Our Herbals

Explore our delicious, eco-friendly tea blends, herbal extracts, and herb salts, each packed with flavour! We grow or gather every herb right here on our farm, picking them at just the best moment and drying them straight away in a solar-oriented facility near the fields, and handling them with care to ensure the best quality.

Our farm is dedicated to reducing waste, which is why we use 100% compostable packaging for our tea. Our other herbals are offered in either glass or paper packaging. We only use plastic (food-grade) containers when it is the better option for long-term use.

All our herbals are available with English or Bulgarian labels.

Meet the family behind the herbs

We are Laura, Andreas, and Maxine, the family behind Hamsa Herbs.

Laura is an ethnobotanist with 25 years of experience working with herbs. Her journey began as a teenager in the Netherlands after taking a herbalism course, which inspired her to seek opportunities with herbalists across Europe. Laura combines hands-on expertise with academic credentials, holding a Bachelor’s in Medicinal Horticulture and a Master’s in Ethnobotany from English universities. During her Doctoral research in Bulgaria, she delved into the herbal trade and worked with herb collectors in deprived rural areas. This experience motivated her to advocate for a more sustainable and fair approach to herbal production. One based on kindness and care for both people and nature, while creating value in the locality where the herbs are actually grown. This vision inspired the founding of Hamsa Herbs, and we began farming in 2021.

With a background in Slavic linguistics and journalism and a lifelong interest in running a smallholding, Andreas joined Laura early on. Together we explored rural Bulgaria and soon realised the potential for creating something meaningful.

We transformed a derelict house and overgrown land into a nearly two-acre organic farm. Laura manages all aspects of farm operations, from planning and herb growing to harvesting, herb processing, and product creation. Andreas oversees land cultivation, irrigation, sales, and many administrative tasks on the farm. When the farm requires less attention, Laura writes detailed plant monographs, deeply exploring the history, scientific knowledge, and cultural stories of herbs. She is also inspired by herbal pedagogy and storytelling. Besides farming, Andreas loves literature, works in tourism by organising tours across South-East Europe, and writes articles on Bulgaria’s socio-political issues.  

Our little daughter, Maxine, was just a baby when we began our farm, and now she grows up surrounded by nature, exploring and learning with herbs and all the beautiful creatures that live here, cultivating her curiosity and sense of wonder about the world.