Rare Tea Cellar, founded in 2005 by Rodrick Markus, specializes in the rarest teas and ingredients in the world, with a focus on procuring gourmet products seldom found in the United States. Rare Tea Cellar looks to find the little nuances that make the ordinary extraordinary, the dimension of flavor that will take your dishes to their highest level. Markus has spent the past 20 years traveling the world to uncover the mysteries of tea and fine ingredients. A member of the Urasenke Tea School in Japan, Markus is a master tea blender and has spent decades uncovering the fine distinctions of tea, innovating with unusual blends and barrel-aged teas while maintaining a dedication to tracking down the premier single-estate variations that elevate the drinking experience. From our warehouse in Chicago, Rodrick Markus and Rare Tea Cellar partner with some of the world’s most renowned chefs. Their tea and ingredients grace the menus of restaurant giants such as Alinea, Oriole, Le Bernardin, and Trois Mec along with over 1,000 additional, groundbreaking clients. Aside from their dealings with chefs. Rare Tea Cellar currently stocks more than 2,000 teas, in addition to more than 5,000 rare ingredients, and is constantly endeavoring to find the new and unusual to round out their offerings. The expansive selection encompasses teas ranging in value from $25 to $100,000 per pound, and rare ingredients like sea grapes from Okinawa, gargantuan cinnamon sticks from Anhui, and fine black truffles from Périgord. Your order will be shipped out on the day you select.