UKTA Newsletter June 2023

EXCITING NEWS: UKTA INTRO TO TEA

Unmissable one day and in-person!

IS THIS FOR YOU?
Have you started your tea training with us? If not, this one-day course is for you!

If you’re already a Tea Champion and have friends who are fascinated by your tea knowledge – this course is for them!

INTRODUCTION TO TEA COURSE
Sunday 2nd July 10am – 4pm @ RAC Club, Pall Mall

A one-day in-person course, held at the RAC Private Members Club in Pall Mall, London, this course introduces you to the essential aspects of tea and provides an enjoyable introduction for both amateur and professional tea lovers.

After attending this course you will be eligible for a discount from the full price of Level One Tea Champion Theory (self-guided online study), should you wish to continue with your tea learning.

WHAT IS THIS ONE-DAY COURSE?
A lively introduction to the surprising world of tea. Full of blind tastings and stories, fabulous facts and quizzes, this is a fun-filled, interactive day for all tea-lovers. Your day includes tastings of delicious and interesting teas from traditional and unexpected tea regions. Test your tasting skills and begin to understand how to appreciate superb tea. A compelling adventure to help you gain greater joy in the happy pursuit of an interest. This is the first step of a tea journey that may just take you a very long way.

WHO IS IT FOR?
This elementary, foundation-level course is designed for anyone new to learning about tea. From enthusiasts wanting to taste and explore more, to hospitality professionals keen to talk with greater confidence when advising guests and customers on their choice of tea.

WHAT WILL YOU LEARN?
The fundamental facts about tea: where it grows, how it is processed from plucked leaf to cup, the different categories of tea, how to tell the difference between them, why loose leaf tea is generally better and why it is considered so beneficial for your health. Crucially you will understand how to get the best from the leaf and make tea better. The next step is the UKTA-certified Tea Champion course.

ARE THERE ANY ENTRY REQUIREMENTS?
This one-day course is open to everyone. No previous experience is required, just plenty of enthusiasm to develop your understanding and knowledge about all aspects of tea.

ABOUT THE TUTOR
The tutor for this course is Carri Hecks. Carri came to the world of speciality tea by way of Petersham Nurseries, where she met and worked on tea events with Jennifer Wood of Canton Tea Co. She has a huge in-depth knowledge of the world of tea-brewing and events.

Book your place HERE and don’t forget to use code INTRO2T for 25% off

Don’t miss out!

Leafies 2023: Now Open for Entries

New features for 2023

RETAIL CATEGORIES
In response to requests from retailers, we now have 9 Best-seller categories. Open for those who want to enter their popular, loose leaf teas which are readily available to buy online or off the shelf.  More info here. 

NEW REGIONS
New categories for tea gardens who have been producing tea commercially for less than 5 years. 

SAMPLE WINNING TEAS AT THE AWARDS CEREMONY
Winners can share their teas giving guests a first taste.

FEEDBACK 
Now an option for entrants to receive judges scores and comments on their teas.

Visit this page for all information about The Leafies 2023.

Taste the Winners from The Leafies 2022

We are delighted to share that the first of The Leafies 2022 winning teas have arrived on Fortnum’s rare tea counter! A selection of last year’s Gold winners are now available at Fortnum & Mason’s flagship store in Piccadilly.

You can also purchase many of last year’s winners online from Canton, as part of its exciting new limited edition Leafies range. Use code UKTA15 for 15% off these exquisite teas. 

The first ever International Tea Academy Awards, The Leafies, were launched last year to celebrate the astonishing diversity, quality and taste of handcrafted loose leaf teas from around the world. We are proud to have brought international acclaim and global market exposure to many of the small-scale gardens who won last year. 

Fortnum & Mason will be partnering with The Leafies again this year. And we have more exciting announcements coming up as we confirm this year’s categories and open entries to The Leafies 2023.

Keep an eye on our newsletter, website and social media channels for more information.

The Leafies 2022 Special Award: Best in Show, read our blog about the winning tea

We recently caught up with last year’s special award winner, Mr Kajihara of Ocha-no-Kajihara, whose Benifuuki 2nd Flush scooped the The Leafies 2022 Special Award for ‘Best in Show’. 

The Best in Show represents the ultimate tea award chosen from all the category winners. It is not a comparison of the finest teas but a unanimous vote from the judges on the most outstanding tea of all the winners. 

We spoke with Mr Kajhara about the impact of the award, the state of tea production in Japan and his thoughts on why tea competitions such as The Leafies matter so much to small-scale tea farmers.

Read the full blog here

Tea Industry Job Opportunities

Ops Manager @ Canton
Canton Tea is looking for an experienced and dynamic operations manager to join the team for the next exciting phase in the company’s growth. 

Read the full job description here

General Manager @ Orange Pekoe Tea Shop
Orange Pekoe London is looking for an experienced Manager to run their busy cafe and tearoom, previous experience in a similar role is essential and a passion for tea is desirable.

Read the full job description here

Herbal workshops with Nadine El-Hage

Nadine, UKTA Alumna and volunteer, has been busy delivering workshops & events with her company, Two For Joy Apothecary, around the country.

In March she held a few different community focused tea & wellbeing workshops; the first was at Coventry based charity Feeding Coventry, an affiliate of Feeding Britain. For this workshop Medicinal Herbal Tea Blending it was open to members of the community to come along, join in for the day & learn about some very attainable wellbeing supportive herbals, with a focus on stress and seasonal support. They blended their own and finished the session by planting some herbs for the community garden so they can keep the infusions going sustainably.

The other workshops were Herbs For Wellbeing were pop ups in both Birmingham and Manchester for community day events, with herbal infusion bar and presentations on some key herbals to support health and wellbeing.

Nadine will continue to deliver in person workshops over the Summer months to share the passion and enthusiasm for herbals and infusions with others. 

www.twoforjoy.co
hello@twoforjoy.co