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Local specialty coffee chain Intelligentsia offers drinks made from Kilogram Tea. Pick from English breakfast, Earl Grey, and jasmine green teas, in addition to matcha drinks and steamed or iced chai. Order the drinks to go or take advantage of the free WiFi and patio space. This hip space in Bucktown is turning the traditional notion of afternoon tea on its head—or at least the picture you’ve likely got of it in your mind. Everything, from the wares that will best suit a particular tea’s steeping to the temperature needed for the water, is handled with care, with plenty of room for questions along the way. You’ll be privy to offerings even beyond Hugo’s extensive menu, and the space is casual and low-key, making it accessible to all—even on a sweats and zip-up kinda’ day.
Backlot Coffee
And for those keen on unique tea-based beverages, pop in to try the lavender-imbued matcha, sweetened with house-made lavender syrup. There’s also the housemade chai concentrate combined with chai spice-infused steamed milk — for an extra rush make it “dirty” with a double shot of espresso. While Chicago counts as one of the country’s strongest coffee scenes, the great work of local tea sellers — like Rare Tea Cellar, Spirit Tea, and Kilogram from Intelligentsia — is transforming the city’s tea culture and expanding its horizons, too. Beyond trendy drinks like chai lattes, Chicago is experiencing a swell in establishments serving properly-brewed teas, wherein the temperature of the water is taken into consideration, along with the brewing method, and the ratio of leaves to water. Head to the ground floor of Soho House Chicago to enjoy a selection of Rish Teas like Blueberry Hibiscus, Yuzu Peach and Ginger.
Best Afternoon Tea Chicago Has To Offer
This beautiful hotel changes its high tea selections seasonally, but guests can expect to enjoy a selection of classic sweet and savoury treats. Never heard of her—and neither will you when you get a load of the shareable tea cocktails that are offered alongside Bar Pendry’s standard tea service. We’re talking refreshing green tea with Tito’s, ginger beer and Citron, and blackberry bourbon and tea concoctions for you and three of your closest friends to share as you sidle up to a blazing fireplace. If you prefer the traditional fare, there’s plenty of that too, with a non-alcoholic spread that consists of unlimited sips of La Maison du The and a stacked tea tower chock-full of all the smoked salmon, brioche and pumpkin spice cake you can handle.
Tea Drinks
During each hour-long session, she takes tasters on a flavorful ride through different brews (there’s more than 300 varieties on hand in the store), including high-grade and rare, low batch teas that are not easily found elsewhere. Though sleek micro roaster Metric might be best known for its excellent coffee, the tea program here is also one of the city’s best. The team carefully sources its teas from Spirit Tea, offering a mix of whites, blacks, greens, and matcha. Unsurprisingly, its matcha has been the biggest seller lately, available both as a steamed latte and as a shaken iced drink. Top Chef contestant Katsuji Tanabe develops the menus for Bittersweet’s monthly afternoon teas which include standards like scones, macarons, and sandwiches along with rotating dishes such as lumpia and clams casino.
The new chai imperial—a delicate black brew with notes of cinnamon, ginger and orange zest—just to name a few. The Un-Tea Afternoon Apéro at Sofitel Chicago is a pleasant and relatively affordable alternative to some of the pricier options on this guide. There’s a lot to like about this French-inspired service, including friendly staff and the fact that $55 will get you a tower of treats, plus scones, macarons, and an individual pot of tea to sip on in a very laid-back setting. Eating in the restaurant right off the hotel check-in desk isn’t quite as opulent as other tea venues, and you’ll be pouring your tea yourself. But you can still cosplay as a dowager by leaning into the “un-tea” theme and opting for a champagne add-on to go with the assortment of excellent truffle cream choux puffs, buttery foie gras sandwiches, and fantastically rich earl grey chocolate cake.
This modest Nepalese cafe with locations in Logan Square and the Loop serves more than 150 different combinations, with classic and creative flavors like masala and ginger cardamom to pink salt and almond butter, plus a caffeine-free Ayurveda chai. Try a flight to get a taste of a few flavors and order some momos to eat on the side. The perennial downtown tea destination is perfectly situated in the shopping district. The building is a 19th Century gem, but our soaring dining room is strikingly modern with white marble surfaces, glossy subway-tiled walls and massive windows. Our artist owner carefully curates an exquisite selection of handcrafted teaware. Every piece is finely crafted by artisans who, for generations, have inherited the practices of ancient Chinese pottery firing technique.
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First Sip also hosts BYOB performances and community events, such as comedy shows, craft nights and swap meets. If you want the most elevated high tea experience, look no further than The Peninsula Chicago. Taking place in the heart of the hotel, The Lobby, the beloved British tradition of hot sips and finger snacks gets the five-star treatment here. The menu changes seasonally, but you can always expect a delightful assortment of scones, sandwiches and desserts to share, plus a flute of Champagne for each guest. You trust a sommelier with your whites, your reds and even your bubbles, so it goes without saying that you should trust a tea sommelier with your leaves. Agnieszka Rapacz is not only the owner of TeaGschwender in the Gold Coast, she’s a certified tea sommelier, and lucky for us, she offers a guided connoisseur’s tasting for two at her shop.
Sweetwaters Coffee & Tea
It also serves both hot and iced tea, chai, and matcha, plus a variety of blended drink specials. Over at West Loop savory pancake specialist Gaijin, the teas lean toward Japan. The leaves are sourced from Rare Tea Cellar, and guests can choose from four hot and two iced tea options daily. Think emperor’s genmaicha (sencha tea with popped rice), and sakura Kyoto cherry blossom tea (Japanese green tea with cherry blossom and wild rose). This cozy cafe in Uptown serves sweet and loose leaf teas and lattes in a storefront filled with plants and antique furniture.
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Elegant without feeling buttoned-up, the Boozy Tea Service at this intimate hotel lounge seeks to liven up the classics. With your tea from Rare Tea Cellar, you’ll enjoy live entertainment from local musicians and snacks like Koji beef carpaccio, cardamon scones and the decadent truffled egg tartlette with parmigiano and Osetra caviar. For an additional fee, your party can toast with some bubbly or try the communally-served tea cocktails, like the Winter Away made with Brandy-based mulled wine and wild banana chai tea blends.
Chicago Teahouse is an advocate to promote organic and fair trade tea production. Our tea producers actively encourage development of a caring and sustainable industry that generates income and improves the lives of millions of people. Our producers maintain the highest ethical standards with regard to health, education, nutrition and environmental sustainability with Fair Trade certifications. We cultivate personal relationships with our tea growers and share their commitment to improving the lives of the people who produce our tea products. Our commitment to providing you with exceptional tea is matched by our commitment to the planet and the people who grow our tea. We are an organization with superior knowledge of, and experience in, the tea market, with a mission to bring truly superlative teas to a growing community of tea lovers around the world and in our own neighborhood.
For those who love their afternoon teas fresh, colourful and steeped in history, Palm Court at The Drake, has been serving tea for nearly a century in the Gold Coast neighbourhood. A Chinatown staple since 1994, this casual teahouse is a favorite among those in the know for its lineup of traditional teas (black and green) as well as frothy versions with tapioca. Fans also rave about its food, especially the Cantonese and Taiwanese dishes.
Saint's Alp started in Hong Kong and has a few locations in the US, one appropriately located in China town. Any tea you are searching for you will surely find in their huge menu of teas including traditional teas, fruity teas, bubble teas, and even coffee. Plus, if you are feeling a little hungry they serve Asian style dishes of noodles, chicken, toast, and pastries. After all, the tea can be bought at the store for a fraction of the price. It’s the opportunity to eat things like little cucumber sandwiches and mini tarts that make you feel like a giant, and the chance to let anyone with an unhealthy Downton Abbey obsession live out their aristocratic fantasies.
The Commons Club within the Virgin Hotel Chicago takes a more alcohol-fueled approach to afternoon tea. Homemade scones, finger sandwiches, and pastries are piled high at the Peninsula Chicago. See the city through the eyes of the people who know it best — Chicago locals.
You can also BYOB ($10 corkage fee) if you're looking to liven things up, or have a tea party at home with a to-go package. The Palm Court’s dining room is exactly what you envision when you think of a fancy tea service (the gold gilding! The harps! The over-the-top flower floral arrangements!). So opulent is it, in fact, that its patrons include two of the most famed royals of all time–Queen Elizabeth and Princess Diana. (Squeals entirely appropriate.) Still, for all its grandeur, it’s also surprisingly family-friendly, with a special Prince and Princess version of the hotel’s weekend afternoon tea service open to kids between the ages of 4 and 12. Having run for nearly a century now, the adult version, meanwhile, has all the fixings, with a focus on ornate sandwiches, yule logs, macaroons and wintery, fragrant blends for January.
