The UK Tea Academy

People wishing to take this course must first have completed the UK Tea Academy Tea Champion (Level One) course.

This course is currently only available as a series of live webinars.

Price: £1650 + VAT (total £1980)

To reserve your place on this course, you may complete the registration and pay an initial £450 deposit. You will then be asked to pay the remaining sum on or before 12th May 2024. The deposit is non-refundable. You may be transferred to another event if you give us a full four weeks' notice before this course's start date, but there will be an admin fee of £120.

£50 postage for non-UK addresses. Restrictions apply, please make sure you read the information on this page carefully before making your booking, especially if you live in Spain or Portugal.

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The Tea Sommelier course takes the student on an in-depth journey of discovery in the world of tea. Professionals working in the tea sector will further their knowledge and practical skills, positively impacting the tea business they work in and enhancing their value in this premium, fast-growing sector. This Level 2 certificate course is recognized by leading F&B groups as adding valuable practical skills and professional understanding to their staff’s knowledge of tea.

This 12-webinar course is ideal for:

• professionals involved in sourcing tea from world origins
• those who oversee the brewing and service of tea
• anyone writing tea menus and press releases and needing a more in-depth understanding of teas
• anyone with a serious love of tea

YOUR COMMITMENT 36 hours (12 modules of 3 hours each). You will also need to have available a range of teaware, filtered water and other equipment, which will be confirmed to you in writing.

OUR COMMITMENT The Tea Sommelier (Level 2) course includes; 90 specially selected teas, Academy delegate digital pack and pre-course information; cost of exam and certificate; 12 webinars of learning through Zoom with our qualified, expert tutors; multiple tea tastings and sensory evaluation of different teas; lessons in creating and writing copy; and a guide to food and tea pairing.

ARE THERE ANY ENTRY REQUIREMENTS? Level Two is open to all UK Tea Academy Tea Champions: trainees who have successfully passed the Level One course and been awarded the Tea Champion certificate.

WHAT WILL I NEED? All teas will be sent to you in advance of the first webinar. It is important that you are available to accept these deliveries (please note we cannot deliver to PO Boxes), as the course cannot be taken without the correct teas. We will also send you a list with full instructions after you have booked onto the course, including the additional equipment that you should prepare.

WHAT WILL I LEARN?

• Overview of terroir and cultivation
• Sensory evaluation of tea & tea vocabulary
• Tasting and assessment of more than 80 teas from around the world
• An insight into small-scale artisan production
• How teas are bought and sold
• The ‘how’ of tea trading
• Background to the major tea growing regions of the world
• An in-depth look at teas from major countries of origin as well as those from less well-known and newly emerging tea-growing regions.
• Different water delivery system and tea brewing machines
• Writing tea descriptions for tea menus, tea websites and packaging
• The principles of Tea and Food Pairing
• How to prepare a tasting event
• Cupping teas and cupping practise
• Tea Rituals

BREAKDOWN OF EACH WEBINAR:

CUL - Tea Cultivation and the Tea Trade Revision of important information from Tea Champion; how and where tea is grown; how tea is sold by private contract; demonstration of standard tea cupping demo; an assessment of different water delivery machines

SEN - Sensory Evaluation of Tea In this webinar we will work through every aspect of three teas: assessment of dry leaf, tea liquor and wet leaf. We will then write a description of each that could go onto a website, tea packet or into a press release for your business.

JAP - Japanese Teas We will learn about the history of Japanese teas, from the arrival of tea into the country from China in the 9th century to today’s major industry producing mostly green but also some black teas to help satisfy Japanese tea drinkers’ growing love of full oxidised tea. We will discuss the major types of green tea, and taste 10 green teas and 1 black.

CWG - Chinese White and Green Teas We will consider the different grades of white tea and taste a recent Shou Mei and an aged Shou Mei from Fujian province as well as 2 white teas from Yunnan for comparison. We will also recap the manufacture of Chinese green teas and taste four very special green teas.

COB - Chinese Oolongs and Black Teas After re-visiting the manufacture of dark and balled oolongs, we will taste and discuss the flavour profile of 3 different Tie Guan Yin oolongs, a Da Hong Pai and Shui Xian dark oolongs from Fujian province as well as two dark Dan Cong oolongs from the Phoenix Mountains in Guangdong province. We will also taste four black teas and discuss Lapsang Souchong.

CDG - Chinese Dark Teas and Gong Fu Brewing This module discusses fermented dark teas and Puerh teas. We will taste a Yunnan Maocha, an aged puerh and two other dark teas. We will also demonstrate how teas are brewed by the Gong Fu method using a Yixing Pot and a Gaiwan.

IND - Indian Teas This module includes 12 tastings of teas made during different seasons in the key regions of Assam, Darjeeling and the southern Nigiri Hills.

TAI - Taiwanese Teas This module discusses the history of Taiwanese teas to modern day and considers the main tea regions, with a tasting of eight Taiwanese oolong and black teas from the island’s important mountain areas.

SLN - Teas from Sri Lanka We will discuss the growing regions and altitudes of Ceylon teas before tasting five black teas from low-grown and high-grown areas.

SKV - Teas from South Korea, Vietnam and Nepal; Hosting a Tea Event Following a discussion of South Korea’s tea history and main growing regions, we will taste 1 spring green tea from Boseong and a black tea from Hadong. We’ll then talk about Vietnam’s increasingly important tea industry and taste a green tea and a black before looking at how the country’s traditional Lotus Tea is made. We will discuss Nepal’s tea growing activities since the 1970s and taste two Nepalese teas. The last hour of this webinar will cover every aspect of how to organise a tea-tasting event – a crucial activity for anyone working with tea in any capacity.

AFR - Teas from Africa and Different Brewing Parameters East African countries produce mainly CTC black teas for tea bags so we’ll taste 3 from Kenya, Rwanda and Malawi to compare the quality and character. Some factories also now produce some excellent orthodox teas and we’ll taste a hand-picked white from Malawi, a large-leaf black from Kenya and a Kenyan green tea made from the purple-leafed cultivar.

TFP - Presenting Teas at Tea Tasting Events; Tea as an Ingredient; Tea and Food Pairing; Tea Rituals Presenting teas at a tea tasting event; dry leaf recognition; recognising the taste and aroma of bad teas; tea as an ingredient; tea and food pairing with the tasting of three teas and four foods; tea rituals.

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EXAM AND ASSESSMENT CRITERIA The Tea Sommelier Exam will be taken one-to-one via Zoom and at a time to suit each trainee. The exam consists of brewing teas, an oral test and a written test. It usually takes between 2 and 2.5 hours to complete.The examination can only be undertaken after you have completed the 36 hours of Sommelier webinar study with the UK Tea Academy. Upon completion of the Tea Sommelier course and the achievement of satisfactory results in the exam, participants will be awarded the qualification of UK Tea Academy: TEA SOMMELIER.

If in the unlikely case that a trainee fails the exam, it may be taken again on an arranged date and upon the payment of a small fee.