Focused Tastings & Skill Building Workshops

Deconstructing Famous Traditional Grocery Store Blends

Skill Building Workshop 

Friday, June 1, 8:30 - 11:30 a.m.

The tea section at grocery stores remains where mainstream America buys their tea. In this hands-on blending workshop, you will use some of the famous traditional blends as inspiration and foundation in creating your own best-selling loose leaf teas. 
Speaker: Victor Jara, Purchasing & Regulatory Affairs, Sungarden Tea

By the end of this workshop you will be able to:

1. Reverse formulation.
2. Identify blend components.
3. Identify natural and artificial flavorings.
4. Find substitute ingredients.
5. Make a blend of your own.

Understanding Puer Tea

Focused Tasting

June 1, 11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

This fascinating session will explore the history and manufacture of Puer teas from China’s Yunnan province. Attendees will taste 5 different Puerh teas made by different processes from young bushes and from ancient trees and aged for just a few years or for many years. To add a truly Chinese flavor, the session will conclude with a performance of the Puer Tea Ceremony by Di Liu. 
Speaker: Jane Pettigrew, International Tea Consultant and Writer, with Professor Kanzo Sakata, Kyoto University, and Performance by Di Liu

By the end of this tasting you will be able to:

1. To understand how raw puer teas are made.
2. To understand how cooked puer teas are made.
3. To understand the differences between raw puerh and cooked puer.
4. To understand how and why the age of tea trees contributes to the character of puer tea and how the character of puerh tea changes during the ageing process.
5. To understand the health benefits of drinking puer tea.

What is Brisk?

Skill Building Workshop

Friday, June 1, 1:00 - 4:00 p.m.

Better yet, what is Astringency? During this active hands-on session you will cup teas and accurately match sensations with professional tasting terms. You will build vocabulary and deepen your understanding of professional terminology. Moreover, you will develop your ability to objectively assess and describe the taste profile of a cup of tea, without superimposing personal biases. 
Speaker: Aaron Vick, The G.S. Haly Company with Suzette Hammond, Rishi Tea and Mo Sardella, The G.S. Haly Company

By the end of this workshop you will be able to:

1. Translate professional tasting terms into customer-focused descriptions.
2. Advance your cupping skills to create accurate descriptions for your customers.
3. Identify and redirect incorrect and misleading vocabulary.
4. Bridge the gap between traditional tea descriptions and contemporary tea terminology.
5. Understand how tea type and origin affect cup-character, and how to communicate that quality to customers.

Taste the Difference - Different Cups for Different Teas

Focused Tasting

Saturday, June 2, 8:00 - 9:30 a.m. 

Wine connoisseurs know that the shape of the glass totally changes the taste of wine but do tea drinkers consider the effects of the bowl, cup or glass on flavour? In this fascinating session, we'll be tasting 6 different teas in 3 different shapes. Can you taste the difference? 
Speaker: Jane Pettigrew, International Tea Consultant and Writer, with Peter Ting, Owner, 1660 London

By the end of this tasting you will be able to:

1. Understand how the aroma of the tea affects our taste experience.
2. Experience how different shapes affect taste and enjoyment of different teas.
3. Understand which shape best suits a green tea.
4. Understand which shape best suits a black tea.
5. Understand which shape best suits a fragrant tea.

Deconstructing Famous Traditional Grocery Store Blends

Skill Building Workshop

Saturday, June 2, 8:30 - 11:30 a.m.

The tea section at grocery stores remains where mainstream America buys their tea. In this hands-on blending workshop, you will use some of the famous traditional blends as inspiration and foundation in creating your own best-selling loose leaf teas. 
Speaker: Victor Jara, Purchasing & Regulatory Affairs, Sungarden Tea

By the end of this workshop you will be able to:

1. Reverse Formulation.
2. Identifying Blend Components.
3. Identifying Natural and Artificial Flavorings.
4. Finding Substitute Ingredients.
5. Making a Blend of Your Own.

How to Put Together a Comparative Tea and Wine Tasting

Focused Tasting

Saturday, June 2, 11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

Wine and tea professionals share many similar techniques when tasting their beverage of choice. By examining the similarities between these two beverages, a team of Master Sommeliers and Certified Tea Specialists has designed a wine and tea tasting that uses commonly available products. Several pairings will illustrate the concepts presented. 
Speaker: Kyle Stewart, Owner, The Cultured Cup with James Tidwell, Beverage Manager and Master Sommelier, Four Seasons Resort and Club, and Suzette Hammond, Rishi Tea

By the end of this tasting you will be able to:

1. Understand the similarities between tasting wine and tea.
2. Understand the differences between tasting wine and tea.
3. Identify a common procedure and vocabulary that can be used to describe wine and tea.
4. Explain how the similarities and differences between tasting wine and tea can be structured into a tea and wine tasting.
5. Identify commonly available wines and teas that could be used for a wine and tea tasting.

Developing a QA Plan from Beginning to End

Skill Building Workshop

Saturday, June 2, 1:00 - 4:00 p.m.

This hands-on class will help any business develop a quality assurance plan from the development stage through purchasing of raw ingredients through production of finished goods through passing all third party audits. A comprehensive QA plan is vital to successfully maintaining consistency for cup to cup. 
Speaker: Scott Svihula, Teasmith, China Mist Brands

By the end of this workshop you will be able to:

1. Each attendee will walk away with actionable steps to take back to their operation to improve or start their QA plan. 
2. Attendees will have a full understanding on what is needed to pass the major third party audits; including Organic, Kosher and FDA Inspections.
3. Attendees will learn the basics of how to improve upon their sensory skills from recent research in the science of cupping. 
4. Attendees will learn how to spot QA issues even before the product is received or purchased by their customers. 
5. Attendees will learn what to do if something goes wrong with a product to minimize exposure.

Tea Lattes

Focused Tasting

Sunday, June 3, 8:00 - 9:30 a.m.

With tea being the hottest thing in the coffee industry, coffee shops are introducing new specialty tea beverages to bridge the gap for the dark cup loyalist. Learn the tricks of the trade for making tea-based lattes to lure the coffee customer into your store and win them over.

Speaker: Mim Enck, President, East Indies Coffee and Tea Company

Make Money with In-Store Events

Sunday, June 3, 8:30 - 11:30 a.m.

Skill Building Workshop

Sharing your passion for tea creates excited customers, but how does it help the bottom line? In this fun, interactive session, learn to channel the energy of a successful tasting event into sales. Discover which event style works best for your business and execute it with confidence. 
Speaker: Beth Johnston, Founder & CEO, Teas Etc.

By the end of this workshop you will be able to:

1. Create events tailored to your customer.
2. Learn how to engage and make the customer an active participant.
3. How to sell out your event.
4. Effectively organize staff roles, set up, materials and logistics.
5. Determine and evaluate your event ROI (Return on Investment).

Bubble Tea: What is it and is it for You?

Focused Tasting

Sunday, June 3, 11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

Learn about the Taiwanese dessert drink called Bubble Tea. We will talk about its origin, how it is made, what it actually has to do with tea, and how to add it to your product offering. 
Speaker: Nick Nguyen, CEO, Steepery Tea Bar

By the end of this tasting you will be able to:

1. Explain what bubble tea is.
2. Create basic bubble tea drinks.
3. Order from bubble tea suppliers.
4. Decide if this is a product they want to offer.