Style Blueprint

Style Blueprint is a Nashville lifestyle blog with an impressive list of followers.  You can check out what they have to say about all things design, fashion, lifestyle related.  We were so thankful to have them review our teas and excited about how well received they were (review below).  Thank you Liza!


Partner's Tea Co. produces tea that is good to drink all year round. But with names like Love, Sweet Friend Blend and Goodnight Kiss, this tea might be the perfect addition to a Valentine's Day routine.
I grew up drinking tea with regularity. Blame it on my family's pride of arriving on American soil in the year 1634.  Yes, we're that type: the type that actually knows the day our ancestors hit this continent.  The type that keeps up family records and bestows upon our children names that have been engraved in silver and etched on tombstones for hundreds of years.  Hit the Eastern Shore of MD and see how many old grave sites have Mary Eliza (my christened name).  Cool to some, creepy to others.  The fun part of all this history, was the time spent over tea, as that is what has been done in my family since tea became mainstream in England, which was around the mid 17th century.  We all drank it the English way: cream and honey or sugar.  Sugar cubes have slowly been replaced by blue and pink packets.  The choices always included Earl Grey.  I did not become a fan of the iced variety until I moved to Nashville when I was 17.  Now, I love it all.  But, I just found a tea that eclipses all teas I have ever had - bold words to be sure, considering the background I just gave you!

Tea picking from a Fair Trade tea estate in North India.

I am completely thrilled to write today about Partner's Tea Co.  You may have heard of them since they did win Best Tea in the 2009 Nashville Scene poll.  I had heard of Partners but I was cruising along pretty happy with my Yogi teas.  Then, a little gift appeared on my front porch a couple weeks ago with a note "Share this tea with Mary Blake (my oldest daughter, now 11) on her birthday and enjoy!"  Well, we did and I was stunned- really, I'm not hyperbolizing here, STUNNED at how good my first taste of Goodnight Kiss was.  You can flavor with honey and cream, but I love it straight up.  Replace that late afternoon glass of wine with some Goodnight Kiss and see if you are not similarly relaxed while feeling more at peace.
Partner's Tea Company is a local Nashville company owned by Sarah Scarborough. The teas are organic and Fair Trade Teas.  Sarah has been working since 2001 with various Fair Trade tea companies all over the globe.  In fact, she set up Scarborough Fair in 2004 and this company is now the largest Fair Trade company in New Zealand and Australia, producing coffee, tea and chocolate.  I know, she's very impressive, isn't she?  Sarah is introducing tea to the States in a way where flavors shine, and ethics are held high.  A cup of tea helps your own health and nourishment while also supporting the health and nourishment of communities across the ocean in need.  I love win-win's. She also gives 1% of every purchase to organizations empowering women through education.  I mean, really, can this story get any better?  YES - if you add drinking tea to your daily life! To read more about how impressive Sarah is, and why we all should care about Fair Trade, click here.

Partner's Tea Co founder Sarah Scarborough

Isn't it great when a nice company is also the one producing the best? We think so too.
You can purchase your tea locally at Bread & Company, Davis Kidd, The Produce Place, Social Graces, Whole Foods and more.  Check out the website for a complete listing of locations and tea offerings.
And for our East Coast readers (we know you exist!), order online.  You need it with your 40+ inches of snow.
Love with a Good Night Kiss. Off to brew some more.  Let's hope 375 years from now that these teas are still available and that my family traditions will include Partner's Tea Company.
Tea Recipes:
Ok- I hear some of you still thinking that you can't give up that evening cocktail.  How about this: 1 cup Goodnight Kiss, brewed + 2 ounces Baileys Irish Creme Liqueur.  Yummmmm.
Want to make a special love potion #9 for Valentines Day? (or a bridal shower, wedding or anniversary!)  Here's how:
Love tea-tini

• 2 parts Love tea, brewed and iced
• 1 part fresh pomegranate juice
• 1 part organic vodka
• .5 parts Thatchers Organic Artisan Liqueurs Blood Orange Liqueur (or Cointreau or White Creme de Cacao)
• Shake with ice and sere with a piece of chocolate.
• Rim glass with cacao powder, if desired.

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Cooking with Teas

COOKING IDEAS to liven up your favorite recipes using Partners Tea Company teas

• Try cooking rice in jasmine tea (Midnight Moonlight) tea instead of water for use with curries

• Steep prunes in Pure Assam black tea and brandy.  Serve with whipped creme and honey.

• Use Pure Ceylon green tea instead of milk/ water in making ice cream, custard or baked goods for a subtle depth of flavor

• Pure Assam Black tea in marinades and with tahini (sesame paste) in noodle dishes. 

• Use Pure Assam Black tea for deglazing veggies, tofu, beef or chicken

• Popeye adds a slightly smoky flavor as well as ginger, lemon and mint to a Moroccan or Turkish chicken or fish marinade- add garlic, chili, sesame and lime.  Also, drizzle Popeye enhanced marinade over dish before serving.

• Goodnight Kiss replaces half the oil or milk in cake recipes, to make a rich, vanilla, mint chocolate cake.

• Zelda is used to flavor custards or pannacotta.  Replace part of the milk in any creme based dessert with Zelda.

• Sweet Friend Blend adds zest, flavor and color to a salad dressing.  Brew double strength and combine with lemon juice, olive oil, ginger, and salt for salads. 

These are only suggestions, so use your own imagination and creativity.

Tea is meant to add subtle flavor, not overwhelm the dish, use sparingly.

Tea is also used in cooking and baking. It can be used as a base for punch, cocktails, soups, stews, marinades, or sauces-adding color, flavor, and aroma (plus antioxidants and other nutrients).

It can replace liquids called for in recipes for soups, marinades, sauces, stews and cakes for added flavor and nutrition.

Photo: Cooking eggplant curry in Sri Lanka using coconut milk and green tea.  Black tea may be used as well.

Victoria Magazine

A passion for tea, traveling, and improving women's lives makes the perfect blend for entrepreneur, Sarah Scarborough.
For centuries, women have gained health and wisdom by engaging their senses and sharing their discoveries.  Through the founding of her Nashville, Tennessee-based fair trade teas business, Partners Tea Company, Sarah Scarborough has pursued the art of tea making with a variety of herb blends from around the world.
She mixes South African rooibos, an herb she says, 'preserves the youth and gladdens the heart', with raspberries, hibiscus, lemongrass and ginger or her signature "Sweet Friend Blend", created to promote health in pregnant and nursing mothers.  Because Sarah believes that empowering women is the key to alleviating global poverty, her company pays women of developing nations a better price for their herbs, while bringing tea lovers peace of mind, spirit and body.
Her interest in tea developed through her lifelong passion for travel, which enabled her to observe farming practices throughout the world.  This, in turn, has inspired her work in the field of sustainability for the last sixteen years.  "When I was a little girl growing up at my grandparents' summer house in Finland, we lived off the land" she recalls.  "Everything there seemed to be in balance and to me it all made sense."  For Sarah, creating and selling Fair Trade tea is a way of achieving balance between rich and poor, farmer and earth, and producer and consumer.

Outstaning in the Field

I had so much fun a few weeks ago at Jim Denevan's "Outstanging in the Field"! Martha Stamps of Martha Stamps catering has turned over a new leaf and dedicated her cooking entirely to organic, local and whole foods focused. It is because of her enthusiasm that Outstanidng in teh Field came to Nashville. She invited me to come along and serve teas. I made up a cordial with Sweet Friend Blend that I served over an Italian Prosecco to the 150 ish guests that night.

The event was such a celebration of ealized dreams- from matt and Alisom NealFor the last 10 years, Jim has been setting up moveable feasts mostly at farms, but also in other places- barns, museums, etc... across the US to discover local food systems and a sense of place. Being a part of this evening was so inspiring- it represented to me the realization of a dream. From Matt and Alison who have worked who knows how many hours to build their land into a viable farm and to produce food for many Nashville

Photo: Mark Boughton

Tea and food pairings

According to the Tea Council of the UK, the Academy of Food & Wine has discovered that by pairing certain teas with specific foods and in some cases wine, not only is the flavor of the food and wine enhanced, but the specific quality of the tea is highlighted.  Here are some combinations and suggestions to experiment with Partners Tea Company teas, but remember that, as Lu Yu said in the Chi Ching, “Goodness is for the mouth to decide”, so experiment with your own pairings!

Assam black tea- Lemon tarts, coconut, any sweet or baked good, spicy food, Indian food, as a chicken or steak marinade (with garlic, red chili, onion), anchovy.

Popeye- Seafood, especially sushi, Thai food,  as an after meal digestive, iced with lemon and or sugar, makes a great rum cocktail, barbeque.

Goodnight Kiss- As a desert tea with milk and honey, chocolate deserts, chocolate mint, Middle Eastern dishes, hummus, olives,  baklava, an after meal digestive. 

Sweet Friend Blend- Sushi, seafood, cinnamon, rich dark chocolate deserts, iced tea served with Mexican food, makes a great iced vodka cocktail.

Zelda- Vanilla and nut deserts, pecans, winter squash, in ice cream, shortbread, Sunday Brunch, apples.

Midnight Moonlight- Milk chocolate, chocolate cake, manchego cheese, any other sweet or nutty goats cheese, panna cotta and also in a sweet yogurt dressing for mixed melon salad, Sunday brunch, avocado, dim sum.

Ceylon Green- Prawns, Lemon or vanilla deserts, cooked fruit/ apples, raw veggies and anything with garlic, as a chicken or fish/ shrimp marinade with green chilis, green onions and ginger, lamb.