TeaLula

Park Ridge, United States

4.6

Closed now

21 reviews

Accepts Credit Cards

Contacts

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Telephone:
+1 847-823-8327
Website:
www.tealula.com
Address:
11 S Fairview Ave, Park Ridge, IL, 60068
b/t Main St & Garden St
Nearby public transportation stops & stations:
210 ftPark Ridge
380 ftPark Ridge Metra Station
530 ftSummit & Prospect
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Bussiness info

Take-out
Yes
Accepts Credit Cards
Yes
Parking
Street
Bike Parking
Yes
Wheelchair Accessible
Yes
Wi-Fi
No

Today

Today 9:30 am – 5:30 pm
Closed now
Local time (Park Ridge) 20:33 Wednesday, 25 June 2025

Business hours

Monday 9:30 am – 5:30 pm
Tuesday 9:30 am – 5:30 pm
Wednesday 9:30 am – 5:30 pm
Thursday 9:30 am – 8:00 pm
Friday 9:30 am – 5:30 pm
Saturday 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Sunday 11:00 am – 4:00 pm

Description

Specialties

TeaLula has been the première provider of loose leaf teas to the community of Park Ridge, Illinois since 2008. Sheila Duda, a Certified Tea Specialist, and her husband Fred opened the shop to provide an oasis to those who enjoy the benefits tea can have on the mind and body. TeaLula carries white, green, oolong, black, and Pu’er tea, plus herbal infusions, rooibos, and tisanes. TeaLula offers a variety of tea accessories to help you enjoy a cup wherever life takes you. Customers can browse through more than 150 unique loose leaf teas and always try a sample at the tasting bar.

The Dudas take careful consideration when choosing the products they stock in the store and proudly sell ForLife teapots and gourmet honey from the Savannah Bee Company. They are proud to be a part of the tea community and to bring flavors from around the world to each person who walks through TeaLula’s doors. They give customers the quality and community only an independent business can provide.

TeaLula is proud to carry ForLife, Planetary Design, RSVP International for Aladdin, Schylling, Metropolitan Tea Co, Jane Jenni, Berta Hedstrom, Bonavita, Aiya, and TeaLula loose leaf tea.

History

Established in 2008.

Our story began in hot water. Staring into the caramel colored water while dipping the simple tea bag on a tiny string by its paper tag, all that came to mind was, «There must be more to tea than this. Throughout history, the drinking of fine tea has inspired revolutions, colonial expansions, whole economies. Countries have been founded, fought over and flourished all because of two leaves and a bud. This cannot be the source.» And, hence, the journey to TeaLula had begun.

After many years of research, study, and a non-​stop journey into the world of tea, TeaLula’s owners and Certified Tea Specialist, Sheila Duda, and husband Fred Duda opened their doors as a tea lover’s urban oasis in March of 2008. TeaLula features more than 150 unique loose leaf teas from gardens around the globe.

Meet the Business Owner

Sheila D.

Business Owner

Sheila loves everything about tea: the varieties, the ceremonies, the accoutrements, and the etiquette. She especially loves opportunities to introduce people to loose leaf tea. You will find her most days at her tasting bar cupping teas with her customers.

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21 reviews of TeaLula

No registration required
Place rating: 3
Muskego, WI
Stopped here to work on some writing a while back after visiting the Racine Zoo. I was expecting more of a traditional café, but it’s actually a tea store where you can also sit and drink (there’s no wi-​fi, btw). No problem with that.
I don’t remember what I had to drink, but I remember it was decent enough. It was a cozy place to sit and work, but I couldn’t handle the people. The guy behind the counter acted like my talking to him was a huge bother, and was really curt and unhelpful. He was finishing up a conversation with someone when I approached the counter and when the other person walked away he looked at me like, «And who the heck are you?» The hell? I’m sorry I’m not one of your friends or regulars.
The people around me were also driving me crazy with their snobbery. A middle-​aged couple at one of the tables was going on about how much smarter they thought they were than other people, and the guy next to me on his laptop told me out of the blue that he was a serious writer and had already been published like, 4 times. Good for you, buddy. Someone else was lecturing a complete stranger podium-​style about the proper way to brew tea. I wanted to him them.
Get over yourselves people, you’re in Racine. There’s no such thing as snobby in Racine.
Place rating: 5
Avondale, Chicago, IL
Friendly, warm and inviting place to have tea and purchase good quality tea for home. I highly recommend as a place for great conversation or to relax. Wish it was open later at night and served more pastries. Totally great still.
Place rating: 5
Chicago, IL
I adore this place! Warm and friendly. They have a huge variety of tea. My favorites are the sweet flavored teas like Grasshopper and Pumpkin Spice.
My favorite thing about TeaLula is the customers and staff Talk To Each Other! What an idea! I go there for the company as much as for the tea. They don’t have WiFi and I think that is great. We have enough places in the area with WiFi where people can bury their noses in their laptops or phones. It’s refreshing to go someplace where people look at each other, not screens.
Place rating: 5
Chicago, IL
This tea shop is very cozy inside. They have a very good selection of teas. The taste of their tea is out of the world. I ordered two different teas for me and my husband and they served it in a pretty porcelain cups not cheap and ugly paper/​plastic cups. I love how they serve honey in a honey dispenser. I just wish they would be little bit less expensive as in the end it is just a cup of a tea.
Place rating: 5
Park Ridge, IL
Best tea, staff and atmosphere ever!
Place rating: 5
Park Ridge, IL
My daughter told me about this place. I stopped in last week and was pleasantly surprised
with it’s charm. The tea is fantastic!!! This is a must try.
Place rating: 5
Chicago, IL
The teas are delicious and the service is excellent! They will brew up anything you would like to try before purchasing which I greatly appreciate. They also have a small tea bar where you can order any of their teas — this I have yet to try, but looks fun. Would recommend this sweet little shop to all the tea lovers!
Place rating: 5
Denver, CO
Love this place! They have about 200 different kinds of loose leaf tea, including some great blends I haven’t found elsewhere – and they will make you samples of anything you want to try! They also have a little café counter where they’ll serve up chai lattes (for that matter, any kind of tea latte you want) or brew you a little pot of tea while you hang out with friends. Prices are usually around $ 8⁄50 grams of black tea (though they vary quite a bit for some of the more exotic varieties). Not bad for what you get. There are also several teapots and accessories available.
Friendly staff, great tea, and a really nice place; I’m hooked.
Place rating: 5
Park Ridge, IL
Amazing teas and service! Love!
Place rating: 4
Niles, IL
I love loose leaf tea. I actually happened across this store whilst headed to the Farmer’s Market. They have a fine selection of teas, and the man who helped me was knowledgeable of the flavors and earthiness of different teas. This is important to me because I like bold tea that isn’t too earthy. I’ve purchased a number of teas in the past that I ended up tossing out because I didn’t like them. With loose leaf tea, that can get expensive.
The prices here are mostly reasonable. They even have tea tastings, which is great for the above reason I talked about. They also have a frequent buyer system, which can save you $ in the long run.
I appreciate small businesses and was SO TIRED of trying to not go broke buying tea at Teavana in the mall. I will say, when it is the ladies working here, they aren’t quite as friendly, but ARE knowledgeable.
Overall, I will continue to buy my loose leaf tea here. They also have great tea-​related gifts that look cute and are totally useful.
Place rating: 4
San Diego, CA
Great little tea shop with an outstanding selection. Definitely go and have a little tea party to try out all the flavors you’re interested in. The owners are very nice and have no problem guiding the tea illiterate to the perfect choice.
Place rating: 5
Park Ridge, IL
Wonderful little shop that fosters a casual, friendly atmosphere. Serves and sells an incredible assortment of teas and tea-​related items. I used to go to the local Starbucks for my beverage fix, but Tealula has now become my go-​to place. Really couldn’t ask for much more, this place is excellent. Highly recommended.
Place rating: 5
Chicago, IL
Great business concept at work here. I use their teas for the iced tea blend, and my wife has her favorites for her hot teas. They have many proprietary tea selections, and they also have a bar where you can order tea to drink in store. This is what a small business should be all about. Teavana and Adagio have nothing on this place.
Place rating: 5
Glenview, IL
You have no idea how happy I am to find a great tea room near home. I’ve been going to tea Lula for years now and I’m always amazed with my experience there. Whether your enjoying a cup of tea in store or are purchasing a gift, only expect to be blown away! I was introduced to Tealula a few years back by a friend. The staff is always friendly and knowledgeable! The owners are constantly taking trips to Hawaii and Asia to learn and embrace the culture and science behind great loose leaf tea. Tea Lula is great for gifts or just spoiling yourself :) I recommend Kookaberry Kiwi or Blushing Bride. They even have a great story behind that flavor! There was a wedding party taking pictures on the train tracks by the store, and they gave the bride a small gift of that tea! It’s getting cold out and I know where I’ll be to warm up this winter!
Place rating: 4
Chicago, IL
Great place to purchase loose leaf tea of all varieties and cute accoutrements. Lovely, relaxing space to enjoy a cup of fresh brewed tea. You can select any tea in the house to enjoy at the bar or at a table inside our outside.
Place rating: 4
Skokie, IL
I thought this place would be more like a café, but it’s more like a tea store that also serves drinks. The staff member my friend and I talked to was friendly and knowledgable, and he was able to recommend several great summery drinks. I very much enjoyed my George sweet peach iced tea!
Place rating: 4
Silicon Valley, CA
«Perfectly adequate.» ~ emotionless thirsty robot
I was thirsty.
It was a dreary day.
The boss lady asked if I wanted to join her for a spot of tea.
Who am I to turn down a charming offer such as that?
First, I think it’s only fair to fill any readers in on my un-​knowlegde of what a tea room was. I don’t know what I was expecting, but I kind of wish it were just called a tea shop. To me, that better describes the experience, but whatever. If this is what a tea room is, great. I get it now.
I was more expecting a café that sort of looked like the inside of Jeannie’s bottle on ‘I Dream of Jeannie’, but apparently that’s something I made up and stored in my head under the file folder name of ‘Tea Room’.
The lady-​boss and I split a pot of tea (How cute is that? We’re like half of the Golden Girls, right?) in a quiet, window-​side nook. There were really only three places to sit inside, and if you had more than 2 people to your group your seating options would be limited to the tasting bar, which looked like fun, but a little noisier than we were hoping for given our work-​time meeting.
Our pot of South Beach Peach tea was pretty outstanding and served enough for probably 4.5 teacups of tea total at a rate of $ 9 a pot. Not too shabby for the quality and flavor or tea. I still regret not buying some loose leaf of it to take home.
They sadly don’t have wi-​fi, so we weren’t able to do any of the work we’d planned on doing there, but it ended up turning out fine because it freed up a good hour+ for me to rant and rave conspiracies about the STILL MISSING Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.
Pretty positive I dug myself into a whole new category of crazy with regards to how my lady-​boss must think of me, but I also think a part of her likes my oddball jibber-​jabber so it all worked out in the end.
If in the area, I’d go back. Plus, their little springtime outdoor mini table set-​ups are adorable.
Place rating: 4
Schaumburg, IL
TeaLula Teaaaaaaluuuuuuula. I felt a little like David Spade and Chris Farley a la Black Sheep rolling the name off my tongue over and over again, without the nitrous oxide, of course.
Fun name aside, this adorable tea room and shop is so sweet it’ll give you a toothache. There are a few tables near the front of the shop and a nice tea «bar» near the back. The store is impeccably kept, with friendly, knowledgeable staff and plentiful tea options with two large carafes of samples to taste.
Candice G and I both sampled the super fragrant and delightful South Beach Peach tea and immediately decided that it was the bev for us. There’s a nice array of honey, milk and sweeteners to accompany your tea of choice, too. A few minutes later we were imbibing in a large pot of the tasty tea, chatting away near the window. $ 9 and 30 minutes later we were tea-​d up and ready to head out.
A note for potential improvement:
–No WiFi — the owner/​manager/​staffer mentioned a few times over that they aren’t a «Starbucks» or a big business and WiFi is expensive. Yeeeeeah, but if you want folks to hang around for a while, drink more tea and perhaps get some work done that might be something to look into.
Place rating: 5
Chicago, IL
I briefly went here to meet up with someone in Park Ridge. I saw it, and prefer tea over coffee when possible. It is a whole shop, that also serves the tea as well. They are independently owned, and very friendly. I personally loved the honey dispenser. I will write a longer review later, but wanted to put something in from my phone right away since I enjoyed them so much.
Place rating: 4
Chicago, IL
I went there Sunday straight off the farmers market to get a cup of tea. It was very busy. Outside looks fancy with people drinking their tea from porcelain cups. Inside it’s more homey. You can get all sorts of tea and tea related equipment. Did not buy anything since it was busy, but I might come back.
Place rating: 5
Chicago, IL
So… the moms read somewhere that oolong tea helps you lose weight. Seeing that we are definitely not experienced in the art of drinking tea, I figured we better get some pro help. Enter Tea Lula. We were lucky enough to meet the owner Sheila that day, and I wish I took notes so I could remember half the interesting things she taught us.
She invited us to sit at the tea bar, and offered to brew up some of the magic weight loss tea — may I say my mom was just a little overexcited at that. This is what they offer all their customers, and getting to try each tea before you buy means you’re never blowing money on something you might not end up digging. Me likey. Also, the whole time we sat there enjoying our tea we got the better than Wikipedia info on it — Sheila explained the how and why difference in taste between the first steeped batch of tea and the second. She pulled out different kinds of oolong to show the difference in how the leaves are rolled, depending on where it’s from. In short, she knows everything about anything tea. Better yet, she was excited about sharing the info with us, and it was definitely appreciated.
There’s also a variety of things to buy, and since my mom was just starting out Sheila suggested the Ingenuitea teapot, which has been perfect — cheap and easy to use. Better yet they have a bunch of cute gifts like mugs, teapots, and… basically anything you’d expect to find in a tea shop. Of course, meeting Shiela made our visit, and the mom is now a tea convert. Mission accomplished.