Nashville Tea Company

(Couldn’t get a picture to load as I added this tea, but there’s only a picture of the label on the website anyway.)

I always associate chai with fall and winter weather, but Nashville Tea Company has brightened and lightened their blend to make it spring-appropriate. Cinnamon first, then the lemongrass, then the remaining spices. It takes a very long and neglectful steep quite well, and is a nice warmer-upper on a rainy morning.

You know when you’re about two teaspoons away from a sipdown and all the good bits that gave it the flavor are about gone, but you can’t stand to waste perfectly good tea? Yeah, we’re there. This is mostly just roo now, with maybe a hint of vanilla. The last cuppa is going to need some serious doctoring.

This’ll get the check mark for “caramel” on this month’s list. It’s a light caramel, but it is the butter-iest vanilla rooibos I think I’ve ever tried. Creamy and extremely agreeable.

This is one that’s been in the “whaddya waitin’ for?” queue since it arrived at Christmas. I could not bring myself to use an entire tablespoon of leaf (mostly rooibos with a few leafy petals scattered about) as recommended, but that was for a 12 ounce mug; my Shakespearean insult mug is, eh, ten-ish, so I settled for two generous teaspoons.

I’m not sure there’s a lot you can do with a bourbon vanilla other than make it taste like vanilla, but the “caramel finish” touted in the proprietor’s description is coming across more like buttery pastry. Not a tit-for-tat substitute for a sweet roll or honey bun I am currently craving, but it fills the gap a little.

Tea that reminds me of a best friend, especially since she thoughtfully sent it to me. I’m nearing the end of the little packet and have enjoyed each cup thoroughly, especially since I figured out that the label-recommended proportion of leaf to water is too strong (tablespoon to 12 ounces—way too much).

When you back that off, it’s a light and lovely black tea that leads with sweet blackberry and just enough maple to provide a little contrast—not enough to make it taste like IHOP syrup. Today, I ended up playing half-and-halfsies with the rest of my morning tumbler and half a Sonic iced tea, and had a lovely chilled drink in the afternoon.

As to the friendship, it’s sweeter than the tea—one of those that can withstand inconvenient distances and long pauses and you can just pick up the conversation right from where you left off—mid sentence, even. Her birthday’s Saturday, so if you see Rhonda, tell her I said hey :)

I’m missing some dear friends from Tennessee this morning; been way too long since we were able to sit down and sip together, so I’m raising a long-distance Nashville Tea cuppa in their honor. This is a nice blackberry maple blend; better when you go easier on the leaf than the label recommends (1 tablespoon to 12 oz was a little too strong). I would swear I’m tasting a little coconut, too, but it isn’t on the ingredient list…must be the “brittle pieces.”

This is the second sample from the Nashville Tea trio sent by my Tennessee friend. It isn’t complex, but it delivers as advertised. Blackberry and maple, both natural tasting and smooth. The recommended leaf ratio was a full tablespoon to a 12-oz mug, and I think may have been a little heavy…it started to get a little bitter as it cooled. Fortunately, that only accounted for a couple of sips. I liked it so well it didn’t last long!

This tea just keeps going and going: I think I liked the second steep of this blend better than the first. With the edge off the tart cranberry and hibiscus, the caramel and pomegranate elements stepped up front, nearly as strong as the original cup; no sweetener needed.

Third time’s a charm—I added a bag of Twinings Winter Spice, and the apple from the Twinings just added to the fruity goodness.

Wonder if I can eke a fourth out of this.

Although my kids’ curriculum writing gigs have led me (pre-plague) to Nashville at least once a year, I had never heard about Nashville Tea…until my best TN buddy sent me a thoughtful little variety pack and advised me that it’s actually based in Columbia TN, where she lives. All the more reason to return!

This reminds me of some kind of hot, wassail-y, deep-dish spiced berry dessert you’d serve on the Christmas buffet table. The “caramelized” essence given in the description is what you smell first, the cranberry and pomegranate are what you taste first, with one spoonful of rock sugar to tamp down the tartness, it still has a lot of liveliness and sparkle from the remaining ingredients (orange zest, anise, a little hibiscus among others).

Tea and Cocoa Day rundown: for my little tribe that was brave enough to sample what I brought, English Tea Store Ginger Peach was a winner, Bigelow Sweetheart Cinnamon not too far behind, and this year’s sixth grade lapsang souchong descriptor was “tastes like barbecue!” Two liked it straight up (one “sort of;” one definitely) and Taste Tester #3 said it was awesome with sugar.