INDIAN TEA EXTRA
10 hours of teaching over 4 live webinars.
In this masterclass, we will learn about the history of the Indian tea industry, and explore teas from lesser known regions. We push beyond Assam and Darjeeling, discovering and tasting teas from Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Tripura, Terai, Bihar, Sikkim, Kangra, Kumaon, and the areas surrounding the Nilgiri Hills. Think India is only famous for its black teas? We will also taste artisan and small-batch made greens, oolongs and whites.
This course contributes one credit toward the Level Three Tea Diploma but is open to all, regardless of previous experience or study with the UK Tea Academy. For more details about the Tea Diploma qualification, please see this page or email info@ukteaacademy.com
LIVE WEBINARS
£tbc
25 carefully selected fine teas are included in your course price and will be mailed to you before the course begins. Counts as one credit towards your Level 3 Tea Diploma.
International Postage £30
Restrictions apply, please click the ‘Non-UK’ button at the side of this page for more info
WHO IS IT FOR?
This course is ideal for anyone interested in discovering, or furthering their knowledge of, Indian Tea.
Completion of this masterclass will count as one credit towards the Level 3 Tea Diploma.
Our online masterclasses are open to anyone. If you are aiming for a final Level Three qualification but you have not yet achieved your Level Two Tea Sommelier qualification, you will receive one module credit that can be carried forward.
WHAT DOES IT COVER?
Webinar 1: An Introduction to Indian Tea: This one-hour opening webinar will introduce in detail the history and background of the Indian Tea Industry and will include an edited video interview with a key industry personality who will give an overview of the industry today.
Webinar 2, Northeast India: Since the first plants were cultivated commercially in Assam, that is where our studies begin. And because several other areas surrounding the Assam Valley are today also producing tea, we will discuss and taste teas from Arunachal Pradesh to the north of Assam; from Nagaland to the southeast; Meghalaya to the south; Tripura even further to the south, Terai which runs along the southern border of Nepal, and Bihar, also to the south of Nepal. We will taste some black orthodox and CTC teas, a handmade black, a green and a white tea.
Webinar 3, Darjeeling and Northwest India: Webinar 3 takes us to Darjeeling to talk about some of the region’s less traditional teas that we have not yet tasted in the Tea Sommelier course (oolong, white, green and ‘moonlight’ tea). And we will visit Sikkim the small kingdom tucked in between Darjeeling and Bhutan where Temi Tea Garden still dominates but other producers also now make some excellent teas. We will then travel up into the foothills of the Himalayas to the west of Darjeeling to learn about Kangra, once a major tea producing area, abandoned when an earthquake devastated the area in 1905, but now back on track and making some very good teas. We’ll also go to Kumaon to find out about the work of Young Mountain Tea with growers there and to taste the white tea and the black tea that the company markets in the US.
Webinar 4, Southern India: Webinar 4 focuses on India’s southern Nilgiri Hills and we’ll taste some black teas from the different regions (Anamallais, Wayanad, etc) that produce teas with slightly different flavour profiles. And we’ll taste a 2nd Flush SFTGFOP1 black tea from Thiashola, the oldest of the Nilgiri Tea gardens dating back to 1859, 2 white teas from different gardens, and some of the teas made at Tea Studio, the recently established boutique factory near Coonoor, that is run by an all-women team and produces excellent small-batch speciality teas.
WHAT WILL I NEED?
1. Your computer to access the webinars via Zoom and online resources.
2. Kettle, filtered water, and some necessary teaware items
For brewing the 25 teas, you will need some teaware items. A list of recommended equipment will be sent upon booking, to help you prepare for the course.
ABOUT THE TUTOR
This masterclass is taught by Kurush Bharucha.
With his rich knowledge of multi-origin teas and the global Tea Industry, we are thrilled to have Kurush as one of our Tutors.
Kurush started his career in 1985 with Brooke Bond India Limited, and has worked in all 6 Indian Tea auction centres – Kolkata, Guwahati and Siliguri in North India, and Kochi, Coimbatore and Coonoor in South India. In his early days, he used to taste up to 1000 cups of tea each day (yes!), in support of his mentor’s adage, ‘Practice makes Perfect, so Perfect your Practice’.
He is extensively travelled from ‘Bush to Brand’ (i.e. from tea origin countries to tea drinking countries). His career has seen him move around the world – from tenures of 20 years across India, to 8 years in Dubai, to 11 years in the UK.
Kurush is a passionate Tea tutor and strongly believes that the best way to learn about tea, is to drink it. As Unilever/Lipton’s Chief Tea Quality Custodian, he has passed on his knowledge by engaging, educating, exciting and energising many tasters under his wing.
FURTHER TRAINING
If you wish to continue studying for your Tea Diploma, you will need to take further courses at this level and you must have already completed both Level One and Level Two before the final qualification can be awarded.
