This comprehensive Test-only course is for experts who are qualified, via professional experience, other certification programs or both, to take our course-ending exams for our first five courses and move straight to CORE.06 Beyond Camellia Sinensis.

Summaries of content covered in each of the five exams.

CORE.01 – Essentials of Camellia Sinensis introduces the amazing tea plant and the three factors that make it possible for it to be the source of hundreds of kinds of teas. This class also explores the botany of the plant, including the history, varieties, cultivars and cellular chemistry and continues with the six stages of tea processing and an overview of the six types of tea that come from this single amazing plant.

CORE.02 – Tea Enhancements and Grading Systems examines the six post-manufacturing processes of blending, flavoring, scenting, decaffeination, baking and aging. We will look at the teas these additional processes create and the impact some of these processes have on labeling. The second week of this fundamental class asks 'What is the best tea?' and examines the meaning of quality in tea, naming and grading, and what the grading systems used internationally do and do not tell us.

CORE.03 – Tea Terroir I – China, Japan, Taiwan, Korea. We begin our journey to countries of origin and a detailed approach to terroir. And we rightfully start off with our focus on the birthplace of tea – China. This class will also explore three countries of origin highly influenced by this tea powerhouse but truly unique unto their own – Korea, Japan and Taiwan.

CORE.04 – Tea Terroir II – India, Sri Lanka and Kenya. For the next step in our exploration of major producing countries, we shift to the south and discover the beauty and characteristics of teas from India, Sri Lanka, and Kenya, as we further our review of the world of tea.

CORE.05 – The Infusion. Most of the classes in the core curriculum focus on the tea plant and how and where it is grown and manufactured. This class explores the process that transforms the tea leaf into the final product – a cup of tea. By looking closely into the three components of the process we will explore what is in the cup and how it got there.

This class introduces Camellia sinensis and the three factors that make it possible for this one plant to be the source of hundreds of kinds of teas. It also explores the botany of the plant, including the history, varieties, cultivars and cellular chemistry.

Building on the foundation material of CORE.01 and understanding how a single plant can create hundreds of kinds of tea, we will explore the post-manufacturing processes such as baking, aging, blending, flavoring, and more.

With a strong foundation in the background of the tea plant and how teas are manufactured, we begin our journey to countries of origin and a detailed approach to terroir. And we rightfully start off with our focus on the birthplace of tea - China. Then we will travel to Korea, a smaller country of origin but home of quality green teas that are making a name for themselves around the world. This class will also explore two countries of origin highly influenced by China but truly unique unto their own – Japan and Taiwan. Again, we conclude with a focused cupping of these regions and continue to add to your experience and confidence in the organoleptic evaluation process.

Most of the classes in the core curriculum focus on the tea plant and how and where it is grown and manufactured. This class explores the process that transforms the tea leaf into the final product – a cup of tea. By looking closely into the three components of the process we will explore what is in the cup and how it got there.

In the final online class for our core curriculum, we extend our knowledge of tea to an overview of the many botanical infusions other than Camellia sinensis. Our focus will be on the most popular herbals in the market such as Rooibos, Yerba Mate, Guayusa, and more. The first week includes an exploration of humankind’s long relationship to botanical infusions as well as an in-depth explanation of the correct vocabulary for what (technically) is and isn’t ‘tea.’ Sensory evaluations of several herbal infusions conclude the class.