Michigan import Eli Tea Bar is a sober-friendly nightlife alternative in Andersonville, with an LGBTQ-friendly atmosphere, late hours, and an extensive menu of 100 loose-leaf teas and blends from all over the world. Owner Eli Majid studied botany and uses that background to mix drinks. Introverts can gather for a silent book club, writers group or arts and crafts night.

This cozy cafe in Uptown serves sweet and loose leaf teas and lattes in a storefront filled with plants and antique furniture. First Sip also hosts BYOB performances and community events, such as comedy shows, craft nights and swap meets.

Backlot Coffee, which also operates a location in suburban Evanston, serves brews mostly made from Volition 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. A third outpost in Lincoln Square opens in April 2024.

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. Intelligentsia also has two outposts in the Loop.

Mod Indian haunt Superkhana International in Logan Square serves traditional hot chai along with an iced version made with either oat milk or whole milk using chef Zeeshan Shah’s family recipe. The chai is also blended with cinnamon tequila and a chai-inspired house amaro as a dessert cocktail.

Michigan’s Sweetwaters Coffee & Tea opened within NEWCITY in 2021, offering shoppers a place to recharge with a wide selection of teas like dragon pearl jasmine and the caffeine-free mandarin orange rooibos along with Hong Kong-style imperial milk tea, Thai iced tea and chai. Relax on the patio while snacking on a scone or croissant.

Located in the heart of the hotel, The Lobby at The Peninsula offers afternoon tea at 2:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. Friday through Sunday accompanied by music from a string duo. Palais des Thés tea is served alongside a rotating seasonal menu of scones, tea sandwiches, and small desserts, and adults receive a glass of champagne.

Take in views of the Chicago River at Bridges Lobby Bar, which offers daily afternoon sea service. Drinks from Rare Tea Cellar are accompanied by a tower of snacks including macarons, spring rolls and scones served with lemon curd and clotted cream. Pots of loose leaf tea are also available a la carte and the attentive servers are happy to refill the hot water for an extra steep.

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. Metric will eventually relocate to Andersonville inside larger quarters. Stay tuned for more news.

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).

It’s no surprise that Kumiko, Julia Momose’s Japanese cocktail den in the West Loop, is big into tea. Momose is sourcing all of her Japanese teas from a single, family-owned plantation in Hoshinomura, a village located in Fukuoka’s Yame District (an area famous for green tea production), via Spirit Tea, which also supplies a caffeine-free red chai. The bar also offers chamomile and tisanes from Rare Tea Cellar.

Running daily afternoon tea service for more than 30 years, Russian Tea Time brews blends like luscious lychee and purple papaya berry in a pot or a traditional samovar for groups of three or more. Nibble on a tower of scones with clotted cream and jam, potato pancakes, and sandwiches, adding on caviar or a vodka flight for an extra luxurious experience.

Find milk tea and other beverages at this East Asian tea parlor situated in Little Italy. Living Water Tea House hosts tea tastings and live music, always providing a relaxed vibe. Not only does the tea deliver, but ownership is very particularly about the vessels — tea is only as good as the equipment it’s made and served in — and the pots and cups at Living Water are something to behold.

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.

Colorful Pilsen spot La Malinche Coffee & Tea House makes its own fruit tea blends like strawberry & mango or the ponche-inspired guava punch which are sold hot, iced or by the bag to brew at home. Get cozy with a cup and some green chilaquiles or pozole rojo.

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. It also serves both hot and iced tea, chai, and matcha, plus a variety of blended drink specials.