Great Lakes Tea — Restaurant in West Chicago Township

Small tea shop has a cute and traditional entrance. Spot features Chinese loose leaf teas, which were in jars in the back although there was no menu board with the complete selection. Friendly counter guy was personal but we really had to ask about the rundown of teas without a menu and felt a little out of the loop.

That and it became evident really quickly that counter guy had friends sitting in the central table and they were chatting. No other patrons. We sat down and drank our tea but if felt fairly awkward. After we sat we found out we maybe didn't have to order the $15 pot of tea (which was much more than we expected to pay) but that wasn't clear. It was also nice to see the digital menu with all the tea options, but that was after we had ordered up front.

We had the blue people oolong, which was delicious.

It's a small space and the part of the restaurant towards the front had seating removed for some work or something.

Cute cups highlighted little koi fish.

Yet on the whole this experience felt more like a side hobby in someone's living room than a professional restaurant and we probably won't...

We need more places like this! Local hang-outs with quirky eccentric soul! Seemingly run by a handful of young guys who are really passionate about tea, it's the kind of down to earth place where you can low-key pop in to catch up with a friend or make yourself comfortable at the bar and do a more in-depth tea experience with them. I had never done something like that before.

As a non-routine coffee or tea drinker, this was all new territory for me. You can hit these guys up with questions galore -- but also the tea is WILD! I had never had a tea so elegant, soft, delicate and pretty before. Elements of rose, lychee, hibiscus -- it was really cool. I wish the pot was never ending!

I believe you can buy loose leaf tea as well to go, so you can take home any possible favs.

There's also an added bonus of some hidden humorous touches in here like Grand Master John Cena watching down from...

Such an awesome place! I tried the tea tasting. I spent hours trying different types of tea with education about the tea. As great as that sounds, it is only half of the experience because you also get conversation. If you love the experience of going to a bar and chatting with whomever else sits at the bar, and wish you could find a place like that without alcohol, this is the place you've been looking for. Wonderful atmosphere. I will...