Chicago Tea Festival 2025

Looks like fun, I can’t make it work in my schedule this year, but I’ll keep it in mind for next year.

No, but I’d love to hear what you think of it after attending!

Well, sitting here in Chicagoland, after lunch today, I saw an ad on the book of faces for the upcoming Chicago Tea Festival, starting tomorrow! Somehow I didn’t see this discussion topic until I came looking for it this afternoon. So I got registered and will be poking around at the fest. No clue what to expect, since it will be my first, but planning on a good time! I scanned the list of exhibitors, and don’t recognize any. How does this event compare to others around North America?

Report from the 2025 Chicago Tea Festival
Held today and tomorrow, April 12-13, at the Copernicus Center, in the Northwest Chicago Neighborhood of Jefferson Park, walking distance from the CTA Blue line and the Metra UP-NW line. There was paid parking available in lots (flat rate of $15-$20), and on-street (2hr max at $2.50/hr). I noticed that in this area the on-street parking is free on Sundays. Admission is $30 at the door (was $25 online until the day before) and allows access both days with unlimited in/out. After checking in, a nice swag-bag was given, with a free tasting cup. I noted at least two ATM machines in the venue, if one found oneself needing it.

The venue features multiple exhibition rooms and a large auditorium and a snack bar on the ground floor, with additional rooms upstairs where hour-long courses (expert speakers) and expert-taught cuppings were offered at additional cost ($15-$35 each). Most of the cuppings and speakers seemed to be sold out in advance, so they must be well received by the participants. Since the ones of interest to me were sold out, I did not venture upstairs. Next year!

The 31 exhibits were varied and heavily attended, and ranged from tea-related pastry and confection sales to beautiful hand-crafted ceramics. I also saw tea pets, and paraphernalia such as tools and whisks and kettles available for sale. Of course many were offering retail sales of teas and tisanes, displays of tea cakes and leaf, tea-related books & literature (some lovely hardcover volumes!) and free tastings of some of their featured infusions, hot & cold. Of further interest was an exhibit on Japanese culture and teas! Plus I had a great time conversing with the folks at Kazi Yetu, and learning about teas from Tanzania and Zanzibar of the African Tea Collection. I think the organizers and sponsors of this Tea Festival can be congratulated for a terrific show!

And although I did enjoy the afternoon, I would suggest in the future that a way be found to modulate the foot traffic, perhaps by adding more classes, because it really was crowded sometimes, making it difficult to interact with the vendors and fully appreciate their offerings. Furthermore, the venue needs a substantial upgrade to the lighting, as I had to often use the flashlight function of my phone just to see the teas and objects d’art in several instances. Perhaps the exhibitors could bring along some of their own lighting in the future, too. But overall, the hours I spent there were enjoyable, educational, and stimulating! Already looking forward to future tea festivals.

Where do I even begin? This was a great weekend. I learned a lot, and it gave me more courage to continue on this path I set out for myself.

The Copernicus Center is small but a good size for this festival. I felt bad for the vendors and people parking on the street out back because Chicago doesn’t give a crap about any roads that aren’t tolled. The inside is old feeling (1920-1930s in feeling). The classrooms were a bit cramped but they worked. I attended 6 classes in total. All were very informative. It was wonderful to finally meet people I have only met through email or Zoom before.

And I drank way too much tea on Saturday. It was great harhar