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Take it as a one-on-one tutorial or come ready to sip–and learn—with three of your closest friends. If you prefer a more social atmosphere, you can also sign up for the tea house’s upcoming virtual January CommuniTea event ($10) on January 22, where you can sip, hear jovial music and enjoy each other’s company. The Drake Hotel is the epitome of old Chicago glamour, and attending afternoon tea here is like being a cast member of the Real Housewives of Gold Coast. While the Palm Court is a beautiful space—there’s a massive water feature in the middle of the room, stone statues and pillars, along with hundreds of fake flowers—the food isn’t particularly inspired. But it’s worth overlooking the flaws because of this spot’s history, great tea selection, and excellent service. Since it opened in 2020, this family-owned Auburn Gresham cafe has become a community hub with weekly live music, monthly open mics and a rotating art display.
Bar Pendry at Pendry
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.
Bridges Lobby Bar at Londonhouse
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.

Sweetwaters Coffee & Tea
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.
Eli Tea Bar
Festive Holiday Tea at The Ritz-Carlton, Chicago 12/10/2023 - Choose Chicago
Festive Holiday Tea at The Ritz-Carlton, Chicago 12/10/2023.
Posted: Sun, 10 Dec 2023 08:00:00 GMT [source]
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.
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.
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.
Best Afternoon Tea Chicago Has To Offer
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.
Tea connoisseurs to gather at Chicago Tea Festival in Norwood Park - Crain's Chicago Business
Tea connoisseurs to gather at Chicago Tea Festival in Norwood Park.
Posted: Fri, 05 Apr 2024 07:00:00 GMT [source]
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.
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.
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.
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