Where: Nashville, Tennessee Style: Craftsman bungalow with whimsy Tea Selection: 12+ loose leaf teas by High Garden Teatimes: Wednesday to Sunday, 10 or 1 Reservations: 48-hour notice Contact:Reserve here or 615-942-9125 Cost: $50 Cottage Tea Destination Tea Tip: Leave time to browse four rooms of gifts, from locally made treasures to plants and boutique clothing.
Destination Tea Notes: Fittingly situated in the eastside Nashville neighborhood that calls itself Hip Donelson, Troll House Cottage was launched in 2022 by a creatively gifted father-daughter duo. While chef Victoria Johnston bakes up homemade sweets in the kitchen, interior designer Damon Johnston has transformed the oldest house in the county into a magical woodland cottage. They tell you up front that this afternoon tea service is unconventional, dubbing the menu a “Cottage Tea” that swaps out the customary scone course for traditional Southern biscuits. This isn’t the time to be set in your afternoon tea ways, but rather to appreciate the emphasis on freshly made, locally sourced goodies and playful, yummy treats. Of the cottage’s five rooms, just two have bistro tables tucked amongst the artfully displayed handmade gifts and vintage finds, but there’s no need to worry about securing a teatime. This summer, Troll House Cottage extended their original Sunday tea service to four additional days a week.
Two or three guests can sit around these bistro tables. Damon accommodated our party of five by pushing two tables together in the cottage’s most spacious room.
We loved the palette and patterns in this front room where you’ll first choose your tea by the checkout counter. Cozy and casual window seating is also set for tea.
Tea Selection
We were grateful for the introduction to High Garden Teas, especially after learning about the ethos behind this heirloom herbal and tea business: “We do not fund practices that damage the land we so dearly love…It is not our mission to just sell you a package of tea. It is our mission to re-familiarize you with the plant wisdom you instinctually hold and encourage curiosity to learn more if you wish. Every person reconnecting to nature is another protecting the wellbeing of our shared home.”
Guests are invited to smell the teas on offer, and are aided in choosing their tea by the detailed labels on each mason jar.
Spotted a gorgeous teacup
This is the part of the experience we think could be improved: to prepare the tea, each guest is given a paper tea filter of their selected tea leaves, and the table a teapot of hot water. While a generous amount of loose leaf tea is provided, the teapot water quickly cools, resulting in improper steeping and weakened flavors. To save the removed tea leaves for a second infusion (they did kindly supply fresh pots of hot water later in the meal), it would be useful to have a small dish on the table.
To conserve space on the table, we would suggest individual 2-cup teapots (with infuser baskets if the kitchen doesn’t have space for a tea brewing/decanting operation), to allow each tea to be brewed at the proper temperature, and for the tea leaves to open fully. Or to continue using their beautiful vintage teapots, ideally teas are steeped and decanted in back, then perhaps serve one tea at the meal’s start and a second choice midway through.
Savories and Sweets
The savory course in this all-homemade menu was our favorite. Though the two savories were happily served in double portions, at this price, we’d appreciate one additional savory or sweet item.
We tried not to scarf these down too quickly: Homemade Pimiento Cheese on Pumpernickel and Goat Cheese Spinach and Shrimp Deviled Eggs. Delicious!
Troll House Cottage’s soft and buttery Southern baked biscuits can be spread with with chocolate gravy and hot pepper raspberry jam. We loved the touch of these delicate swan pots.
Double portions of Lemon Blueberry Cake grace the top tier. Here again, we’d have loved to be offered instead one each of two desserts to explore more of Victoria’s baking.
For the kid at heart, Fruity Pebble Rice Krispie Treats with Blue Raspberry Pop Rocks – definitely a first for us at afternoon tea :). This is part of the fun of this Cottage Tea: you never know what whimsical concoctions Victoria may dream up.
One of the larger gift shop rooms, stocked with a wonderful variety of unique finds.
We appreciated that Damon took a moment to tell us about the house, which he says is “pleasantly haunted” by two of the three “aunties” who lived here in 1927, at which time this log cabin out back served as a neighborhood schoolhouse.
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