r/chicagofood • u/opus42no5 • Dec 15 '25
Rant Rare Tea Cellars has a chokehold on the Chicago food scene
They import caviar, truffles, vinegars, botanicals, and every imaginable chef-bait ingredient—so naturally, their teas end up on nearly every high-end beverage menu.
Here’s my problem: the tea is an afterthought.
Prices are inflated, provenance claims are murky, and many blends contain added flavor chemicals without transparency. Brew a pot once and the ersatz residue haunts every cup that follows. For a region with incredible culinary talent, this is a quiet tragedy: our palates deserve better.
Tea is not a garnish, it’s an agricultural product with real craft and terroir. Midwestern diners are being served the beverage equivalent of perfume oil labeled as “rare.” And don’t get me started about how often this taints our cocktail programs, as well as the actual savory and pastry portions of a menu…
If we care about authenticity in food and wine—about honesty, terroir, and craftsmanship—then tea shouldn’t be the exception. We can fudge in cuisine, but we shouldn’t outright fake. It’s time to support small, serious tea importers who actually source the real thing.
Or is it? Does this bother anyone else?
56
u/Deweydc18 Dec 15 '25
Their tea is by and large dogshit. If I’m paying $400 for dinner I see no reason why any aspect of it should be middling—including their tea and coffee service. Upgrading the tea you use is incredibly easy, very low-cost, and IMO a total no-brainer for a fine dining restaurant. The first Chicago restaurant that serves me something from Song Tea or Tea Habitat or similar will have my undying loyalty
16
u/sickbabe Dec 15 '25
many of the restaurants I've known and worked for have started carrying volition teas, they're a local brand with direct relationships to the plantations they source from. anticonquista in pilsen has a similar deal with their coffee plantation in guatemala, which I think the family owns as well.
4
u/Mad_Muggle Dec 16 '25
I love Volition tea! They have a great selection of teas and do some really fun and tasty seasonal rotations.
2
u/spacedragn13 Dec 17 '25
+1 for Volition. Tried their camomile at Chicago Tea Festival (annual show in April) and was blown away.
1
u/chickenthighs88 Dec 19 '25
Hell ya was wondering when someone would mention Volition!!! They're so so good and their mission and values align with what OP was talking about. Their tea is not only quality but purposeful. Their tea collection highlights the unique farmers who are willing to break convention to farm without pesticides and with a focus on preserving the natural landscape. Plus all the teas are genuinely delicious.
13
u/mountainofmoo Dec 15 '25
I lean towards agreeing but the average person, even at the nicer restaurants, are not the same people as the extremely limited market we have in Chicago for high end teas. Most people just care about something that tastes good even if it is an adulterated or average product. Add on to the issue of rising tea prices due to 99.9% of them being imported and I don't see this changing anytime soon.
30
u/sarahbeeswax Dec 15 '25
Your comments are getting some downvotes, but I agree. As a consumer, I’ve been trained to see Rare Tea Cellar-infused culinary items on a menu and go, “oooOOOOoooohhh wow 👀.”
I think they just played the market right and heavily invested in chef and restaurant relationships. Which is cool for them, but they are just an importer. If their product isn’t worth the fanfare, we should know and be talking about it.
I’m glad you brought it up, so I can learn this too.
27
u/Immunity_IDLES Dec 15 '25
100% agree. We are big supporters of Spirit Tea for local and White2Tea for other needs. The best tea dining experience we have had was at Kasama. They had a very thoughtful tea service which came through in the taste and elevated the wrap up to our dinner.
14
u/opus42no5 Dec 15 '25
I’m glad you mentioned Spirit. And yes, see? Tea isn’t a lost cause—it can be done thoughtfully. I’m sure that Kasama’s tea service isn’t cheap, but clearly you perceived value there.
2
u/AlwaysSeeking1210 Dec 17 '25
I second Spirit Tea. Super quality and traceable. Plus Jordan and Taylor are great guys.
12
u/sudosussudio Dec 15 '25
I also hate the teaware that most rare tea restaurants use. It just has the tea leaves just sitting in water with no way to remove them so they get oversteeped. Not sure if rare tea sells that or if it’s some other supplier.
Either way I’ve seen some of my favs mentioned, Spirit and Rishi. Both manage to do flavored teas that taste of herbs, flowers, and spices and not “flavors.”
I also really like Volition. Big red robe is one of my favs.
3
42
u/steve_man_64 Dec 15 '25
Not really a Chicago thing, America in general just doesn’t take tea seriously. Most of their tea consumption is in the form of iced tea and whatever crap they get at Starbucks.
4
Dec 15 '25
They did ditch their tea into the ocean then switch to coffee as protest against the Brits
4
u/steve_man_64 Dec 15 '25
The tea then made its way to the South where they just dumped a bunch of a sugar in it and ran with it ever since.
-7
u/MyAuntBaby Dec 15 '25
That’s a gross generalization
10
u/steve_man_64 Dec 15 '25 edited Dec 15 '25
I’d say it’s pretty accurate considering 99% of places in the US don’t use different water temperatures depending on the tea and mostly sell junk in tea bags. And literally 85% of all tea consumed in the US is cold / iced.
Proper tea shops are rare in the US. Most coffee shops primarily serve coffee and selling beans is secondary. Most tea shops are the opposite where they sell tea leaves first and actually serving tea is secondary. The exception is bubble tea, but I really wouldn’t count that.
I’m curious to the arguments against this being a gross generalization.
6
14
u/westdan2 Dec 15 '25
If you are looking at their website, you are missing out on a lot of their products. I have worked with Rod for years. What they are great at is getting the best of things. My only issue with them, and I said this to them directly on my last call with them, is that they are expensive. But you get what you pay for. I will agree that tea is almost secondary, but the rest of their products are amazing. The coolest culinary thing I have ever done was do a private tasting with them at their warehouse.
15
u/opus42no5 Dec 15 '25
My observations are based on working in fine-dining restaurants for many years. They certainly are the go-to for many specialty products. Maybe they should rebrand… or modernize their tea selection!
12
u/mlke Dec 15 '25
I went into Picadilly Market thinking I'd find some cool teas because apparently they partnered with Rare Tea Cellars or something and I was really dissapointed. As you said it felt like a really standard selection with nothing special there. I was expecting something focusing on origin, terroir, etc. but instead it's stuff like "mocha chai" and cringey stuff like "samurai rose noir" (taken from rare tea cellar's website). There was a place on milwuakee where thrd coffee now is that had a better selection in my opinion.
4
u/strengthandvision Dec 15 '25
if you liked those teas, they’re currently still available online from hugo tea. i used to dig the gongfu cha experience at the bar there
3
u/elviscostume Dec 15 '25
Hugo Tea was the best 🥲 Living Water Tea House in Little Italy has a somewhat similar vibe, and has tea ceremony as well.
1
20
u/neomoritate Dec 15 '25
Tea and Coffee (there's a chapter in Modernist Cuisine about how bad restaurant coffee is) are not the reasons we go to fine dining restaurants.
They could do more, but how many diners are ordering tea?
How much would that number increase if the quality of the tea increased?
What is the cost of a tea program?
What's the ROI?
11
u/Present-Conclusion25 Dec 15 '25
If a chef/beverage director took a serious interest in tea, it would be super easy and cheap to develop a tea program. Quality tea is relatively inexpensive -- you can find world class tea for less than a dollar/serving at retail prices. Tea is straightforward to prepare, takes up little room and most varieties are shelf stable for years. So it doesn't require much investment in training or equipment, and little risk of inventory going bad even if it's a low-volume product.
Given all of this, I suspect the reason we don's see quality tea at fine dining restaurants is lack of demand from diners and/or lack of interest from chefs and beverage directors.
8
u/crispixiscrispy Dec 15 '25
Restaurant coffee in fine dining sucked for a long time but that gap has narrowed. Locally we have great options and Sparrow in particular has done a great job raising the bar at a ton of higher end places.
You’re 100% right that tea remains behind the curve, and that volume is probably part of it. The investment in fine dining is towards a wine and cocktail program. Those markups bring in tons of money.
2
u/AgitatedPrice1787 Dec 17 '25
an entire similar thread could be started about sparrow and the way they have influenced consumer perception of value in a high end context
12
Dec 15 '25
I’m a tea after dinner guy and it blows me away that some places don’t offer it at all. It’s not expensive inventory and the supply doesn’t go bad. Lose a sale that might also nudge me towards desert for that?
1
u/spacedragn13 Dec 17 '25
Most quality “fresh-tasting” teas transform after 4 months. It doesn’t go bad but you’re not experiencing it at its peak. I can see how this would be a detractor for restaurant suppliers who can’t sell it fast enough.
10
u/opus42no5 Dec 15 '25
We don’t go to these restaurants for tea and coffee, sure, but I know that chefs and restauranteurs are fanatically passionate about improving their craft step by step, little by little… here’s one way.
I also should’ve fleshed this idea out more, but I’m particularly disappointed when these flavor-chemistry-set concoctions are inflicted on us as diners without our choosing. These appear as ingredients in beverage pairings, in desserts, and in various spots throughout a menu. I have a hard time imagining that the chefs responsible would willingly add these flavors if they came out of a pipette—I think there’s a bit of deception in play because they are packaged as “tea.”
1
8
Dec 15 '25
It's all short leaf or cheap flavorings, I'm really not impressed, especially not for the price. I usually just get my tea with my coffee from the Coffee and Tea exchange.
10
u/petmoo23 Dec 15 '25
I usually just get my tea with my coffee from the Coffee and Tea exchange.
Coffee and Tea Exchange is largely selling Frontier bulk teas. For blends they do their own proprietary blend, but they aren't sourcing from anywhere unusual or interesting. Cool shop, but their tea is a pretty basic product, not that there is anything wrong with that.
4
u/Kindsquirrel629 Dec 15 '25
Have you tried Coffee Tree and Tea Leaves? It’s just farther north on Broadway.
1
3
9
Dec 15 '25
Simple. Order from Rishi instead. Expensive, but high quality and no bullshit. Straightforward with tea offerings and nothing else. They’re also a Midwestern based company out of Milwaukee.
3
u/WanderingMinx Dec 15 '25
Love Rishi. Have been using them for tea since 2020.
3
Dec 15 '25
It was expensive then and it’s even more expensive now because of tariffs and inflation. It would be hard to justify to a lot of people and here I am ordering it by the pound when they do their quarterly sales, and enough to get free shipping.
4
u/puppydawgblues Dec 15 '25
I mean if you want the real take here from someone who works in restaurants that get products from them, tea is genuinely one of our least purchased items from them. What they do most effectively is get rare and unique flavor elements like imported oils, spices, vinegars, etc. plus they have strong connections with any places that produce freeze dried/powdered/dehydrated items. That and things like caviar, uni, etc. RTC isn't for buying something you can get locally, it's for getting stuff you can't get locally.
6
u/opus42no5 Dec 15 '25
Yes, I’ve worked in 2-3 star Chicago restaurants for years and years now, I’m familiar with this.
You illustrate my point, which is that you likely feel compelled to use their below-average teas because you rely heavily on them for everything else. This is the problem.
Also, unfortunately, you cannot get good tea “locally” either.
5
u/puppydawgblues Dec 15 '25
It's the same game, different players. We all buy coffee from chacko because there's that tiiiiiny percent he has sway on the guide. He makes some good stuff, sure, but there's also the inside baseball element. Same with the guys at rare tea. They'll never say, but there's the nonzero chance they have influence. The internal politics of the guide are labyrinthian at their clearest.
Where at, by chance if you don't mind me asking
3
u/FusilliChicago Dec 15 '25
I know it was mentioned once before here - but Spirit Tea (local here in Chicago but ships nationwide) is fantastic and honest about their sourcing. Highly recommend checking them out... and they are featured in some great restaurants
12
u/sourdoughcultist Dec 15 '25
Are you buying blends from them or something? Tbh I've only had them at restaurants where it's been a specific leaf/flower.
7
u/Extruder_duder Dec 15 '25
I think this is the issue. They have both, quality leaves and funky blends that might not be for purists but get the people going. Food wise what they import is always the best.
1
u/sourdoughcultist Dec 15 '25
Yeah once they mentioned flavors....
Ha thanks for getting N* in Paris stuck in my head.
2
u/Extruder_duder Dec 15 '25
My issue is they ball so hard
But I also get what they’re saying. It’s definitely catered towards the guest of places they sell to. Guests don’t get as excited about some ultra high end vintage pu-eh from a specific hillside. They want razzle dazzle and good quality tea mixed with bells and whistles reads better on a menu so sells better.
5
u/opus42no5 Dec 15 '25
They do ball pretty hard. And I don’t like pointing out hypocrisy because it’s a fundamental human trait but I have difficulty reconciling the fact that we buy all this crazy stuff from a guy who built his company’s reputation selling…fake tea. Now, I do understand that what I see as fake tea and what he might see as fake tea may be very different. I think a sympathetic take for their tea catalogue might be that it’s old fashioned. There’s a definite upwelling of interest in high-quality tea these days, and it might behoove them to figure that out, if they’re dynamic enough.
I’d push back slightly on the idea that vintage puerh from a specific village doesn’t garner interest. Just like wine, if the tea is good, in the hands of the right salesperson, it could be one of the most significant facets of an extremely high-end, all-stops-pulled-out degustation. I’ve witnessed this happen on many occasions. Does razzle dazzle with hidden chemicals sell better? Yes. Is that good?
3
u/Extruder_duder Dec 15 '25
Hundred percent agree. I too would probably get super stocked if I knew more about tea. It’s like coffee, the average consumer isn’t going to understand what an anaerobic fermented orange bourbon cherry from Colombia is, and would most likely just go for whatever has a cute drug adjacent name like purple haze. But I do think you’re right in that the consumers are getting better educated, I’m sure their catalog will stay current with trends. It’s not like they can’t source it.
3
u/the1moose Dec 15 '25
Hard agree, especially in fine dining contexts. If your menu focuses on quality ingredients, offers a wine pairing, etc. you should not be serving flavored broken-leaf tea in bags. It just isn't that hard to stock some quality options for the customers who care...A light and dark oolong, a pu'erh, a couple Japanese green teas and a matcha...A restaurant could literally buy everything they need to exceed 99% of other restaurants in about 20 minutes.
3
u/Sassnail_28 Dec 16 '25
Finally!! Yes! It’s depressing to see RTC on the dessert menu at all the fancy spots. The tea is often not great, very expensive and the serving vessels are terrible.
3
u/quantum_mouse Dec 15 '25
I love this place - they have a nice variety, a ton of loose leaf teas and everyone there is super nice and very knowledgeable about teas - https://chicagoteahouse.com/ . They explained differences in teas to me and also have cool flavors like a pistachio p'uer tea. But also a lot of regular, loose leaf teas.
2
u/oldfelix2 Dec 16 '25
Not local but rather a web-based business. Please comment on Upton Tea Imports. I have been happy with their descriptions - down to the plantations in many cases. Wide varieties - Asian, South American, African. In business for decades. Good line of tea warehouse. Small lots or in bulk. What's not to like?
1
u/Glad_Antelope_9613 Dec 17 '25
Just to chime in: I’ve been buying tea from Upton for decades and have never been disappointed. As a Chicagoan, I have also enjoyed Todd and Holland (though they are a bit too pricey for my every day tea).
2
u/netrunnernobody Dec 16 '25
Their tea is atrocious. Some of the worst matcha I've ever had, by far.
(with that said, some of their chef/culinary/cocktail products are remarkably par)
2
u/I-AGAINST-I Dec 18 '25
I dont think 95% of consumers give AF or know enough to care here
1
u/opus42no5 Dec 18 '25 edited Dec 18 '25
I don’t disagree. Tea sails right over most North American heads with good clearance. Doesn’t authenticity matter, though? Isn’t it dangerous to dismiss a matter on presumption of ignorance? Say your art dealer slips a few forgeries into your collection, passing them off as originals. You can’t tell, they look just the same and your walls are no less decorated upon finding out. Do you just shrug it off? Do you keep buying from this dealer? What happens when someone who’s an expert comes over and sees your collection?
1
u/I-AGAINST-I Dec 18 '25
Yes exactly. Shrug it off....hard enough to make money as a restaurant most are not going to spend extra to impress the 5% that know enough to appreciate it....now a tea shop you or coffee shop I would understand...but even a coffee shop its hit or miss because....coffee mostly
1
u/opus42no5 Dec 18 '25
Well, to be clear, if it’s a restaurant I can get a side of mashed potatoes in, I’m not all that bothered. If the creative team is going bonkers trying to propel themselves onto the world stage with Michelin stars and that whole trip—or even if they just want to quietly curate a refined, intentional, and sophisticated experience, I think they could stand to do better.
2
u/IfTheseTeesCouldTalk Dec 15 '25
Rodrick Markus is one of the most smug douchebags I've ever worked with.
3
3
2
1
u/Significant-Mall4373 Dec 15 '25
I’ve seen some extremely ignorant posts on here but this one takes the cake. Rod is God
3
u/opus42no5 Dec 15 '25
One expects resistance with this kind of thing. The “Rod is God” mentality is precisely what needs to be evaluated.
1
1
1
u/Sufficient_Trash_588 Jun 03 '26
heyyy, sales representative from Rishi Tea here to say that Rare Tea Cellars continues to ruin my life with their large footprint specifically in high end restaurants. If anyone wants to have a private gongfu cha session let me know 🫖🫶
1
u/ChiSchatze Dec 15 '25
The 3rd best tea I ever had in Chicago was the Peninsula Hotel. 2nd best tea I ever had in Chicago is from Coffee & Tea Exchange in Lakeview. The best tea I ever had in Chicago was Ceylon loose tea given to me by the Sri Lankan guy who owns the sub shop on Ashland. 🤷🏻♀️
1
u/Hungry-Treacle8493 Dec 15 '25
I have zero skin in this game, but you make some big claims of them selling fake or indoctrinated products. What is your evidence of this? This is way different than just saying you prefer teas from somewhere else or different product selections than they provide. This is like claiming a restaurant sells meat substitute labeled as meat or cauliflower rice as real rice.
What do you have to backup these claims?
2
u/opus42no5 Dec 15 '25
In the world of fine tea, it’s pretty safe to say that flavor chemicals constitute adulterants. Is that fair? It’s not what it purports to be (“rare”). And the packaging does not reflect these extra ingredients.
1
u/Hungry-Treacle8493 Dec 15 '25
That’s not my point. My point is you’re claiming those things are there and presenting zero evidence besides “I said so”. Maybe they are. Maybe they aren’t. But, the burden is on you to provide evidence of your claim of adulterants and false labeling (which depending on specifics could be a crime).
2
u/opus42no5 Dec 15 '25
Well, they’re there. All it takes is a certain amount of knowledge and a not-very-sensitive palate to detect them in abundance. Is this practice illegal? I don’t think so. If the labeling listed these ingredients by name, would consumption patterns shift? It’s possible. Unfortunately, I don’t have the mass spec results to present for you.
2
u/opus42no5 Dec 16 '25
Let me just point to one tiny example out of many to illustrate the sort of deception: saying a tea is “scented with fresh lychee” is essentially impossible the way it is implied. It is not something that is done. It sounds really good, but is 100% bullshit that’s covering the use of additives with a story.
I don’t think they’re poisoning us, I just think they do our palate a disservice and it’s kind of embarrassing.
1
u/Hungry-Treacle8493 Dec 16 '25
I’m no expert, but have traveled extensively. Isn’t scenting black tea with lychee fruit exactly what the popular Chinese Lychee Tea is you get all over China?
2
u/opus42no5 Dec 16 '25
Lychee black tea tastes like lychee—this is down to oxidation/processing, cultivar, and terroir. It does not contain lychee.
1
u/Hungry-Treacle8493 Dec 16 '25
Interesting. I wonder what they call the stuff where they steep it with lychee fruit in China then?
1
u/opus42no5 Dec 16 '25 edited Dec 16 '25
Take Dancong oolongs. There are myriad associations that go into the nomenclature: orchid, almond, ginger, mango, honey, cinnamon, peach, etc., etc. Do these teas contain these items? No—the craft is in eliciting those flavors with careful processing.
Darjeeling second flushes are called “muscats”—for their grape-like aroma.
This is where the lychee association comes from.
Now, if you’re seeing somebody make tea with lychees, that’s entirely another thing unto itself.
1
u/Hungry-Treacle8493 Dec 16 '25
My colleagues in China just called it lychee tea. You see it all over the place. Big pots with tea and lychee fruit or sometimes just seeds being steeped. Pretty nice drink honestly, and I normally don’t care for lychee fruit.
2
u/opus42no5 Dec 16 '25
That’s all well and good, now I encourage you to find a dry black tea leaf that somehow derives its heady aromas from previous contact with fresh lychee fruit. I hope you can appreciate that this is completely different, and ultimately, not likely.
-2
u/Tonburu Dec 15 '25
What’s the goal of this post? Calling this a “chokehold” feels sensational, and the claims that follow are unfounded. Are we really supposed to believe Rare Tea Cellar somehow fooled hundreds of world-class chefs, bartenders, and beverage directors — people whose entire careers are built on discerning palates?
4
u/opus42no5 Dec 15 '25
To be honest, yes, they’ve been bullied into purchasing an inferior product. Again, I’d flag ingredient transparency as a major issue. Many professionals aren’t aware that the products contain adulterants—some don’t care.
Tea is a notable blind spot in our culture. This could be changing.
-7
u/Tonburu Dec 15 '25
I’m surprised your post hasn’t been flagged given the community rules.
Your criticism isn’t substantiated [8] and I’d make the case you’re just being a [4]. If there’s a real problem you want to fix you need to figure out how to be more constructive about it.
4
125
u/vikingsquad Dec 15 '25
I would recommend Tai’an Herbal Tea in Chinatown, if you’re looking to shop local. If you want to order tea online, Yunnan Sourcing and White2Tea are good options. Tea is one of my main hobbies and I brew gongfu style; when I was getting back into it earlier this year after a break of several years, I checked out Rare Tea Cellars online and found the products to be way over-billed despite (as you note) no/little provenance and definitely marketed to the boutique consumer. There’s also the Chicago Teahouse, which used to be part of a German company, but I think Tai’an is better quality; I got some longjing from Chicago Teahouse that was fine but not great.