A place to meet friends, study, or discover something new — no expertise required. Tea can be quiet and introspective, or bright, loud, and shared under patio lights. A modern café where culture, music, and serious tea all belong. Western or gong fu.

WHY IT MATTERS

The Tea Workshop is a tea infrastructure company. Our mission is to build real-world tea spaces where people experience community through tea directly — through live service, storytelling, tastings, music, and space overall. We are people and live experience first.

Our first events were multi-course tea cocktail sessions, just to see if it was possible. What followed came a full summer live show, a Halloween cabaret with live jazz and magic, and then the farmers markets — plus hundreds of conversations with people who wanted to feel less intimidated by tea and more connected in community. We exposed people to gong fu style steeping, aged white teas, Chinese pu-erhs, and experimental fun all while sustaining what tea really means.

We've also met farmers, importers, and producers whose work deserves a bigger microphone. A Japanese producer smoking tea leaves with whiskey barrel wood, asking what tea is still allowed to become. A farmer experimenting to build a tea farm in Mississippi against the odds. A tea partner who works tirelessly to show the farmers themselves and the stories behind the tea to stop hate. These are the people who deserve to be seen.

Tea has always been a way different people end up at the same table. We're building a place where that community still happens.

WHY WE ARE RAISING $5,000

The café is happening. The space is locked in, the approvals are landing, and we are self-funding the build. This fundraiser helps cover the final opening layer — the practical things that make the café work from day one:

Opening tea inventory

Coffee program supplies and brew gear

Matcha, cold brew, and seasonal drink ingredients

NSF prep tables and service equipment

Hand sink and health compliance gear

Upgraded umbrellas, seating, signage, and lighting

Opening-week staffing

The last-mile costs that always appear when something real gets built

Every dollar goes directly into what guests and you will see, taste, hear, and sit under this summer.

SUPPORT PERKS

Here’s what you get when you help us build. Simply check out and bring your email confirmation to the new space.

$5 — Buy the First Cup Get a free cup when we launch. Add multiple for yourself or friends and we’ll honor them.

$25 — Opening Season Supporter Get 10% off drinks for the entire 2026 season at the Sherman Avenue café and the Evanston Farmers Market

$50 — 5% OFF EVERYTHING Get 5% off drinks, tea bags, tea gear and everything for the entire 2026 season at the Sherman Avenue café, online, and at all of our Farmers Market booths. (Evanston, Skokie, Schaumburg, and Andersonville.)

$100 — 10% OFF EVERYTHING Get 10% off drinks, tea bags, tea gear and everything for the entire 2026 season at the Sherman Avenue café, online, and at all of our Farmers Market booths. (Evanston, Skokie, Schaumburg, and Andersonville.)

$200 — Name a Drink We’ll name a seasonal drink after you, your family, your business, or someone you want to honor. It will be featured on the menu during the 2026 season.

$250 — Your Name in the Future Café With the success of this season The Workshop will be able to begin construction on a permanent tea space. When The Tea Workshop builds its permanent café, your name will go on a brick, tile, plaque, or permanent feature inside the space.

You’ll be part of the foundation of our first permanent home.

Support the build, claim a perk, and help us open the next generation of tea space here in Evanston on Sherman Avenue!

We can't wait to see you there!