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"Tea is a fashion, coffee is a passion," wrote commentor Tim, the last time we wrote about the trendiness of tea. Tim, we hate to break it to you, but at this point, tea seems to have moved beyond trendy and into a full-fledged lifestyle choice. Says who? $5 million in sales this year at Argo Tea, for starters.
Today's New York Times has a flattering profile of IT-cum-tea entrepreneurs Arsen Avakian and Simon Simonian, who came up with the idea for Argo after noticing how much coffee Americans drink (both are originally from Armenia).
“I asked myself, what would be the closest cousin of coffee?” Avakian told the Times. “In Europe that’s easy. It’s tea. But here in the United States, tea is one of the least consumed beverages. People in Chicago said how stupid can you be, starting a business with tea as the dominant drink? I said, perfect. That’s the opportunity I’m looking for.
"In effect, Mr. Avakian and Mr. Simonian went from I.T. to iced tea." We love it when the NYT attempts to be funny.
Who knows which came first, the demand or the supply, but tea drinking is up—way up. Between 1990 and 2006, the tea industry grew from $1.84 billion to $6.50 billion. Savvy marketing, or a real shift in how American's drink their hot beverages? We have no idea. All we know is, Argo's business plan calls for them to open two more stores by the end of the year and hit $10 million in sales in 2008.
Before you think Argo is the end-all, be-all for finding quality tea, there are other places throughout the city to enjoy some of that sweet leaf.
Here is a sampling of some of our favorite places:
Ten Ren's Tea Time
2247 S. Wentworth
312-842-1171
The Coffee & Tea Exchange
3311 N. Broadway
773-528-2241
Teavana
835 N. Michigan Ave. (Water Tower Place)
312-335-9802
Hi Tea
14 E. 11th Street
312-880-0832
Note: Chicagoist is a big fan of Hi Tea.
Kouks Vintage Cafe
5653 N. Northwest Hwy.
773-594-8888
Russian Tea Time
77 E. Adams
312-360-0000
Both Intelligentsia and Metropolis carry a vast array of teas, as well.
Image via VSA Partners.
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I always refer to Argo as Laptop Cafe ... seems like everyone there is chained to a notebook. Which, on the plus side, means it's usually pretty quiet (rare these days in a public place).
Shameful. Your listing of serious tea places is sorely lacking, especially when you miss the new Tea Essence (http://teaessence.biz/) in Bucktown of all places. Talk to the super friendly owners (who are there all the time) and you'll learn all sorts of stuff about tea in no time.
I could drink Argo's "mojitea"24/7. It's up there with Diet Coke for sheer awesomeness.
Argo Tea kind of blows. I haven't liked anything I've gotten from there, hot or iced. I don't know if they're just too heavy on the Assam in their black tea blends or what, but I'm not impressed with the flavors.
I miss Aion -- that place had some great teas and a delicious tea service for only $7/person. Mmmm...fresh hot crumpets!
I've never really heard of this "tea" stuff. Could it be the same stuff we've been drinking at home for years? Either way now that it's been repackaged and marketed at a premium I'll have to surely check it out.
TeaGschwendner FTW. They have the freshest, best teas I've had in years.
Argo is drek. Hate to be snobbity, but they brew tea concentrates at the downtown location which they ship to all the other city locations, then water down and sell. Almost all their named drinks are full of syrup, too.
Ten Ren is aight, but Teavana is another place slinging sugared crap barely deserving of the "tea" designation. Check out TeaG (ask the cashier to pronounce it for extra fun!)- their Halsted location serves food, too, and its a great high-falutin but not too expensive meal.
Also, anonymous comments > you
Here's the link for TeaGschwendner. Definitely worth checking out.
http://www.teagschwendner.com/US/en/HomePage.TG
hey, can we get a vsa credit for that photo?
oh ship, nm. sweet.
I really like the Urban Tea Lounge in Uptown (838 W. Montrose) -- they have more than 50 kinds of tea (not to mention delicious chili).
The credit's been there all along, at the bottom of the extended entry.
Hi Tea has new vegan items on the menu. Come see us in the south loop.
We are big fans of Chicagoist. Thanks for the list
Argo Tea brews everything from real full-leaf teas. There are no artificial preservatives or add-on chemicals. It's all natural.
They came up with an innovative beverage creation method while maintaining superb quality and for that i applaud them.
They're also quite involved in supporting green initiatives, local businesses and communities. I was their customer for 3 years and I hope to continue being one for many years.