Meet Impala and Peacock

For Sarah de Witt, a cup of tea allows her to take a breath—not only drinking it but making it too. For a few minutes each day, she waits patiently for the kettle to boil and pours it into her favourite cup, mindfully watching as the tea leaves dance in the water and the flavours are slowly released.

After noticing how poorly tea was being made in Australia’s coffee capital, Sarah ventured to China and Southeast Asia to become a certified tea sommelier. Eight years on, equipped with the rich history of the humble tea leaf, Sarah and her husband Ruan founded Impala and Peacock.

They’re on a mission to develop high-quality, unique tea blends for local cafes, day spas and retailers, as well as offering soothing tea blending classes and tasting experiences in Brunswick.

Tea lover or not, Sarah and Ruan want to open you up to the rich history of tea and its benefits, one sip at a time.

Tea is more than just a drink…

“It’s totally different in all parts of the world. In China, it might be white tea, which is a handpicked bud of the tea plant, and to them that's tea. Whereas for us in the west, a tea ceremony might be more English breakfast tea with milk. Then you go to Russia or Turkey or Morocco and it’s all about rich flavours. Everyone has a different flavour and interpretation and historic heritage around tea.”

At an Impala and Peacock workshop, you can expect…

“Lots of tasting, lots of smelling and lots of tuning into senses. You get to play around with about 30 different botanicals—think flowers, fruits, spices, earthy and woody profiles, it goes on. It's like an adult candy store. Plus, you get a nice gift at the end because you take home the tea that you created.”

Tea is the perfect beverage for our fast-paced society because…

“You can't make the water boil faster and you can't make the leaves brew any faster. You really have to tune in to it and take your time. You enjoy those little moments of pause and that can do wonders for our health and wellbeing. In today’s society, our attention is being grabbed from all directions so there’s something nice and old school about tea.”

Melbourne’s tea scene is heating up…

“Coffee's got a long history in Melbourne with the rush of Italians and the Mediterranean influence in the 80s and 90s. But tea's definitely growing and I'd like to think I've had a pretty cool part in it. Now there are venues around that serve thousands of pots of specialty teas each week to people. Tea gets people excited because of all the flavours you can get into.”

Drink a cup of tea and you’ll feel…

“Comforted. If someone's upset or sad, even colloquially we say, ‘let’s have a cup of tea and a chat’. There is that element of shared warmth that comes with tea and it’s central to so much connection.”

My top tip for first-time tea blenders is…

“Just have fun with it. Explore different flavours to see what you like and why you like it. Don't be afraid to go outside your comfort zone.”