Meet Sarah Munro | Sala Studio, Auckland, NZ

Get to know Sarah Munro, founder of our favourite tea brand Fine & Dandy. Certified organic and ethically produced, each tea is hand-selected, blended and packed by Sarah, who found a love for tea and its rituals through traveling and the connection it brings to us, others and nature.

Hey, who are you? What do you do and where do you live?

I’m Sarah Munro, I have an ethical organic tea brand Fine + Dandy and I live by the beach, at Narrow Neck, Tamaki Makaurau.

Where/when did your journey with tea start? What makes fine and dandy tea different?

Living and travelling in Japan and India gave me so much love for the ritual and process of drinking tea. My love for tea has always been grounded in a reverence for the cultures it comes from.

I love that tea is this calming refreshing beverage and at the same time, it is like an aid to connection. Connection us to ourselves, to others and with nature.

The brand has evolved through my travelling and forming relationships with our ethical organic growers and that direct connection is something really unique in the tea world.

Sarah had the pleasure of holding a ceremony to launch your new dark rose tea. Can you tell us more about why this one is so special?

We created Dark Rose in collaboration with Fairtrade to highlight the hard work and craft of the women of the Neknasi Cooperative based in Papua New Guinea. We used their cascara which resulted from a special initiative to utilise the byproduct of the coffee industry to create an income stream for the new woman supporting their families and community.

Wellbeing is ….?

For me, wellbeing involves stripping back the idea that to be well we need certain products or magical ingredients, it’s also stripping away the things in our lives if they don’t serve or nourish us. there’s so much healing and balance to be found in what is free and often all around us. Nature, connection to the ones we love and movement (I love to dance) all bring me joy and are the foundations of how I stay well.

Tell us, how do you make the perfect brew?

The combination of intuition and precision. Loose leaves always, pure spring or freshly filtered water.

Be mindful of the water temperature and brewing time- it can vary depending on the tea. Set an intention and enjoy this one precious moment.

What’s a hangover cure you swear by?

I feel hungover from the smallest amount of alcohol, so I seldom drink but if I do the Te Henga hill walkway and a skinny dip at O'Neil’s are my cure all for everything.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

I’m currently really resonating with the quote “what you seek is seeking you” which I believe is a quote by Rumi and my inspiration to live in trust.