Nashville Food Blog

Partners Tea and Ecology are co-hosting a tasting of tea-infused martinis, a.k.a "tea-tinis," from 6 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 4. Partners Tea founder Sarah Scarborough will be on hand, shaking and stirring boozy beverages made with her signature tea blends.

"They are really good and (almost) good for you!" Scarborough says of her quirky cocktails. But it's tea that forms the cornerstone of her carbon neutral and socially responsible company. Scarborough started globe-trotting to gather fair trade teas in 2001. This fall she consolidated her businesses, including Scarborough Fair and Fair Trade Teas, under the Partners brand when she returned home to Nashville.

In addition to offering tea tours, classes and tastings, Scarborough markets seven teas--sold in packets of 12 sachets--through Bread & Co. and Frothy Monkey. The Partners Tea line includes two origin teas--Assam and Ceylon--and five funky blends--Popeye (green tea with Goji berries and yerba mate), Sweet Friend (caffeine-free raspberry, ginger and lemongrass), Zelda (Earl Gray, jasmine and rose petals), Midnight Moonlight (white tea, melon and jasmine) and Good Night Kiss (vanilla Rooibos, cacao and mint).

The recipes for tea-tinis emerged this year at Bonnaroo, where Scarborough hosted a tea bar in one of the artists' lounges. She mixed iced Sweet Friend tea with lemonade and vodka and iced Popeye tea with limeade and rum. Voila, tea-tinis were born.

Both recipes will be available on Thursday at Ecology, located at 4009 Hillsboro Road. The party is free and open to the public.