Tea traders Fine & Dandy was founded by Sarah Munro and Adam Durant. The tea range includes fairtrade loose leaf tea, and Sarah chatted with the team about her recent trip visiting the organic farms that grow their tea in Sri Lanka and Japan.
What is your company background, how did you start the business?
The company started out from a love of great tea and frustration at not being able to get the kind of tea we liked to drink in cafes and retails stores in New Zealand.
Having lived in Japan and India, we had developed a taste for great tasting loose leaf tea. We figured out we had to source high grade organic loose leaf tea ourselves so that’s what we did, and that’s how Fine & Dandy came to be.
What are the current product range and variants and how do these products stand out in the market?
They are all carefully sourced for the best flavour, and we buy directly from certified organic and fairtrade farms and estates which we visit ourselves. We bring the ingredients into New Zealand and hand blend some ourselves, while others remain unblended so as to retain the flavour and character of the tea leaf. We believe well-sourced tea should taste great on its own so there’s no need for the use of artificial flavouring or perfumes.
Has there been any recent company news?
Our April/May 2016 origin trip was a huge success and exciting adventure visiting all of the beautiful organic farms where our tea comes from in both Sri Lanka and Japan. We were so lucky to meet so many generous and knowledgeable people involved in growing, picking and producing our tea and we learnt a great deal about growing specialty tea. Watch this space for exciting new products as a result of this inspiring trip.
What are the plans for the business moving forward, is there any expansion on the horizon?
It’s been just one year since Fine & Dandy started serving hot cups of tea at local farmers markets around Auckland. We are excited to keep growing the business, giving tea drinkers the great tasting high-quality brews they deserve, and connecting our consumers to the story behind their tea.
Where are your products currently available to buy, and are you looking at or wanting to expand your availability? If so, where would you like to see the product situated?
We are lucky to have our tea served in excellent cafes around New Zealand such as Pasta e Cuore, Little & Friday, Kokako, Woodside Cafe and it currently retails in some very special stores such as Father Rabbit, Ballentynes, Replete Food Store and Little Bird Organics. We’d like to continue to work with great establishments that are dedicated to beautiful natural food made with love.
