both pathways were an unmitigated disaster because we found ourselves hitting a brick wall halfway through the session.
"We knew another approach was needed that offered better balanced, slow-release energy, which is the moment we started thinking about functional teas with a distinct Brazilian leaning."
It was then they put their heads together and realised there had to be another, better way.
Premium teas
Both women were already into premium teas and that is why they decided to create functional teas and they enlisted the help of a professional nutritionist to help them make sure the blend was right with a strong focus on flavour.
Marcela added: “We are Brazilian, and we wanted to tie everything back to there with an Amazonian theme. That’s when we started doing our own research and testing lots of different tea formulations back at home in Brazil. The energising and medicinal herbs and plants used by the people of the Amazon were just what we were looking for.
“After more than a year researching plants and testing over 50 formulations, we found the right recipe – a delicious mix of natural caffeine, anti-oxidants, and anti-inflammatory ingredients.”
Marcela explained that the South American mindset to sleep is very different to the European perspective. She said in South America, much more onus is put on sleep to make sure people get more out of the following day without having to resort to caffeine or energy drinks to keep going.
She added: “Our lead line has been our sleep tea, it very quickly picked up popularity for its ingredients and favour but even more importantly, because it works.”
After that they looked at digestion and gut health which they say is understandably a very hot topic now with the probiotics and microbiome industry at the forefront of the health markets.
The teas have intense flavours and tick all eco credentials too plus you can use each tea bag twice, topping it up with hot water and it's equally strong the second time as well.
The sleep tea is made up of 14 powerful ingredients including rose petals which have a natural relaxing effect, help to lower stress levels and encourage sleep. They’re known to soothe anxiety and reduce stress. It also has lavender, often traditionally used as a sleep aid and to treat anxiety, insomnia, depression and restlessness. Other key ingredients include chamomile, lemon balm, hibiscus and linden blossom.
Stomach troubles
D’Amazonia's digestive tea has 10 strong ingredients, and whether you’re suffering from persistent stomach troubles or seeking relief after a heavy meal, this tea aims to aid digestion and soothe the stomach.
Marcela said: “With peppermint, lemon, and pineapple packed with nutrients and antioxidants such as enzymes to fight inflammation and disease this particular tea has loads of health benefits, including aiding digestion, stimulating the kidneys to help reduce bloating and reduce the risk of heart disease, anaemia, and kidney stones”
“It can also aid weight loss, prevent bloating and is anti-inflammatory.”
Their third tea centres around fitness and contains 12 ingredients blended to help health and wellbeing goals with a scientifically formulated blend.
Marcela says the benefits from this tea include enhanced performance from the natural caffeine that comes from green tea, yerba mate and guarana, it can support fat burn from the thermogenic action provided by cinnamon and ginger that can help speed up metabolism.
The company is enjoying great success and the women say one of their ways of saying thank you was by joining the One Tree Planted campaign.
Marcela concluded: “Nature gave us these incredible and powerful ingredients that go into every cup of our teas and we wanted to say thank you which is why every time you buy a product, we plant a tree to give back to the rainforest, its communities and our planet.”
