Coffee Talk: Sara from Sips of Whimsy
One day, I was just scrolling social media, and I found Sara somehow and I immediately gave her a follow. I was in love from day one- and that was before even trying her teas. Once I actually got my hands on her teas, the love fell even deeper. They're delicious, and I so appreciate the way she packaged everything together- very well thought out and meaningful. Sara truly embodies everything she writes and posts and blends into that cup, and if she ever opens the little apothecary shop, she dreams about, I will be the first one there!
I’m excited to dive into her journey. We didn’t meet up but I was able to reach out to her with several questions to get a better look into her path and today, I’m sharing those answers with you. These are mostly her words and they are gorgeous. I want to quote it all and plaster it everywhere for the world to see. Seriously, everyone needs to see these reminders of what life can be like- peaceful and filled with bliss through slow moments and whimsy.
Sara is a tea lover and vintage dreamer. Her Instagram bio says it best: crafting magical blends with love, bringing whimsy to your cup one sip at a time.
In this interview, Sara took me all the way back to her first business, then forward through the season that gave her Sips of Whimsy, her grandma's garden, and the shop she dreams of opening one day.
Get ready- pour up a cup, grab a journal, and let’s get to know the woman behind Sips of Whimsy.
How it started
Sara's actually owned a business before this one. Years ago she had a bath and body company, so entrepreneurship has always been something pulling at her heart, this need to create little things that make people smile or slow down for a moment.
Sips of Whimsy came out of a season where everything changed at once. She lost her job, moved back to Alabama, and started spending a lot more time with her grandma. Tea became part of her daily rhythm again, and it started reminding her of home, of slow mornings, of the women who raised her. Vintage has been in her blood just as long, she grew up around things with history, old dishes, her granddad's coin collection, her grandma's worn cookbooks. Eventually the two loves just found each other. She wanted every order to feel like opening a package from someone who loves you.
The moment it became a business instead of a hobby was when she realized other people were craving that same feeling too.
“So many of us are overwhelmed, rushing through life, and craving slower, softer moments. If I could help create even a few minutes of that for someone, I knew it was worth pursuing.”
Building it solo
For the most part, it's still just her. Every blend, every order, every handwritten note, every vintage hunt, every email, that's all Sara. Behind the scenes she works with an established commercial kitchen to master batch her teas, and she's intentional about sourcing ingredients ethically from farmers she trusts. She's also worked with her branding artist, Darra of Dear Darling Design Studio, who took the ideas in Sara's head and somehow turned them into art that just feels like whimsy.
As the business grows she'd love to bring people on, but she wants to protect that handmade, personal feeling Sips of Whimsy was built on the whole way there.
Where this goes
Ask her where this is headed in five or ten years and she lights up (yes, I could feel her sweet energy through my phone). She dreams of Sips of Whimsy becoming a place people just think of when they need comfort, whether that's tea, vintage finds, or a little encouragement. Seasonal collections people look forward to every year. Nostalgic recipe books. Community gatherings built around actually connecting with each other.
One of her biggest dreams is a cozy little apothecary storefront someday, loose leaf tea and vintage treasures and books and fresh flowers and baked goods, every little thing that makes life feel magical. Ah, does that not sound dreamy? She'd love to bring back bath and body too, closing the loop on where this all started for her. But more than any of it, she hopes that no matter how big it gets, people keep describing it the same way they do now. That it feels like coming home.
What a cup of tea means to her
To her, a cup of tea feels like home. She thinks of being wrapped in a hug from her mom or her grandma, sitting around a kitchen table, conversations that went on for hours, something sweet baking in the oven, nobody in a rush to be anywhere.
“Tea has always represented comfort, connection, and the people I love most. It reminds me of simpler times and the little moments that often become our favorite memories.”
She loves coffee too (she almost always starts her morning with a fresh pot from her beloved 1970s coffee maker, one of her favorite vintage treasures), but tea holds a different place in her heart. It's what she reaches for when she wants to slow down.
Her grandma, the original tea lady
Sara's grandma is really the heart behind everything she does. She's always kept a beautiful garden, herbs and flowers and fruits and vegetables, and some of Sara's favorite childhood memories happened right there or in her grandma's kitchen.
Every single morning and every single evening, her grandma drinks what eventually became Sara's blend Lemonade Daydream, just lemon, ginger, and honey. It's her little ode to her.
“She never formally taught me how to blend tea, but she taught me something much more important, how food and drinks and simple acts of care can make someone feel deeply loved. That's the feeling I hope every blend carries.”
The vintage hunt
She's honest that she probably goes vintage hunting more often than she should. Antique stores, estate sales, thrift stores, roadside shops, whenever she gets the chance. If something makes her smile and she knows she'd regret leaving it behind, it's coming home with her.
That clip of Denzel Washington saying, "I'm leaving here with something," pretty much sums it up for me.
Deciding what to actually keep is the hardest part, but she loves knowing the pieces she sells get a whole new life somewhere else, becoming part of someone else's new memories and traditions.
Where to find her
Right now she sells mostly online, though she's starting to explore wholesale because she loves the idea of Sips of Whimsy sitting on shelves in boutiques around the country. She's done a handful of local markets too, and says there's nothing like watching someone's face light up over their first sip, or hearing them say it reminds them of their grandma.
What whimsy actually means
I had to ask her the question that started this whole feature in my head. What does whimsy even mean, to someone who's built an entire business on the word.
“Whimsy is really found in the little glimmer moments throughout the day. It's choosing to notice the beauty that's already around you instead of waiting for a special occasion to show up. It's using the pretty dishes instead of saving them for someday. Buying yourself flowers from the grocery store just because. Life doesn't have to be extravagant to be magical.”
What keeps her going
The people. Every message from someone saying one of her teas got them through a hard week, or reminded them of their grandma, or just became part of their morning, that's what reminds her why she started. Those moments mean more to her than any sales number ever could.
Of course, I had to get to know what she listens to on her way to hunt for vintage pieces or while she’s sipping tea.
Her playlist is a little bit of everything, Aretha Franklin, Norah Jones, Tracy Chapman, Etta James, Fleetwood Mac, India.Arie, Mon Rovîa, Solange, Beyoncé, Enya, Maverick City Music, Olivia Dean.
She left me with this. She thinks we're all looking for a little more softness these days, and her hope is that Sips of Whimsy reminds people they don't have to wait for a special occasion to enjoy their life.
Sara, the honor was mine. Go follow her, go get her tea, go find your own glimmer moment today.
