78ers Colour Changing Tea

A Legacy of Courage, Protest, and Pride

In 1978, a courageous group of LGBTQIA+ activists, now known as the '78ers', took to the streets of Sydney to protest the criminalisation and policing of queer lives in Australia. At the time, homosexuality was a crime in New South Wales, and queer people faced police brutality, surveillance, and systemic discrimination.

On the night of June 24, hundreds marched down Oxford Street in solidarity with global calls for liberation. Among them were Ron Austin who suggested the idea of street party, Robyn Kennedy a prominent advocate along with people from all intersections of the LGBTQIA+ communities.

What began as a peaceful protest was met with police violence. Fifty-three people were arrested and publicly outed, but their courage helped ignite a national movement which continues today as the Sydney Mardi Gras.

Rainbow Infusion was created in honour of the 78ers and all those who stood beside them. This colour-changing tea blend, made with butterfly pea flower, lemongrass, hibiscus, peppermint, lemon myrtle and rose petals, is a tribute to transformation, resistance, and queer joy.

With each cup, we invite you to reflect on the legacy of our queer and trans elders, those who risked everything so that we can live more freely today. Their courage wasn't just about protest; it was about imagining a world where pride, care, and community could thrive.

This tea is an invitation:

To pause.
To remember.
To celebrate the strength of our elders.
And to keep the movement brewing.