This week we’re sitting down with Taylor Froding, a community builder and founder of Tay’s Teas. Taylor finds passion in bringing people together to celebrate flavor, intention and creativity. Her personal journey to find inspiration and purpose led her to The New Bar, where she can explore flavors and practice imagination while nurturing herself and finding balance.
Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
I work full time as a Community Manager and in my free time I really enjoy doing herbal tea blending classes and events. Tay’s Teas started out as a way for me to bring people together that's very wholesome and grounding, and to express ourselves through either how the herbs make us feel or how they taste. It started as me looking for ways to feel good throughout my daily life without alcohol. I decided to be sober for three months. I'm not sober right now, but I wanted to do a cleanse and I really lean on my herbs and other nonalcoholic options - It's a way for me to express myself. I started out doing little picnics that were open to the community, anyone could show up and then teas and herbs came to my mind because I was already doing it and I wanted to share it with others - I'm excited to see where it goes.
How did The New Bar come into play in your journey?
I was really drawn to The New Bar because it's a one-stop shop for everything. It’s so much better to go to one location and have so many options, that it just made it more streamlined for me. I feel like nowadays, people are kind of leaning on sobriety more and finding ways to still be social while having a beverage that might have adaptogens and something that uplifts them.
Could you tell us a bit about the photos that you’ve captured and shared with us?
I started by capturing the shopping process and then I immediately got to work creating a mocktail with the Optimist Botanicals Bright. I was really into that one because it has lemon, jasmine and lavender, so there was a lot to play with. I photographed that in Tay’s Teas style, with a little wicker basket and then I wrote it down on a piece of paper. I called it “I Am Uplifted” because I feel like this drink makes you feel uplifted with the fresh lemon, but also makes you feel grounded with the lavender. I feel like it’s a nice way to start the evening.
How does your creativity come to life when you're crafting nonalcoholic drinks?
It's all about flavor for me; I look and see what I'm working with, like with Optimist Bright I used cucumber and thought that would pair nicely with it. It's really just all about flavor and experimenting with what might taste good together. But for tea, it's a little different, not just flavor, but also I make sure that the benefits kind of all make sense together. A lot of times I focus on reducing anxiety, so I wouldn't pair an anxiety calming herb with an invigorating herb because that would be very contradictory.
How has The New Bar and the nonalcoholic category as a whole has impacted you?
I feel like it's really given me the option to still socialize if I don't feel like drinking, because I am a social person but there was an aspect of me feeling a little bit weird if I wasn't drinking or having a cocktail. If I'm going over to a friend's house and they're having wine, I will bring my favorite is Kin Euphorics - that is my absolute bread and butter.
It made me feel calm while having conversations with people that I maybe wouldn't have felt comfortable talking to you before. There are so many options with adaptogens that help me feel confident, and I don't wake up the next morning dehydrated, anxious or with a headache. As I get older, I really want to take care of my body and it's all about balance. I'll still have a glass of wine from time to time, but I like the option to go to The New Bar and pick out some stuff for my weekend. When you're too hard on yourself about goals, it just becomes unrealistic so follow your gut. Don't drink if you don’t want to - it's just all about doing what feels good.
