Hillbilly Tea, Louisville, KY

“Y’all come on by for a jar of tea”

by Carrie Daut | July 13, 2011

Nothing says “the South” like an ice cold sweet tea, and nothing says “honey, you’re really in the South” like an ice cold sweet tea served in a Mason jar.

Folks, welcome to Hillbilly Tea.

Hillbilly Tea, located in downtown Louisville, is a quirky-and-cozy tea café serving up “our own brand of fresh crop organic teas and Appalachian cuisine.” Since early 2010, they have served as the city’s trendy weekday lunch spot, and only on the weekends do they also open for breakfast and dinner.

When you first sit down, grab a drink. Choose from Hillbilly Tea’s more than 20 different flavors of hot tea, or ask your server to recite the cold tea flavors (they change daily). Either way, you’ll have to choose your size: pint, quart or bottomless Mason jar of tea. Or, opt for a soda instead. They serve housemade lavender, sassafras and hibiscus sodas, as well as Ale-8-One—the only soft drink born and bred in Kentucky.

For your meal, see what the current menu has to offer. (Insider Tip: The menu changes seasonally. If you’re looking for a special item, check their online menu before going.) The menu is divided into choices “from the kettle” (soups), “from the creek” (fish), “from the field” (salads) and “from the pit” (barbeque), and no lunch entrée costs more than $10.

Some of their best mountain-inspired foods include: poached eggs on a buttermilk biscuit topped with forest mushroom gravy, Appalachian cold noodle salad with roasted veggies and smoked chicken, and moonshine pork chops with bourbon cream sauce. The menu denotes various vegetarian and vegan options and also provides a list of all the local farms with which Hillbilly Tea partners.

When your server drops your check off in an old-fashioned wooden clothespin (the same kind that earlier held your napkin and silverware together), just pinch your payment right inside the clothespin. Then slurp down the last bit of tea from your Mason jar, and think about what you’ll be ordering next time.

Hillbilly Tea is located at 120 South 1^st Street, between Main and Market Streets. Their current summer hours are Monday–Thursday from 11 a.m.–5 p.m., Friday–Sunday from 9 a.m.–9 p.m. They can be reached at (502) 587-7350.