So, we left off when I was about to start the montage scene when I started researching Maté, after experiencing it's extraordinary benefits.... 

*cue Rocky theme tune*

I started pouring through articles, websites, books and scientific papers.

I discovered Maté tea had all those extraordinary benefits attributed to it, yet was almost completely unavailable in the UK.

I also discovered that it grew best under the shade of trees in agroforestry plantations. That’s when trees form a crucial part of every crop, doing the constant job of providing shade and shared nutrients to the Maté plants below. With trees as a core part of every crop, I reaslied the more IKÓ we produce, the more trees are required to support more Maté growth.

More IKÓ means more trees. A beautifully simple positive feedback loop between myself and the planet.

This moves beyond sustainability. This is venture reforestation.

So with this simple powerful tea, grown alongside trees, IKÓ was born. I wanted to live right all the time, not just on the weekend. I wanted to achieve more and be more. And if Maté tea helps me to that, I knew I could build IKÓ into a movement that does the same for you and the planet.

The more successful IKÓ becomes, the more positive an impact we have on the lives of those who drink it, on the lives of those who grow it, and on the planet from which Maté springs.

That’s why IKÓ exists: to improve your life and the planet’s. So drink up life. Join the IKÓ movement for yourself, your people and your planet.

It’s how I found purpose. And in the language of our farmers, that’s how I discovered the way to “ikó” –  the way to just ‘be’.