Certified Tea Sommeliers Program
TEA 101- INTRODUCTION TO TEA
This year’s event features: The first of eight courses – Tea 101 Introduction to Tea. This extensive 2-day course will combine hours of information and guide you on understanding tea and its rich history, processing methods and preparation techniques. Upon completion of this course, you may use it as a credit towards your Tea Sommelier designation at applicable colleges offering the program.
Led by Shabnam Weber, TAC’s Board Director and key industry leader, you will benefit from her contagious passion for tea and enjoy a fun filled learning environment. Shabnam has played a vital role in the development of the course material and is TAC’s primary industry course instructor.
You will learn about the exciting origins of tea and its epic passage into the 21st century, along with tea grading standards used today. Through a guided series of tastings, you will come to identify standard flavour profiles and evaluative cupping procedures.
What is a Tea a Sommelier?
A Tea Sommelier is certified by Tea Association of Canada, and is a trained and knowledgeable tea professional that is well versed in all aspects of tea. They have a thorough understanding of tea and its history, processing methods and preparation styles. A Tea Sommelier can interact with anyone on the subject of tea and has a strong ability to make recommendations based on consumer needs.
“This program will educate and empower any novice tea-minded individual through its industry connections and targeted content. I have benefited greatly from these courses and would highly recommend anyone on the market looking to enhance their tea knowledge to enroll.”
-Greg Boyer, marketing manager, foodservice at Starbucks Coffee Canada
Questions? Riley Richman, Tea Association of Canada: 416.510.8647 ext #2 or rileyr@tea.ca
2011 Tea Agenda & Course Outline
| Sunday, October 2 2011 | |
| 7:00 AM – 8:00 AM | Registration / Breakfast |
| 8:00 AM – 11:00 AM | 2 Tea Seminars: Retail Benchmarks in Tea & Tea Industry Update |
| 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM | TEA 101 – INTRODUCTION TO TEA |
| 11:00 AM | Instructor introduction Student introduction History of tea Definition of tea Tasting Methodology – how to cup tea properly |
| 1:00 PM – 1:30 PM | Lunch Break – (lunch provided) |
| 1:30 PM | Types of Tea-exploration of classic classification of tea by means of cupping Un-oxidized Teas: - White Tea - Green Tea : Chinese style - Green Tea : Japanese style Semi-oxidized Teas: - Oolong Tea Fully Oxidized Teas: - Black Tea - Pu’er |
| 2:30 PM | Cupping of different tea types |
| 3:00 PM | Break for the day and admission to the trade show floor |
| 5:30 PM – 7:00 PM | Networking Reception |
| Monday, October 3 2011 | |
| 7:00 AM – 8:00 AM | Registration / Breakfast |
| 8:15 AM – 11:00 AM | 1 Tea Seminar: Introduction to Chinese Tea Cupping |
| 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM | TEA 101 – INTRODUCTION TO TEA |
| 11:00 AM | Brief review of day one and questions arising there from |
| 11:20 AM | Tea tasting & terminology Tea grading standards Tea taster’s role Define tea & production methods |
| 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM | SO YOU THINK YOU CAN BE A TEA SOMMELIER (COMPETITION) |
| 1:30 PM | Grading of Tea: illustrated by focused cupping of oxidized teas |
| 2:30 PM | Examination |
| 3:00 PM | Course ends |
| 3:00 PM – 5:00 PM | Break for the day and admission to the trade show floor |