our story
Until the Spring of 2021, Nikitas could not sleep (ever). One night, Costis (Ilia’s father) suggested that Nikitas drink some chamomile tea. Despite his initial reservations, Nikitas did indeed fall fast asleep. He was convinced! Chamomile tea every night before bed, perhaps the most traditional “old wives’ tale.” There was just one issue… After two weeks of going up and down & up and down every (mid)night to the kitchen to boil the water, wait for the herbs to brew, remove the teabag, and wait for the drink to come to drinkable temperature, Nikitas and Ilia got tired of preparing herbal tea.
One morning, Nikitas and Ilia were preparing their morning coffee with a Nespresso machine when they had the following revelation. “How convenient would it be if herbs were in capsules, too? The entire process would take less than 1 minute!” So, they purchased a refillable metal capsule, filled it with herbs, filled a tea bag with those same herbs, compared the two results… and, to their amazement, the teapsule won!
How could this be? Herbs typically require 7-9 minutes to brew and extract their essential oils? Nikitas and Ilia were yet to realise that the answer lies in the pressure. In other words, pressure replaces time. Nespresso machines are set at 19 bars pressure and >85 degrees Celsius, by chance, the ideal settings for herbal extraction. Nikitas and Ilia were truly and pleasantly surprised to discover that herbs in capsules are not only more convenient, but more flavourful, too.
During this time, Nikitas and Ilia were both still in university in the UK. They took many meetings from Ilia’s 16sqm “Room 1010” in London. At some point, Nikitas flew back to Greece to meet with producers. He almost missed his flight due to the constant London strikes of 2022, but he did eventually make it to Crete, where he found the man who eventually became Teapsule’s first producer.
10 years ago, Mr. Alexandros had a stroke. His doctors told him he would forever be paralysed and likely had only six months to live. Contrary to the advice of his doctors, Mr. Alexandros and his wife decided to move back to their home village, Amari. There, Mr. Alexandros started spending time outside. Then, he started tending to the garden. Now, he is the man in charge of Amari ANEA, a cooperative for the local herbs. It is people like Mr. Alexandros who further mobilised Nikitas and Ilia to bring Greek and more specifically Cretan herbs to the world.
To do so, like any other startup, Teapsule needed investors. Obviously, Nikitas and Ilia had no professional machinery, yet. So, they thought they might heat-seal the teapsules with a clothing iron, instead. Thankfully, the DIY teapsules were enough to convince Johnny and George to say YES!
With their support and that of many others, Teapsule has been seriously brewing for the last year and is finally ready to drink. We could not be more excited for you to taste your connection to the Greek soil and spirit starting April 20th, 2024!
