Why The Name "Muthaiga?"

The name Muthaiga started with a tree.

Growing up in Kenya, our founder remembers learning about the Muthiga tree through the Kikuyu community. It was one of those trees that people knew well, particularly for its traditional medicinal uses. The bark would be smoked and used in different ways as part of traditional remedies for various ailments.

For her, the Muthiga was one of those plants that you grew up knowing without necessarily thinking much about it. It was simply there, part of the knowledge that was shared at home and within the community.

Years later, when it came time to name the tea company, she kept coming back to that tree.

There was something about the Muthiga that felt familiar to what she wanted the company to be. It was a plant that had been known, used and passed down through generations, yet it was easy to overlook because it was so much a part of everyday life.

Tea has always had a similar place in many African communities. Long before tea became something we think about in terms of blends, tasting notes and brewing methods, plants were steeped, smoked, infused and shared for their different properties and purposes. They were part of everyday life and part of the knowledge passed between generations. In many homes, a cup of tea could be as much about comfort and wellbeing as it was about having something warm to drink.

That connection felt natural to her. The Muthiga reminded her of the relationship people have always had with plants - knowing them, using them, and learning their place in everyday life. Tea sits within that same tradition, even as we continue to discover new ways of experiencing it today.

Muthaiga Tea came to being to constantly remind her of that connection while being a name that already feels very familiar in Kenya. Muthaiga is a name people know, recognise and can easily place. But behind it, for her, is the Muthiga tree and the memory that started it all.

The connection doesn't end with the name either.

Our founder still uses the bark of the Muthiga tree when smoking Railway Roast, our roasted green tea. So in a small way, something she remembers from growing up has found its way into how we make tea today.

That is where Muthaiga Tea Company gets its name, from a tree she grew up knowing, the knowledge around it, and a memory that eventually became part of the company we have today.