TWO Huntingdonshire businessmen have launched a product to allow dog lovers to get even closer to man’s best friend ... with a spot of tea together.

The Hunts Post: A new herbal dog tea has been produce in Buckden called Woof & Brew, the team (l-r) Lisa Morton and Scampi, Tony Kinch, Steve BennettA new herbal dog tea has been produce in Buckden called Woof & Brew, the team (l-r) Lisa Morton and Scampi, Tony Kinch, Steve Bennett (Image: Archant)

WOOF&BREW, a range of healthy herbal teas for dogs, was launched at Crufts, from March 7-10, by two Huntingdonshire business people – Lisa Goodwin Morton, of Hartford, and Steve Bennett, of Papworth, and two of their contacts Tony Kinch and Nick Gandon.

The Hunts Post: A new herbal dog tea has been produce in Buckden called Woof & Brew,A new herbal dog tea has been produce in Buckden called Woof & Brew, (Image: Archant)

The idea took just three months to get to market.

The Hunts Post: A new herbal dog tea has been produce in Buckden called Woof & Brew, Scampi samples the teaA new herbal dog tea has been produce in Buckden called Woof & Brew, Scampi samples the tea (Image: Archant)

The initial range includes five varieties for adult dogs, with each said to help with a different area of the dog’s wellbeing, such as skin and coat or fresh breath – although Mrs Goodwin Morton recommends speaking to the directors before buying the fresh breath tea as bad breath could hide underlying health issues. The tea bags are added to 250ml of hot water for four minutes, then added to 750ml of cold water before served to a canine.

Mrs Goodwin Morton, who has seven-month-old twin daughters, told The Hunts Post: “Through my work in freelance brand design I met Tony Kinch, a teamaster who runs the Real Tea Cafe in Stratford-upon-Avon, Steve Bennett, who runs Dog Friendly, and Nick Gandon who has his own tea bagging machine – which is a rare commodity.

“We were going to do another idea but I said no as it would have taken up too much of my time, so we got this idea and it has taken between 12 and 14 weeks from conception to launch.”

The products were tested by the directors’ and their friends’ pets as well as a commissioned test to make sure the herbs wouldn’t harm the dogs.

“No-one else does what we do in the UK. The only other producers are in the USA and they do it loose leaf, which is an absolute faff. We do it in tea bags as 94 per cent of tea sold in the country is in bags.”

She continued: “We were told by Dragons’ Den success story Marie Sawle, founder of nutritious dog treat company Billy and Margot, who was the talk of Crufts last year with her dog ice cream, that we were the talk of the show this time round.”

She added: “It’s very healthy for the dogs, and each herb has been chosen to help in different ways – the fresh breath tea includes herbs to help the dogs digest food and also calm the tummy.

“There is no caffeine or milk in the tea as both are harmful to dogs.

“At Crufts there was an owner giving her dog Yorkshire Tea with six sugars, not knowing that it was bad for her dog.”

The directors have plans to introduce two more lines to WOOF&BREW shortly, with a range called Posh Pooch and another to help dogs with anxiety.

The pouches of 28 bags – a month’s supply for one dog – have also been picked up by a number of wholesalers.

INFORMATION: Find out more about the tea at www.woofandbrew.com