Class Length: 3 weeks
Prerequisites: none
Shipped Class Materials: 2 cupping sets, 1 scale, 1 timer, 1 thermometer, teas for the course.

Every journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step. 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. The class continues with the six stages of tea processing and an overview of the six types of tea that come from this single amazing plant. The session concludes in week three with an introduction to professional cupping and the sensory evaluation of tea – a skill you will develop and hone throughout the program.

Class Length: 3 weeks
Prerequisites: CORE.01
Shipped Class Materials: Teas for the course.

Building on the curriculum of CORE.01 which included the stages of tea processing and the six types of tea, the first week of this class describes 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, explores naming and grading, and what the grading systems used in China, India, Sri Lanka, Japan, and Taiwan do and do not tell us. The last week will focus on the sensory evaluation of teas.

Class Length: 3 weeks
Prerequisites: CORE.01; CORE.02
Shipped Class Materials: Teas for the course.

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 including the culture and lore. In our fourth class, we continue to build the essential cupping skills required for all tea professionals.

Class Length: 3 weeks
Prerequisites: CORE.01; CORE.02
Shipped Class Materials: Teas for the course.

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. Sensory evaluations of several herbal infusions conclude the class.

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

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: 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. 

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.