HOUSATONIC, Mass. — After six years at their location in Great Barrington, Extra Special Teas is expanding with their new shop and café in the village of Housatonic.

“It’s really great, I absolutely love it,” said Patrick Sheridan, who has worked at Extra Special Teas for three years. “I grew up here in Housatonic and this has always been really a very special place to me. It’s great to be back here and working here.”

What You Need To Know

  • Extra Special Teas opened a new location in Housatonic at the end of January
  • The café employs more than 20 young adults with special needs
  • The new location has a full kitchen, tea lab and seating area
  • Many employees said their favorite part of the job is interacting with the community

Extra Special Teas is a nonprofit which employs more than 20 young adults with special needs. They all get the chance to try everything from working the register to preparing tea blends.

Executive director Cherri Sanes said they needed this new, bigger space to keep expanding the program.

“We currently have about 92 Extra Special Teas products that are made by our participants,” said Sanes. “We wanted to do more and create more jobs for the people in our community.”

The café has a full commercial kitchen where they cook up a selection of gluten-free baked goods, and a room in the back called the tea lab, where they can create new tea blends from scratch.

“Everybody started talking about what their favorite ingredients in the teas are,” said Sanes. “So, once again, all the participants have been a big part of this, in planning each tea, and we have a lot more teas that we’re planning to release soon.”

Unlike in the Great Barrington shop, the new location has a small seating area as well. Customers are encouraged to spend time at the café and help build a sense of community with the employees.

“It gives you a boost of confidence,” said Sheridan. “The people are really nice, and it’s a really great crowd to work with.”

“It makes me think that I am one of them, by being a new part of their lives,” said Dan Waite, another longtime employee.