Nashville’s chai game runs deeper than you’d expect from a city known for bourbon and black coffee. The place to understand this is The Horn, a Somali-run shop with multiple Nashville locations that has built its entire identity around homemade chai. The Infatuation put it plainly: people who go to The Horn swear by it. The chai is made in-house, served alongside six varieties of sambusas, and the combination of East African food culture and Middle Tennessee coffee shop has made it one of the most distinctive spots in the city. If you’re ordering chai anywhere in Nashville for the first time, this is where you start.
For straight chai latte quality in a traditional coffee shop setting, 8th & Roast has accumulated a consistent track record. Multiple reviewers on TripAdvisor have specifically singled out their chai as the best they’ve encountered in Nashville, and the shop’s general obsession with craft preparation carries through to its non-espresso drinks. The Charlotte Avenue location has the most space and is easiest to settle into.
Fido in Hillsboro Village has its own loyal chai following. It’s a Bongo Java sister location, which means it operates on the oldest coffee DNA in the city. Reviews going back years describe the chai latte there as exceptional, and the expansive space makes it one of the easier places to actually linger over a cup without feeling rushed out.
The chai-forward shops worth knowing
Portland Brew in 12 South has been specifically called out for its chai tea latte as a defining item, not just a sidebar on an espresso menu. The Zucchini muffin and the chai together have become a go-to pairing for regulars there.
Humphreys Street (two Nashville locations, Wedgewood-Houston and Broadway) leans heavily into spiced drink territory. Their Sunny Hunny, which combines honey, almond, and cardamom into an iced coffee format, sits in the same flavor neighborhood as chai and is worth trying alongside their actual chai offering.
For something outside the coffee shop format entirely, TashTea Cafe on Mt. View Road offers Kurdish and Turkish coffee and tea alongside a full Somali-influenced food menu including menemen, pogaça, and family-style spreads. The Zanzibar chai here is distinct from any version you’ll find elsewhere in Nashville.
Ethio Coffee House on Murfreesboro Pike is a family-owned spot serving Ethiopian breakfast fare with standout coffee and chai. The chai tradition here comes from a different regional lineage than the Indian-influenced versions most Nashvillians encounter at specialty shops, and it’s worth the drive to Antioch to try it.
Local tea rooms
For a sit-down afternoon tea experience, The Southern Tea Room and Tea Rose lead the Yelp rankings for Nashville’s dedicated tea rooms. These operate in a different category from coffee-plus-chai shops, with full service, finger sandwiches, and loose-leaf menus.
Potluck Teahouse and Teavine are neighborhood options with strong tea selections for anyone who’d rather skip the espresso menu entirely.
The local chai brand
Madchai is a Nashville-made small-batch handcrafted chai concentrate sold at select locations around the city. The producer has explicitly stated they have no plans to ship, so finding it requires actually being in Nashville. It shows up at a handful of local cafes and shops, and it’s the kind of product that ends up in locals’ refrigerators as a permanent fixture.
The Horn’s locations, 8th & Roast’s three Nashville shops, and Fido are the three places most consistently cited for chai worth seeking out. If tea is the priority over chai specifically, the dedicated tea rooms offer a more curated experience than any coffee shop will.
Sources
- The Infatuation, “The 17 Best Coffee Shops in Nashville” (May 2025)
- TripAdvisor reviews, 8th & Roast Nashville
- TripAdvisor reviews, Fido Nashville
- Yelp, “Top 10 Chai Tea in Nashville, TN” (September 2025)
- Yelp, “Best Tea Rooms in Nashville, TN” (February 2026)
- NASHtoday/6AM City, “Your Guide to Nashville’s Coffee Shops” (January 2026)
- do615.com, “Best Nashville Coffee Shops”
- madchainashville.com