Chad’s Chai

Chad’s Chai is a teahouse in the Arts District of Winston-Salem, NC — a bright, open room on North Liberty Street built around hand-blended loose-leaf teas that founder Chad Morris has been making since 2006. The shop opened in 2023 after 13 years of selling wholesale without a storefront, and Chad’s tea now pours in more than 50 coffee shops and restaurants.

The menu runs to roughly 22 loose-leaf blends, including five different chais — from the flagship Original Black to a yerba mate version to caffeine-free options — plus matcha lattes, tea flights, and classics like Thai iced tea and London fog. The kitchen turns out dairy-free pastries, most of them vegan, with gluten-free options available.

Be sure to check out the pictures below to get a feel for Chad’s Chai before you go — or to relive the visit after.

From a Neighbor’s Chai Party to a Poker Game to 50 Restaurants

Chad Morris got into chai the way most people get into anything worth doing — by being invited over. Neighbors held monthly chai parties where they hand-blended the tea on a stovetop, and Morris was taken by the process as much as the result. As co-owner Thomas Lees put it, “He is much more an artist than a business person. The artistry and creativity that went into creating that pot of chai were really appealing to him, and he started working on it himself.”

Morris began blending his own, then started a weekly standing date on the porch with his friend Zoo — a ritual that ran nearly every Friday for over a decade. When Zoo got married, he asked Chad to make a pot of chai for the wedding and small tea bags as party favors. That was the point where selling it started to seem like a real idea.

The actual break came at a poker table. Someone at the game mentioned he was opening an Irish restaurant and wanted to carry good tea, and everyone at the table pointed down at Chad. That night he was asked to be the restaurant’s “Tea Man,” and Finnigan’s Wake Irish Pub and Kitchen in downtown Winston-Salem became the first business to serve Chad’s tea. The wholesale side grew from there to more than 50 coffee shops and restaurants — including Camino Bakery, which pours Chad’s Chai alongside its own coffee program.

After 13 years without a physical shop, Morris partnered with Thomas Lees, and the two spent several years working toward a storefront. Chad’s Chai opened at 617 North Liberty Street in early 2023, in the old Chronicle building — with the tea production operation moved into the back of the house.

The Teahouse

The room is the first thing people mention: wide open, full of natural light, and anchored by a 360-degree island serving counter in the middle of the floor, which is an unusual layout for any café. It’s kid-friendly, and the space works as well for an afternoon with a laptop as for a quick cup.

On the menu, the tea is the main act rather than an afterthought to coffee. Roughly 22 loose-leaf blends are available, with five chais spanning the range from the Original Black to yerba mate to caffeine-free. Tea flights let you work across several at once, and the staff is known for actually teaching customers what a good chai should taste like. Hot and iced teas, matcha lattes, chai lattes, seasonal drinks, and classics like Thai iced tea and London fog round out the beverage list, generally in the $3–$7 range.

The pastry program is made in-house by their own bakers, drawing on culinary traditions from around the world. Everything is dairy-free, most items are vegan, and gluten-free options are available — which makes Chad’s Chai one of the more accommodating stops in downtown Winston-Salem for restricted diets.

There’s an event space in the back where the teahouse runs workshops covering tea basics, tea history, different types of tea, and tea blending. Loose leaf tea is available for sale to take home, and hot and iced Original Black Chai can be pre-ordered in quantity for gatherings.

Good to Know

• Location: 617 North Liberty Street, Winston-Salem, NC 27101 (Arts District, in the old Chronicle building)
• Parking: Free two-hour validated parking behind the building, accessed via Main Street; street parking is usually available out front
• Hours: Open daily, generally from morning through early evening with later hours Thursday through Saturday; check the Chad’s Chai website for current hours
• Founded: Blending teas since 2006; the teahouse opened in 2023 after 13 years of wholesale-only sales
• Owners: Chad Morris and Thomas Lees
• The teas: About 22 hand-blended loose-leaf varieties, including five chais — Original Black, a yerba mate version, and caffeine-free options among them
• Also serving: Tea flights, matcha lattes, chai lattes, hot and iced teas, seasonal drinks, and classics like Thai iced tea and London fog
• Sourcing philosophy: Real botanicals only — no artificial or “natural” flavorings
• Pastries: Made in-house; all dairy-free, most vegan, with gluten-free options
• Wholesale reach: Chad’s tea is served in more than 50 coffee shops and restaurants, starting with Finnigan’s Wake Irish Pub and Kitchen
• Also available: Loose-leaf tea for sale, pre-orders of hot and iced Original Black Chai for gatherings, and tea workshops in the back event space
• Best for: Tea drinkers, anyone curious about chai beyond the coffee-shop version, remote workers, families, and vegan or gluten-free eaters
• Pair with: The full Winston-Salem food and beverage cluster; Camino Bakery, which pours Chad’s Chai; Krankies Coffee and Camel City Coffee for the rest of the local coffee and tea scene; Broad Branch Distillery and Camel City BBQ Factory nearby; or Mast General Store in the Arts District

A Winston-Salem Highlight

A poker game is a strange place for a business to start. Chad Morris had been blending chai for friends when someone at the table mentioned opening an Irish restaurant and wanting good tea — and everyone pointed at Chad. Finnigan’s Wake became his first wholesale account, and the tea has since spread to more than 50 coffee shops and restaurants across the region.

What makes the teahouse worth the stop is that tea is the main act here, not a coffee shop’s afterthought. Twenty-two loose-leaf blends, five different chais, tea flights for working across several at once, and staff who will genuinely walk you through what separates a good chai from the syrup-based version most places pour. If you think you don’t like chai, this is the room to find out otherwise.

Everything else supports that. The 360-degree island counter, the natural light, the free validated parking behind the building, and a pastry case that’s entirely dairy-free and mostly vegan add up to one of the more comfortable places downtown to sit for an hour. Get a flight if it’s your first visit.

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Resources

Chad’s Chai Website

Chad’s Chai Facebook

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