Best Chicago Tea Shops
By Rachel Azark
Tea has fabulous health benefits ranging from helping you fall asleep, lowering your cholesterol, helping with stomach issues, and lowering the risk of cancer and heart disease. There are also different types of tea including black, oolong, green, white, herbal and flavored. If you want to expand from just buying box teas, there are a few stores in Chicago that sell loose leaf tea.
Argo Tea Café
435 N Michigan Ave
Chicago IL 60611
(Many other locations in Chicago)
312-546-4790
www.argotea.com
At Argo Tea, not only can you sit down and enjoy a cup of tea, but you can also buy one of their 30 varieties of loose leaf teas. Their teas come from harvests of select growers from around the world and include red tea, black tea, green tea, white and rare tea, and herbal tea. They let you know if the antioxidants are high and if there is caffeine or not in the tea.
Teavana
520 N. Michigan Ave.
Chicago, Illinois 60611
(There is also one located at the Water Tower Place)
312-527-3584
www.teavana.com
Teavana's goal is to offer their customers the healthy lifestyle and wonderful tastes of tea. They do this by offering a place that is part tea bar, part tea emporium. Not only will they teach you about tea, they'll also share with you the history of it and describe the varieties of tea available. On their website they offer ideas on how to make better tea and the best teas for breakfast and for your kids.
TeaGschwendner
1160 N. State St.
Chicago, IL 60610
312-932-0639
www.teagschwendner.com
In 1978, their first shop opened in Trier, Germany. Today they have more than 130 shops in seven countries. The teas come from all across the world and each shop carries more than 300 varieties of tea including black, green, oolong, white, rooibush, herbal and fruit. Some teas are just a few cents a cup and go all the way up to the rarest teas grown exclusively for TeaGschwendner.
Adagio Teas
617 N. State St.
Chicago, IL 60654
www.adagio.com
They seem to have it all. Going to their website allows you to view twelve different varieties of tea ranging from chai tea to iced tea. They also sell teaware where you can buy mugs, infusers, tea pots and many other wares for your teas. You can also schedule a tea tasting for up to six people.
The Coffee & Tea Exchange
3311 N. Broadway
Chicago, IL 60657
773-528-2241
www.coffeeandtea.com
In 1975, a small storefront opened in East Lakeview. Back then their founding father, Steve, would roast all the beans in the store and then display them in the window. Today, they are in a storefront across the street from their original location and are selling many varieties of black tea along with oolong, green, herbal and white. If you're all for supporting mom and pop shops in your local neighborhood, then come check out the Coffee & Tea Exchange.
Rachel Azark is a writer, drinks tea every day and lives on Chicago's northwest side. Read more of her work on her blog parksandpancakes.com.