World Tea Academy offers advanced learning programs and higher-level Certifications for the true tea professional. With experience in the professional tea cupping protocol and a basic understanding of the six types of tea and their processing from our classes or your own tea background, you can start taking ADV classes at any time. But in order to earn an Advanced certificate, you would need to earn the Certified Tea Specialist Certification.
If you have a solid foundation in tea knowledge, there is an option to test out of the CORE level materials. Otherwise the recommendation is to start with CORE.01 and .02 and then take the remaining CORE classes in any order as fits your schedule. Then take one of the seven ADV classes that meets the requirements for the ADV certificate you are seeking as it will count for both your Certified Tea Specialist Certification and your ADV Certification path. After successfully completing your WTA Certified Tea Specialist™. accreditation, you can move on to one or more of our Advanced Certifications.
There are 4 Certifications available that include multiple pathways of ADV classes:
Class Length: 3 weeks
Shipped Class Materials: Teas for the course, 1 cupping set
This class focuses on the tea professional’s most valuable skill – using the professional tea cupping protocol as a tool to evaluate teas. The course material takes an in-depth look at terroir, each stage of tea processing and finally the grades of teas, explaining how each factor creates and influences the taste and aroma of tea in the cup. The class materials also include a glossary of tea defects and describes when and how they develop during processing as well as how they would be recognized by taste and/or aroma in the cup. Featuring 17 teas, most of the class is dedicated to the cupping exercises that are designed to illustrate and illuminate how all of these influences appear in the cup.
Class Length: 3 weeks
Shipped Class Materials: Teas for the course and one strainer
This class is an in-depth exploration of both how we experience tea and what we experience. The ‘how’ begins with the anatomy of our organoleptic system, the tools we use to perceive tea on every level. Then we look at how the chemistry of tea ‘colors’ our experience, as well as examining some general principles concerning flavor. Next, there is an explanation of how we sense bitterness, astringency and sweetness in tea, and how they are (surprisingly) related. The last week of class identifies the compounds in tea and the roles they play in creating the flavor of tea. The course author is Virginia Utermohlen Lovelace MD. Click here to read her bio.
Class Length: 3 weeks
Shipped Class Materials: One gaiwan and one 2-piece set of fragrance/tasting cups (total 3 pieces)
This course is an exploration of the inextricable influence of cultures and their traditions on how the world enjoys tea today. Learn how tea lovers around the world partake of tea in their everyday lives as well as in tea ceremonies and rituals which elevate tea drinking to an art form, and even to the height of spiritual exercise.
Class Length: 3 weeks
Shipped Class Materials: None
In this advanced class we examine each of the stages of processing from the point of view of the tea leaf and the chemical transformations that are taking place. Our goal is to identify the volatile and non-volatile chemical compounds that we experience in every type of tea we drink understand how each step of the manufacturing process supports the development of those desirable compounds.
Class Length: 3 weeks
Shipped Class Materials: Teas for the course and 3 pour pots
Great tea service does not build itself. Counter staffers are not intuitive brewers by accident and customers are not knowledgeable or self-aware about options. A truly dynamic, mindful and sustainable tea program, for any operation, takes work, investment and patience. Yet it is achievable and is seen in quality-driven teahouses, cafes, restaurants and hotels across the country. Improve your tea service with presentation techniques and proven advanced brewing techniques in this online course.
Class Length: 3 weeks
Shipped Class Materials: None
Today, as the medical, social and behavioral sciences are defining and measuring human flourishing, they are finding the lifestyles of modern societies and much of what is promoted in our media and by our experts, not only lacking but misguided in their value systems and norms. To flourish and nurture our own well-being, we must choose carefully for ourselves the values that shape and the activities that fill the lives we lead. The idea of crafting a modern tea lifestyle is predicated on the human experience shared around the world that tea is more than just a beverage. This class explores the lessons that tea offers and how the way of tea can infuse our lives with wisdom, qualities and practices that support our well-being and nurture our innate human desire to flourish.
(The medical-based health benefits of tea topics will be covered in another class.)
Class Length: 3 weeks
Shipped Class Materials: None
Quality assurance is the planned and systematic program implemented in an overall system so that quality requirements for a product or service will be met. In this class we will review the core objectives, tools, programs and resources for establishing an effective quality assurance platform, specific to the tea industry, and how these programs can ensure that your products are safe to consume, are legal to sell and are always well received by your customer base. Course author is Tony Tellin. Click here to read his bio.
Class Length: 3 weeks
Shipped Class Materials: 3 teas plus 1 book and one cupping set
This class takes part in the "What is a Tea Sommelier?" discussion as we listen to key industry leaders talk about how they see the role evolve and find its place in our modern, global tea culture. The class goes on to introduce the skills and information needed by anyone who aspires to help both consumers and managers in making informed decisions about tea service or serve as a guide to the world of tea in the specialty tea, food and hospitality industries, academic institutions, or wherever they find themselves presenting and promoting tea and its culture.
CORE.06 Beyond Camellia Sinensis
Class Length: 3 weeks
Shipped Class Materials: 5 herbal "teas"
This class is a comprehensive exploration of the extensive world of botanicals, creating clarity and understanding with concise definitions and in-depth explanations at every level. The course author is Rob McCaleb. Click here to read his bio.
Class Length: 3 weeks
Shipped Class Materials: 3 teas
In this class, we will learn how tea consumption positively affects physical, mental, and even spiritual health. We will examine ancient and modern perspectives; first exploring tea’s healing benefits in the context of ancient Chinese culture and Chinese medicine and then summarizing how cutting-edge science demonstrates these effects.
Class Length: 3 weeks
Shipped Class Materials: 11 teas and 6 other botanicals for blending, plus 1 Flavoring and Blending Kit.
People have been adding substances to enhance and alter tea’s aroma and taste profiles for centuries. During this three week class we will explore the three main techniques used today by tea professionals to scent, flavor and blend teas and other botanicals. During each week’s hands-on learning you will have the opportunity to taste some of the more famous teas, as well as try your hand at applying these techniques. The class material also addresses important aspects of the operational concerns of applying these techniques within your company’s settings. Course author is Scott Svihula. Click here to read his bio.
ADV.02 Understanding the organoleptic experience
Class Length: 3 weeks
Shipped Class Materials: Teas and Easy Pour Brewers for the course
This class introduces you to the organoleptic principles, and their underlying biology and chemistry, that allow you to create delicious blends of teas and other botanical infusions with herbs, spices, and fruits. In the process of creating these different blends you will experience and understand why certain combinations succeed while others fail, thus preparing you to create your own blends from scratch. You will use your knowledge and experiences to develop a vocabulary for describing the best blends, and then create, name, describe, and critique your own blend. The course author is Virginia Utermohlen Lovelace MD. Click here to read her bio.
ADV.11 Blending, Flavoring, Scenting
Class Length: 3 weeks
Shipped Class Materials: None
You will need to use your own cupping set, thermometer, scale and timer as well as two teas for the class.
The world of possibilities in blending teas is immense, but no matter how inspired and informed the new blend you created and fell in love with last week was, commercial success is not guaranteed. Success depends on understanding how the art and the science of tea blending work together. This class starts with exploring how we find the inspiration for the ideation of a tea blend. Then step by step we look at the research, planning and leg-work required to carry the project to its successful completion. This includes how once the flavor, aroma, mouthfeel and visual profiles are perfected, science, technology and effective operational management systems are necessary to ensure that each blend performs consistently. We look at how organoleptic evaluations identify all the key desirable characteristics that define the product are used to evaluate all future iterations during development and processing. And what analytical measurements are taken to establish and maintain specifications throughout all production steps to ensure consistency, machinability, regulatory compliance and profitability. This class will have universal appeal to almost everyone in the tea trade who engages in the creation of enhanced teas - from tea shop owners and branded companies to wholesalers, importers and even tea growers. ADV.13: The Art of Flavoring, Blending and Scenting Part 1 is the first in a two-class series. The course author is Brian Keating. Click here to read his bio.
Class Length: 3 weeks
Shipped Class Materials: Dry flavorings, teas, and spices
You will need to provide: At least two cupping sets, 1 or 2 unflavored, unscented single origin tea(s) of your own (about 2 ounces total), scale, timer, spoon, a small amount of your own dry sweetener, 1 bottle of a dessert spice, 1 small plastic container with lid. Optional: chai spices in addition to the ginger root, cardamom, clove and cinnamon that you will receive, gloves, masks, safety goggles, strainer.
ADV.14 is part 2 of the Art of Flavoring, Blending and Scenting Tea. Week One explores the art of scenting and describes the 4 primary techniques. It also offers key points for success with scenting. Week Two is an in-depth look at the two types of flavorings – wet and dry and how to use them. The focus of all three weeks though, is really the very hands-on assignments. They are designed to illustrate all the information presented in this two-part class and give you the opportunity to take the dive into the art and science of Flavoring, Blending and Scenting. And don’t fail to listen to the recordings by Bruce Richardson and Gilbert Kendzior and read the notes from Scott Svihula. They have many decades of experience blending teas and have generously made their wisdom available to World Tea Academy students. The course author is Scott Svihula. Click here to read his bio.
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ADV.02 is a Prerequisite for this class.
Class Length: 3 weeks
Shipped Class Materials: 9 scent samples with instructions for use.
Aromas are at the heart of your experience of tea, yet most people have little experience identifying them and talking about them. This course is designed to help you develop these capacities, starting with aromas that are present in most teas and then moving on to comparing and contrasting the aromas found in green and oolong teas. On the way, you will learn how the leaf produces these aromas, how your biology interacts with them, and what they mean for the quality of a tea. Course authors are Virginia Utermohlen Lovelace and Scott Svihula. Click here to read their bios.
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ADV.15 is a Prerequisite for this class.
Class Length: 3 weeks
Shipped Class Materials: 9 scent samples with instructions for use.
This course builds on the knowledge you gained in ADV. 15 by introducing the effects of prolonged oxidation, firing and fermentation on a tea’s aromas and on how you experience them. You will explore how these aromas appear and how they are expressed in white, black, puer, and yellow teas. Course authors are Virginia Utermohlen Lovelace and Scott Svihula. Click here to read their bios.