Dharma Talks with Sarah of FirePot Chai & Nomadic Tea Party

Meet our friend Sarah, founder of FirePot Chai and Nomadic Tea Party. Sarah’s love for tea has taken her around the globe, and on a journey that is the true essence of dharma.

On a December morning, we sat down with Sarah in her living room, communing over tea so we could hear her story. She prepared multiple kinds and never checked the time while perfectly steeping and pouring without skipping a beat.

Sarah’s story began in those post college years, unsure of what to do - she moved to Montana to work at a tea house. It was there that she started brewing and perfecting her chai recipe. Once the tea house closed down, she continued to make it simply because people loved it and wanted more. She knew she had something special but she wasn’t sure just how she wanted it to grow so she just fulfilled the orders that came in, followed her heart, remained open to the opportunities that came to her, and allowed the rest to flow.

“This is happening, whether you like it or not. It gives you faith. It’s a beautiful magical thing. It’s a blessing that has come to me. I’m almost just along for the ride, in the passenger seat and it’s driving me.”

Soon after showing her success, business prowess, and sincere love for tea, The Republic of Teas offered Sarah a role as a tea buyer. Putting FirePot on the back burner, this role allowed Sarah to travel the world and learn what she needed to become a true tea expert. Sarah says she always held FirePot close to her heart though, and when she got pregnant with her first son she decided to leave The Republic of Teas to dive back into FirePot wholeheartedly.

“In times of flux, when the winds are changing. Just keep trusting the process and let it happen.”

The company she built has since expanded to St. Louis and grown into selling a wide array of teas sourced from all over the world. Sarah recently created and launched the Soul Rituals Collection: Teas offered for a healthy lifestyle with a suggestion for rituals and wisdom for wellness - drawing from Ayurveda, Feng Shui, Traditional Chinese Medicine and other ancient traditions.

With FirePot successfully steeped and it’s own entity Sarah has decided to launch a new venture - Nomadic Tea Party - which came to her while she was chatting with a friend. She started talking about having a cookbook about different kinds of tea rituals practiced around the world. It was an idea that she knew she had to run.

We are in awe of Sarah’s calm and welcoming nature, as well as her knowledge and deep understanding of the various tea rituals from around the world. Our time with her was something we will treasure forever and a true peak inside the vast knowledge that she has to share. Drinking from wares and teas sourced from around the world accompanied with snacks, traditional of that culture while having a deep conversation with real value and meaning - this is what Nomadic Tea Party is all about.

It’s clear to us that Sarah is living her dharma and her life purpose. She describes the steps along her path as if “doors were opening, I just had to walk through them.” The people that she met, the experiences she’s had all led seamlessly from one thing to the next. Everything she’s done has prepared her for the next.

“Your ideas will come in a moment of inspiration. Following those ideas and your intuition will lead you in the right direction. It doesn’t work when you think about it. It works when you’re not thinking about it. Keep doing, do all the things on your to do list and just let it happen.”

These dharma-talks of ours are for you, dear reader. We want to show you that every story is winding and starting a business is no simple task. Sarah taught us that you have to trust the path, do what you love and the rest will follow. Before we ended our chat, I asked Sarah if she had any advice for someone who has an idea or wants to start a venture of their own. She replied…

“People are scared to start businesses. You have to say yes and take the risk. If you’re fearful then start slowly. You have to do it at some capacity, if you have an idea or something’s calling, you have to do it. Just try it. It’s like something knocking at your door, just crack it and who knows the wind might blow it open, it might not. But you have to try. Do it in a way that feels comfortable and try.”

Cheers to tea parties and answering our hearts call!