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Sweet Tea
Just Add Honey lets Atlantans bond over a cup
LOOSE LEAF TEAS
C0FFEE& DESSERTS
•nuu'-
By Grace Huseth
Brandi Shelton
orders 100 pounds of
chamomile at a time.
When you produce,
and drink, as much
tea as she does, it’s a
necessity to have a
good stock.
Shelton is founder
and owner of Just Add
Honey, a tea company
at Sweet Auburn Curb
Market celebrating two
years this February.
Over the years, the tea lady has blended enough tea for all of Atlanta to bond over a cup.
Shelton drinks two or three cups of Holy Basil every morning, using her own blend, which
includes ginger, peppermint, cinnamon and black pepper. “It allows me to read the Bible or
meditate and gives me a quiet moment,” Shelton said. “You can create a mood, or feeling, with
a cup of tea.”
Just Add Honeys cafe is the first stop before the expanse of the bustling market. They greet
visitors with small samples in the shops doorway to draw them into the world of tea. The walls
of the cafe are dedicated to drinking tea — from fun facts about the health benefits of certain
varieties to steeping instructions for just the right cup. Plus, every tea blend at Just Add Honey
is made with natural flavors that can be traced back to family-owned farms.
“So many people want to know where their food comes from, but then they drink a Diet
Coke. We want to let you know and educate you on exactly where your cup comes from,”
Shelton said.
The shop’s spot in Sweet Auburn Curb Market has allowed Shelton to interact with many
different customers, whether they’re Grady Hospital doctors replacing former coffee addictions
with a cup of yerba mate or Georgia State University law students seeking to escape the library.
For years, Shelton preferred the flexibility of festivals and tea expos, but now can’t imagine life
without the cafe. “The connection that the retail cafe gave us was something I didn’t anticipate
and now I love it,” she said.
When Shelton lost her mother to breast cancer in 2005, she wanted to create a tribute to
her memory and thus created Just Add Honey. The initial logo for the company was designed
using the elegant script her mother, Jean, used to sign her name. Brandi has kept her mother’s
signature style and love for entertaining alive with springtime parties served with full tea sets
and linen napkins to echo her mother’s motto “paper is for picnics.”
Touches of Jean’s flair can be seen around Just Add Honey. Shelton applied her fashion
design and marketing degree and background in designing movie sets to decorate the teashop.
Glass walls are decorated with bright orange and yellow honeycombs. A large blackboard at the
front announces seasonal teas in calligraphy. Shelves are filled different blends of tea sorted by
type: herbal and fruit teas, green and white teas, and black teas. There are also simple but sweet
teapots, French presses and teaspoon infusers to be found.
Shelton has a full “TEAm” of about a dozen employees. Some steep tea for customers at the
shop, while others manage a commercial kitchen in Tucker to keep up with all the ways Just
Add Honey distributes tea, including monthly subscription boxes. Coffee shops and restaurants
that also stock Just Like Honey include Inman Perk, Grant Park Coffeehouse, Hodgepodge
Coffeehouse, The Beehive, the Piedmont Park and Peachtree Center farmer’s markets, Ladybird
and Wrecking Bar.
For more information, visit justaddhoney.net. DU
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January 2018 I iNtown 29