Why I Created Sips Tea

I’m a Black African British Woman who, by various societal definitions, has never been Black enough, never African enough, never British enough and never the right kind of Woman.  

I was raised in England, South Africa and Zimbabwe and throughout my life I’ve always been told what it means to be those things while seemingly never reaching that standard. 

Growing up internationally I often felt like the odd one out and over time, the discomfort of being Other taught me to tailor and minimise parts of my identity when in certain company. 

I shrunk myself until one day it occurred to me that despite having never been Black, African, British or Woman enough I was somehow always Black enough for racism, Woman enough for sexism and just foreign enough for a sprinkling of xenophobia. 

I shrunk myself until the day I finally realised that if I’m enough for the negativity then I’m enough for the flip side too.  

I am Black enough for Excellence, I am Woman enough for Divine Femininity and I am African and British enough for the acceptance and belonging.  

That’s the tea, simple as that.  

Sips Tea is about me finally realising my Blackness and my Womanhood, embracing my African heritage and understanding my British surroundings, while acknowledging that the next Black African British Woman may have a completely different understanding of her identity and experiences to mine. And that’s okay because we're not all the same.   

Forget societal definitions. You claim it, you define it for yourself.  

But, Sips Tea is not just about my realisations, it’s about yours too. I want to encourage you to speak your truth, unfiltered and unapologetically. And I invite you to join me in building our own tribe, creating a space in which we can all exist freely as our most authentic selves.  

Race, sexuality, culture and more - you name it, we’ll talk about it all. Nothing is off limits. So stick around. We’re only at the beginning.  

Oh, and remember, your truth is the tea so spill it!