FAQ Centre

Times are changing, and it's becoming more clear than ever that everybody is unique. Technology and wider availability of testing are allowing us to better understand our bodies, and therefore help us to determine what we need to eat, drink, and supplement with to achieve optimal health and wellness. But whilst innovation in the field of testing and collecting your own health-related data has advanced rapidly in recent times, health food and supplement retailing hasn't kept-up with this progress. There's been a big disconnect between receiving this wealth of health and wellness data, and then understanding what you actually need to purchase in the way of health food and supplements, to optimise for your own health profile. It's usually left to the consumer to be pro-active and perform their own research to know what to buy. Until now. We're bridging the gap between individualised health data, and knowing what to do with that data - helping to guide you towards products that are suitable for you on a very individual level.

We take two approaches to personalising your experience - one is being as transparent and informative about our products as possible, and the other is less obvious to the user but uses advanced technology to customise search results and product recommendations. We offer as much information on product suitability, ingredients, and allergen information as possible - helping those that want to be pro-active and make their own product choices, to make an informed decision. Our proprietary, AI-driven search results and product recommendation software helps to highlight products that are more relevant to your individual health profile, based on data you provide to us, and your purchase/browsing history with us.

Vitalife teas consist of our signature matcha green tea range. Our matcha green tea is where the Vitalife brand was born, and it is still an area that we are massively passionate about.

With matcha tea, it is natural to have a small amount of sediment towards the bottom of your cup – given tea powder is not 100% water soluble. However, to minimise the sediment, try using a whisk or milk frother when making your drink.

Like all green tea, matcha contains caffeine. A recommended 1g serving contains 34mg of caffeine. This is compared to 70-180mg for a cup of coffee. Most experts consider 200-300mg of caffeine per day to be an acceptable level.

Ceremonial grade matcha uses the finest, smallest leaves from the very tip of the tea bush - giving it a more vibrant green colour and a slightly smoother flavour. Beginner's grade matcha, on the other hand, uses slightly larger tea leaves found further down the tea bush - giving it a less vibrant green colour, and a less smooth flavour. The difference between the two grades is very subtle and often goes unnoticed to those people who haven't yet developed a palate for matcha i.e. those trying matcha for the first time - hence, beginner's grade is perfect for matcha virgins.

You can serve matcha with hot water. However, to receive the greatest health benefits, the optimum temperature to serve matcha is 70 degrees. If you don't have a temperature-controlled kettle, simply switch off the kettle before it reaches boiling point.

There are a number of scientifically proven health benefits of drinking matcha green tea regularly, including improved mental focus and awareness, a faster metabolism, detoxification, anti-aging properties, lowered cholesterol, and an increase in energy to name but a few. It has a strong concentration of antioxidants (up to 137x that of standard green tea), chlorophyll, and L-Theanine (a 'feel-good' amino acid).

We always try our best to minimise our impact on the natural environment - we do this in the way we fulfil orders, the partners we choose to work with, and the environmental credentials of the suppliers/brands that we choose to work with. Many of the brands you see on our website are B corporation certified, 1% For The Planet supporters, and are generally very environmentally-conscious in their packaging choices, raw-material sourcing, operational management, and much more. We always try to support and work with these brands as widely as possible, to maximise their positive impact. Our main courier, DPD, was chosen on the basis of them offering a carbon-neutral delivery service. We're also a zero-food-waste organisation. Nothing (except for a minute percentage of our stock that unfortunately, and unavoidably, gets damaged beyond salvageability) gets thrown away. We have a sister brand, www.lovehealthhatewaste.com, that helps us to sell-on any stock we have that goes beyond its Best Before Date - ensuring that any perfectly fit and edible stock doesn't just get sent to landfill, and instead is massively discounted through this platform - helping to make healthy living more affordable whilst reducing food waste at the same time. It's a win-win for all.

We are a small team, driven by a passion for health, fitness, and vitality. We are not a publicly-traded company, and our ultimate goal is not profit - it is to deliver a wide range of products that are suited to your particular dietary requirements and health profile. We want to celebrate the era of personalisation and bring health food and beauty retail up-to-date with this trend - so that people can optimise their diet, supplementation, and lifestyle to suit them. Our entire company is built on this foundation of a passion for health, and it is clear in the products we offer, the service and advice we provide to our customers, and the way we operate.

Many of our lines are certified organic, and we're proud supporters of organic farmers and producers. And whilst we believe organic is always the best option where available - that's universal, irrespective of your individual health profile - we also do appreciate that many people have budgetary constraints to consider, and sometimes it's just darn difficult to source certain products in organic form (for reasons of farming practicalities or otherwise), so we also offer a wide range of non-organic options where appropriate.

As a third-party retailer with operations based purely in the UK and Europe - where working standards are already highly regulated and controlled - it isn't necessary for us to be a member of the Fairtrade Association. That said, as with organic products, fairtrade is always a consideration when our buying team are assessing brands for our platform. That's why you'll find many lines that are Fairtrade certified, available through us.