The Modern Tea House
A woman smiling with a cup of Joy Tea

Our Story

From the Tea Horse Road to America.

For thousands of years, horses carried the most amazing tea across China. Joy brings it to you.

  1. Ancient China

    The Tea Horse Road

    A horse carrying baskets of tea on a mountain path

    Horses were crucial for carrying tea along the Tea Horse Road, a path off the Silk Road to the nation's tea trading capital.

  2. Fujian · Yunnan · Sichuan

    The estates

    A hand picking tea leaves at dusk

    Handcrafted tea from prestigious estates in Fujian, Yunnan and Sichuan, cultivated for millennia.

  3. Our belief

    Tea in America is horrible. We think it deserves better.

    Tea is the greatest drink on earth. Inside these magical leaves is the perfect form of human energy and renewal. They deserve better.

    Every drink will make you say wow.

  4. Our start

    Forget what you think tea tastes like.

    Customers lining up at the Joy Tea trailer on a summer day

    We didn't start with a tea house. We started with a trailer in River Forest, pouring our very first drinks for anyone curious enough to stop.

    Our goal was to change the way Americans think about tea, forever. From our early customers' first sips, they knew this was something special.

  5. March 2026

    River Forest

    Joy Tea storefront at 7773 Lake Street

    Our first tea house opens at 7773 Lake Street. Simple drinks, made with the world's best tea.

    See the menu
  6. On the road. Again

    The Joy Tea Trailer

    We're preparing to open our next store. Exploring Oak Park, Illinois.

  7. Next

    Where Joy is going

    • ElmhurstDec 2026
    • Oakbrook2027
    • Naperville2027
    • Skokie2027

When you see this horse, know that you are about to be transported to a world thousands of miles away.

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