Our Story
Sweet Tea is a dynamic company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The founder is a 2nd generation Ethiopian immigrant, who grew up in a small town in Georgia. The company was inspired by her personal experiences navigating two distinctly different worlds, being Ethiopian and American.
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Sweet Tea is a celebration of African legacy, self-discovery, self-love and evolution.
Meet The Founder
Sarah Dubale
Our founder is a creative and dynamic person who grew up navigating life in an immigrant family in the deep South. Her parents divorced when she was very young and her mother raised her and her brother in a small town in Georgia. She idolized her mother and loved their daily tea time, especially when her mom made Ethiopian Shai and played cassette tapes of Ethiopian music from the 70s.
For most of her childhood, Sarah and her family were the only Africans living in the town and as much as she tried to fit in, she never felt like she truly belonged. When she visited other Ethiopians, she also did not feel completely accepted, because she did not know the native language. This made her feel isolated and ashamed. During college, Sarah gained confidence in who she was and began to embrace what made her unique.
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Although, she was a creative at heart, she went to law school to make her family proud and to create a better life. Law school tested her in every way possible and she left after her first year. Soon after, her mother unexpectedly passed away.
Two characteristics her mom embodied were perseverance and dedication. Sarah admired her mom's strength and decided to go back to law school to "conquer" it. This time would be different; she was going back for herself and to prove to herself that she had the strength to succeed. After three years, she graduated law school and passed the Bar examination on her first attempt. Over the course of the next 10 years, Sarah practiced immigration law where she helped unite families, traveled the world, got married, and had two children.
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In 2023, Sarah decided to take a leap of faith and allow herself space to take a creative risk by launching Culture Sweet Tea. The company pays tribute to the stories of her mother and many people who move away from their homeland in the hopes of a better future. We also pay tribute to people, like Sarah, who are of blended cultures, learning and embracing what makes them unique. We hope to inspire people to live authentically and create a world of appreciation, love, honor, and growth.