‘Like a candy store’ for tea: Elgin’s Steep N’ Clay sells everything for the perfect cup, down to the pot

Editor’s note: This story is part of an occasional series focusing on local businesses inducted into the Illinois Made program by the Illinois Office of Tourism.

The shelves at Steep N’ Clay in downtown Elgin present an astounding array of teas with labels on the jars that excite curiosity about their contents — Eternity, Garden Gold, and Black Beauty.

A glance within the jars reveals contents rich in ingredients. Black Beauty mixes rose petals and peppermint. Plum and Spice mingles hibiscus flowers, rose hips, cinnamon and cranberries. Amazing Grey combines Earl Grey and safflower petals.

This only scratches the surface of the inventory at the Steep N’ Clay tea house and pottery shop at 8 Douglas Ave. The shop has earned not only the plaudits of customers, but also has gained recognition from the state as one of the makers and small businesses honored in its Illinois Made program.

The shop was among 48 businesses picked in 2023 for the Illinois Makers program, which celebrates small businesses whose uniquely Illinois style and creativity set locally made goods apart.

When owners Tom and Kat Hill moved into the more than century-old structure with copper ceilings, they faced potentially daunting challenges. It was the height of the pandemic, and the couple was new to the business world and also raising a family.

Tom Hill had a background as a ceramic artist and had taught art in Montessori schools and at Northwestern University.

COVID made him appreciate life in general and think about what he could be doing. Among those things was being his own boss.

With the money he had saved, he opened the shop within walking distance of their home.

“It’s my wife that said, ‘What’s stopping you? Why don’t you just do it?’ ” he said.

The couple often would drive by the building, but when they saw the “for lease” sign and learned the tenant was going to move to a business next door, they began making inquiries.

Originally, the focus was on the clay element of the business, featuring the pottery created by the couple, but it quickly became clear the pottery would take a back seat in a big way.

“The community was asking not only for the tea, but also asking for raw ingredients to make their own teas or blend up their own medicinal tonics,” he said.

“We have over 300 teas in stock,” he said. But throughout the year, the store may have as many as 450. It also creates special blends with the raw ingredients for customers.

Hill said he has been a lifelong tea drinker, tracing the habit to times when he would enjoy drinking tea with his grandmother.

“She was the one that, whenever we would get sick, would push the tea. ‘You need to drink this or that,’ ” he said. “Or she would go into her garden and pick some stuff and brew me up some kind of concoction and drink it.”

In his previous involvement in ceramics and the pottery world, Hill would sell teacups to different tea shops, galleries and stores, which brought him into a closer connection with the tea industry.

“I did an exhibition that was all about the shape of a teapot and the function of a teapot. And I did a teapot pairing to the right tea to go with it,” he said.

He said the store sources directly from small tea firms.

“We take each tea batch and then we blend it with the different herbs or spices to create our blends that we sell here,” he said.

On Sundays, the store has tea tastings from 10 a.m. until noon.

“We sit down for two hours and talk about tea,” he said. “And get people to try and explore different flavors.”

There is a homey and informal atmosphere about the place, which manages to seem bigger than its space would seem to allow. The couple’s daughter Evelyn often can be seen roaming about the space.

There is a gumball machine filled with tea bags, and customers also can find tea cups and tea filters.

“This shop, for an adult that’s into tea, this is like a candy store,” he said.

One can still find plenty of pottery, and the couple sells it to local shops and galleries.

The Hills’ success can be traced to the product, but he said there also is an all-important factor.

“It’s also because of our willingness to listen to the customers on what they’re looking for,” he said.