Purity: How I fell in love with the brand.

When I first moved to Nashville, I never even noticed Purity milk. I thought it was orange juice because it was packaged in a yellow jug. I'm not sure who finally explained this to me but I am forever thankful. I purchased my first gallon of Purity in 2003. I have always been a whole milk fan but this was the thickest, creamiest milk I had ever tasted. Yum! (I can hear the skim folks gagging now).

For as long as I can remember, I have always had a glass of chocolate milk every morning. Back in 2003, I was still mixing my chocolate milk by hand using Nestle and Purity Vitamin D Milk. On one fateful morning we were out of milk so I purchased a single-serve chocolate milk on my way to work. Oh. My. Goodness! I've never purchased any other chocolate milk since. I am all about supporting local business but this was the best milk ever!

For many years, Purity had home delivery service. Yours truly was a loyal customer. Seriously, I can't even begin to tell you how much I love their milk. When I go out of town, the #1 thing I miss is my precious Purity Chocolate Milk. No kidding. It's like my coffee every morning. If I don't have it, I am one cranky girl.

This past summer, a friend and I took our daughters on a tour of the Purity plant. I think I was more excited than Skylar!

Here are some fun facts about Purity.

• The Purity plant has been in the same location on Murfreesboro Rd. in Nashville since 1945 (that's 65 years).
• They rennovated the industry in 1956 by adding refrigerated tanks to their trucks.
• The yellow carton was born in 1983. This protects the milk from UV lights, which gives it a longer shelf life.
• Milk arrives and leaves the dairy in less than 24 hours. Therefore, they have the freshest milk on the shelf.
• In 2006, my beloved chocolate milk won the award for WOLRD'S BEST (not that I had any doubt)!
• They currently sell over 100 products in Tennessee, Alabama and Kentucky.

Tours of the plant are conducted daily and they are FREE! The tour concludes with an ice cream party, goody bags and coupons! Contact Peggy Gaw at 615.760.220 (ext 73314) to schedule you tour.

Here's another funny story about me and Purity. When I was 9 months pregnant (and miserable) I had a friend drive me to an appointment because my feet were terribly swollen and painful. I had been on bed rest and unable to go to the grocery store. Did I mention how miserable I was? I asked if we could PLEASE stop and get some milk on the way. I made sure to specify that I wanted Purity with the red top (that's the fully leaded version). She happily abliged me but returned with white milk. Her version of the story is that I looked 100% brokenhearted as I choked out... "I forgot to say chocolate, didn't I?" We have laughed about that poor little statement many times. After my daughter's birth I came home to a fridge FULL of Purity Chocolate Milk. I was beyond thrilled! (Thanks Jackee!)

Are there any other hard-core Purity fans out there?