Hillbilly Tea

I never would have associated drinking tea with backwoods country folk.

Well, maybe super sweet iced-tea, but not "artisan", organic, free-trade tea.

Leave it up to Kentucky to change my mind.

Right in the middle of downtown Louisville is a cafe called "Hillbilly Tea". Obviously, the place is famous for its selection of tea, both hot and cold. But Hillbilly Tea also serves breakfast on the weekends, lunch and dinner.

I found the restaurant during a bout of intense research into the local food culture in the city, and I wouldn't let it go. Every day, I bothered my friends about eating there. I don't think they were ever against the idea, but I am sure I annoyed the hell out of them talking about it.

Unfortunately, we only had an hour lunch break to visit the restaurant.

Although I would have liked to try the iced tea, which they had three varieties of, the day we visited was cold so I stuck to hot "gunpowder" matcha green tea. It came out in a mason jar, steaming hot. It took at least 10 minutes for it to cool down before I even tasted it. I like the mason jar thing; it is cute and allows for a huge portion.

Honestly, I have to say, it wasn't the best tea I have ever had. I was expecting, maybe foolishly, something extraordinary, and what I got was just plain old green tea. I regret not trying something else.

The lunch is served a-la-cart and the menu changes periodically.


I had the lunch special of the day, which was a "box lunch" of a chicken pot-pie, a small salad of bibb lettuce and pumpkin soup. The presentation was clever; the three items were served in a flat wooden crate.

Both the pot-pie and the soup were really good. The salad, I could have passed on. The dressing was some kind of weird corn salsa that just didn't really go with the lettuce.

My friend, Raven, tried the bison steak that was served with two small segments of grilled corn, and au jus. The portions are very small. I think we realized too late that you were supposed to order a couple items to make up a meal. My lunch was a fair enough portion, but the steak was tiny.



I really wish we had more time in Hillbilly Tea: time to sit and enjoy my tea, after it finally cooled off, time to eat several different dishes and time for dessert. The menu is full of unique items like roadkill stew, fried frog legs and Earl Grey scented chocolate cake.

After such anticipation, I let myself down by not sampling more of what Hillbilly Tea had to offer. If only I was in Louisville on my own time....

To check out Hillbilly Tea on your own you can visit their website (or fly to Louisville)

http://www.hillbillytea.com/hillbillyteacom.html

Tea-rrific

So I figured since I blogged about my love of coffee already and forgot to include his sidekick, tea, that maybe I shouldn't ignore the poor fella.

Although on most days I would choose coffee over tea, it definitely has its place. Most of that decision probably has to do with a lack of sleep anyways.

Tea, glorious tea. The many ways you present yourself keep me forever interested, which can be a hard thing to accomplish. Black tea with lemon? Sure. Earl Grey with cream? Bring it on. Chai tea? The more exotic the better.

Lately, I have had a "tea fetish" for somewhat out of the ordinary varieties. First came my affair with green tea, more particularly Matcha powder. This powder form of green tea is used in Japanese tea ceremonies and in about a thousand other things in Japan.

I love the versatility of Matcha. Not only does it make fabulous hot and cold tea and lattes, but it can be added to just about anything to give it a subtle green tea flavor and beautiful color.

I was first introduced to this delicious, and somewhat expensive variety of tea quite a few years ago, but somehow it faded out of my life until I recently rediscovered it. Now that we have been reunited, I will never let it out of my sight again. :)

My latest love affair, however, originates from another country entirely: Thailand. I fell quickly for the richly sweet, orange-colored, milk-laced tea called Cha yem. I first encountered the tea in a Thai restaurant and I just couldn't get enough.

Cha yem is extremely addicting, which is evident by the fact that people in Thailand actually walk around sipping this stuff out of a plastic bag: dialysis for tea addicts.

Seriously though, Thai tea is like the crack of non-alcoholic drinks. I am so in love with this stuff I find myself trying inhale the scent of the tea from the empty glass after I finish my drink. If you haven't tried it I definitely recommend you go down to the closest Thai restaurant and order the tea either hot or cold; both ways are satisfying. Be forewarned though, you might be visiting that restaurant a lot more often now.

I became so enamored with this stuff that I ended up ordering the real deal, straight from Thailand. Now I can brew my own Cha yem at home whenever I get the craving. Life is sweet: literally.

So, whether it is good old fashioned southern-style and sweet, or Oolong straight out of China, hot or cold, I am always up for a glass of tea.