Frequently Asked Questions
If you have a question about our brand, our products, or anything else, take look at these FAQs. If you can’t find the answer you seek, just drop us an email.
Where is my order? (How long will it take to receive my order?)
After placing an order, you will receive a confirmation email from us. This contains details of your order and serves as an electronic invoice—it’s not a delivery confirmation. The delivery confirmation email will be sent within 3 working days, after which there will be a further wait based on the timeframes set on our Delivery Details page.
If you received the delivery confirmation email and that time period has passed, just email us or use the Live Chat feature and we’ll try to help you as best we can. If you enter your email address or phone number during the checkout process, you should also receive an email/text from EVRi that contains details of your delivery.
What is your return policy?
You can read more about our returns policy in part 2 of our Terms and Conditions.
Why don’t you sell teabags?
A lot of the teabags you’ll find in supermarkets are made using superfine tea dust, which is added to bags made from nonbiodegradable plastic. It’s cheap, it’s convenient, but we’re not convinced it’s the best option. We appreciate that many customers prefer the convenience of teabags, though, so we’re currently researching ways that we can package some of our teas in safe, biodegradable, plastic-free bags without resorting to grinding everything into a fine dust.
This isn’t always easy with herbal teas, so we’re working hard to find a solution that doesn’t sacrifice quality or affordability. In the meantime, we have a range of infusers for loose leaf tea.
Can I buy wholesale?
Possibly—let’s call it a definite maybe! Take a look at our Sell Shelgo Tea page to learn more.
Do your products contain nuts?
We do our best to avoid cross-contamination with all kinds of allergens during production, and the process of packing the teas into Shelgo Tea branded packaging does not involve nuts, gluten, or any other allergens. However, these teas are initially sourced from growers who pack them in lines containing other products and we cannot say with absolute certainty that our products are 100% free of nuts.
Do your teas contain gluten?
As with the nut situation mentioned above, this is another case of “better safe than sorry”. We just can’t guarantee with absolute certainty that our products will be free of all trace amounts of gluten, so we include this warning just in case.
Are your teas Fairtrade?
None of our teas are sourced from developing countries. We source our products from farms in Greece, many of which are family owned, operating on a relatively small scale when compared to manufacturers of black and green tea.
Where does the name come from?
“Shelgo” was created by combining the names of our two cats: Sheldon and Hugo.Can I drink your teas while pregnant/nursing?
Some herbal teas should not be consumed while pregnant, as they may cause uterine contractions. We recommend you consult with your GP before consuming any herbal tea if you are pregnant or breastfeeding.
Why are your teas more expensive than supermarket teas?
It all comes down to quality. A lot of the teas you see on supermarket shelves are made using low-grade leaves ground to dust. This is true of herbal tea and black tea, and it makes the final product unrecognisable and indistinguishable from every other blend out there. We source teas that are either rare or completely unique to the UK market, and we get the very best of each one we sell.
Our Scardica is grown on mountain slopes at an elevation of 1,200 feet; our Nettle and Dandelion are hand-picked from the wilds of Greece. Everything is organic, everything is Greek, and everything is carefully packed by hand. And while our products are more expensive than mass-produced supermarket teas, they are very competitive when compared with other boutique and organic loose tea brands.
Why Greece?
Greece has a unique climate and landscape, one that is perfectly suited to every product we sell on Shelgo Tea. Its mountainous landscape is perfect for Greek Mountain Tea, which is native to the islands, and the dry soil of the mountains is also ideal for camomile. Greece also has the perfect climate for many herbs, including the herbal teas we sell on Shelgo Tea. We also have a close connection with Greece, as one of our directors was born and raised there. Her knowledge was paramount to creating the Shelgo Tea range and ensuring we sourced the very best tea.
Who chooses your tea?
We do. As lifetime tea drinkers, we’ve always been fascinated with the sheer variety of tea on the market and, prior to establishing Shelgo Tea, we spent a lot of time deciding which teas to sell.
It took us more than two years to take Shelgo Tea from a loosely scribbled business plan to a retail business ready for launch, and most of that time was spent tasting teas, mixing teas, talking with growers and suppliers, and creating our range.
We rejected teas that were tasteless, bland, and poorly prepared. We spoke with major suppliers who work with Europe’s biggest tea companies, only to discover that their methods of growing and harvesting were not in line with our brand philosophy. It wasn’t an easy process, but we tasted many great teas along the way.
Are your teas organic?
We have focused on sourcing organic tea from the outset and will continue to do so. However, some of the products we sell cannot be certified as organic as they are picked or produced in the wild. Our suppliers assure us that these products are almost certainly produced from pesticide-free plants, but it is difficult to certify them as such so we do not label them as organic.
Do you use flavourings?
A lot of herbal teas you’ll find in your local supermarket are made using small amounts of dried fruits, herbs, and flavourings. They’re great as an alternative to coffee or black tea and they can be refreshing, but there isn’t a great deal of nutrients in them.
The teas you’ll find on Shelgo Tea contain nothing but plant material, which means they contain an abundance of antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals. We don’t use flavourings (natural or otherwise), and we believe that this improves the nutritional composition of the product.
Are herbal teas healthy? What benefits do they provide?
Prior to creating Shelgo Tea, we worked as writers, designers, and other nonretail specialists in the health industry. We developed a distaste for the way that these companies marketed their products, making health claims that were not backed by science and playing on customers’ desperation and lack of understanding.
With Shelgo Tea, we set out to be 100% honest and transparent from day one. That’s why you can find extensive guides on all the teas that we sell—guides that contain information on supposed health benefits and the research that backs these up.
We don’t make claims about health benefits if there is no evidence to support them, and we make sure that every product we sell is backed by an in-depth, comprehensive, research-backed article. You can find these articles on every product page as well as on our blog. There are also many guides on tea, herbs, and plants that we don’t sell.
Why cats?
Why not? We're glad we cleared that one up.