Focused Tasting & Skill Building Workshops

Focused Tastings & Skill Building Workshops

Friday, June 7, 8:00 - 9:30 a.m.

Focused Tasting: Le Nez du Thé (The Nose of Tea)

Using aroma vials, learn about the nuances and aromas that come through in cupping a tea. Identify scents that correspond to flavors so that you can pick up out the subtleties in your tea. Speaker: Shabnam Weber, President & CEO, The Tea Emporium, Inc.

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

1. Understand the correlation between our senses and how we actually taste flavor.
2. Identify aromas without seeing what you smell.
3. Match aromas to teas and pick up the subtleties.
4. Develop a vocabulary to describe the scents and flavors in your tea.
5. Identify teas in a blind cupping.

Friday, June 7, 8:00 - 11:00 a.m.

Skill Building Workshop: Tea and Food Pairings: Science and Art

In this tasting workshop, you will develop a fresh new understanding of how our taste system works; experience the practical application of this system for enjoying the tastes of both hot and iced teas; and renew your appreciation for the versatility of tea as a partner with and in foods. Speakers: Virginia Utermohlen-Lovelace, Principal / Associate Professor, Taste Science LLC / Cornell University, and Renee Senne, Chef de Cuisine, Culinary School Director

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

1. Understand the basic fundamental principles underlying the biology of our human taste system.
2. Apply these fundamental principles to enhance your consumer’s experience of tea.
3. Use these principles to create novel food pairings and uses for tea.
4. Understand how individual differences in taste function influence consumer tea perception and preferences.
5. Use these principles to target your tea messages to new audiences as well as to enhance the experiences of regular tea drinkers.

Friday, June 7, 11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

Focused Tasting: Pairing Green Tea and Japanese Tea Confections

Experience the ancient old tradition of Japanese teas with Wagashi, Japanese confections that evolved into an art form in the ancient Imperial capital of Kyoto. Learn the history and essence of green tea varietals paired with the cherished seasonal confections that continue to be a vital force in Japanese life. From the ceremonial green tea- matcha to a roasted green tea-hoji, enjoy the delicate notes of green tea while savoring the exquisite beauty and flavors of the prized Wagashi. Speaker: Rona Tison, Senior V.P., Corporate Relations ITO EN

Focused Tasting: How to Put Together a Comparative Tea and Wine Tasting

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. Speakers: Kyle Stewart, Co-Owner & Certified Tea Specialist, The Cultured Cup, and James Tidwell, Master Sommelier and Beverage Manager, Four Seasons Resort and Club.

By the end of this workshop 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.

Friday, June 7, 1:00 - 4:00 p.m.

Skill Building Workshop: Tea Blending

Join us for a hands-on presentation exploring the world of blending teas and herbal infusions with Director of Tea, master tea blender David DeCandia, of International Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. Our 3 hour session will help you understand the art of blending teas and herbal infusions. Speaker: David DeCandia, Senior Manager of Tea & Master Tea Blender, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf.

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

1. Understand what creating blends means and how tea ingredients interact.
2. Explore various origins and understand the do’s and the do not’s of what to blend.
3. Experiment with the blending of herbs, spices and fruit with teas and recognize when you have cancelled out a blend.
4. Learn the technique of blending and what tools are needed.
5. When to and when not to incorporate flavoring to your blend.

Saturday, June 8, 8:00 - 9:30 a.m.

Focused Tasting: Innovations of Matcha

In this class, you will learn how to whisk the perfect bowl of traditional Matcha. You’ll also learn how to enjoy Matcha in non-traditional ways, gain knowledge of the different grades of Matcha available in the North American market, and how to distinguish high quality Matcha from imitation Matcha. Speaker: Daniel Coniglio, Sales Representative, Aiya America.

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

1. Make a perfect bowl of Matcha.
2. Whisk Matcha properly.
3. Discover other ways to use & enjoy Matcha.
4. Identify different grades of Matcha.
5. Check Matcha quality.

Focused Tasting: Sensory Evaluation of Tea

The sensory evaluation of tea or sensory appreciation consists of a technique that permits us to express in words what is perceived through our senses. Using a cupping protocol, you will perform a detailed analysis with sight, hearing, smell, touch and flavor. To make this sensory evaluation as objective as possible, we use a standard language to describe the feelings and memories evoked by the tea. This standard language is expressed in the dictionary of aromatic descriptors. The aim of cupping is to distinguish and describe our sensory appreciation of the tea: its color, shape, aroma, flavors, referring to items we know, from an objective perspective. The technique can also determine quality attributes such as aroma, briskness, flavor, body, brightness and color and identify defects on tea. Speakers: Victoria Bisogno, Owner, El Club del Te, and Jane Pettigrew, International Tea Consultant & Writer.

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

1. Identify aroma, taste and flavor descriptors (which will help you to translate your feelings to words).
2. Develop your capability of perceiving aroma notes to build the sensory profile of any tea.
3. Describe the sensory profile of a tea (express in words what is perceived through the senses).
4. Evaluate the quality of tea through the sensory evaluation protocol and identify defects on tea.
5. Describe how professional tea cupping is performed.

Saturday, June 8, 8:00 - 11:00 a.m.

Skill Building Workshop: Setting the Standard – Establishing Benchmarks for Determining Cup Quality

Learn how to establish a standard and evaluate quality against it. Through cupping and teamwork, experience the process of discerning different quality levels, quantifying them, and determining benchmarks that are useful tools for you in your process or business. Speaker: Eliot Jordan, Director of Tea, Peet’s Coffee & Tea.

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

1. Develop an understanding of the subjectivity of taste and quality.
2. Use the senses to experience leaf style, aroma, and flavor.
3. Identify a useful standard benchmark.
4. Apply standards in your process or business.
5. Learn both the helpfulness and the limitations of standards.

Skill Building Workshop: Tea Processing – An Experiential Lab (Part 1)

Roll up your sleeves! In this two-day class your basic understanding of how tea is made will be taken to an entirely new level through hands-on experience. Participate in the process of transforming several pounds of raw tea leaf material into white, green, yellow, oolong, and black teas. From withering to rolling and shaping through oxidation and the final firing, every stage of processing expresses the art and science of tea production. Each of these stages will be discussed and then experienced through the feel, fragrance, and flavor of the tea leaves. The class concludes with an analytical cupping of the five teas produced. Attendees are expected to have basic knowledge of tea and cupping experience. Recommended prerequisites: Tea 101 equivalent and a beginner's cupping class.Speaker: Bill Waddington, Founder & President, TeaSource and Donna Fellman, Online Education Manager, World Tea Media

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

1. Know how five types of orthodox tea are manufactured from the leaf of one plant.
2. Understand each stage of processing as it applies to each of the five types of tea.
3. Experience how the science correlates to the sensory experience of tea processing.
4. Touch, smell, taste, and see fresh tea leaf material during processing.
5. Conduct sensory analysis of the teas that have just been manufactured.

Saturday, June 8, 11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

Focused Tasting: Korean Teas

Korean Teas offer a very appealing range of delicious warm, sweet flavors and aromas. This session will feature one semi-oxidized, one black, and 3 Korean green teas. We will focus on the different types of green tea harvested during the main plucking season from mid-April to early June, and will explain the manufacturing processes used. We will also enjoy an oolong type tea and a black tea. As we taste, we will also discuss the current tea culture in South Korea. Speaker: Jane Pettigrew, International Tea Consultant & Writer.

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

1. Describe where Korean teas are grown and how they are made.
2. Differentiate between the green teas from different seasons.
3. Understand how Korean semi-oxidized teas are made and how they taste.
4. Know why and how some Korean tea producers manufacture black tea.
5. Explore how to brew different Korean teas.

Focused Tasting: Steeped and Brewed: A Comparative Tasting of Tea and Beer

Tea and beer professionals share many similar techniques when tasting their beverage of choice. By examining the similarities between these two beverages, a Certified Tea Specialist and a former employee of a beer company with a beer brewing license have designed a tea and beer tasting that uses commonly available products. Several pairings will illustrate the concepts presented. Speakers: Kyle Stewart, Co-Owner & Certified Tea Specialist, The Cultured Cup, and Phil Krampetz, Co-Owner, The Cultured Cup, and James Tidwell, Master Sommelier and Beverage Manager, Four Seasons Resort and Club

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

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

Saturday, June 8, 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Skill Building Workshop: What is Brisk?

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. Speakers: Aaron Vick & 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.

Skill Building Workshop: Tea Blending

Develop the skills to devise and create signature blends. Learn about how tea bases affect the final product and how to choose ingredients that will work for your theme. Will discuss flavor relationships for a harmonious blend, ingredient ratios and their effect on cost. Speakers: Cynthia Fazekas, Wholesale Sales Manager, Adagio Teas

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

1. Choose base teas.
2. Understand flavor relationships.
3. Create visual appeal.
4. Identify inclusions.
5. Create ratios.

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

Focused Tasting: How to Compare Characteristics of Black Tea

Black teas from all the major tea growing regions in the world - India - Darjeeling, Assam, Nilgiri; Sri Lanka - Nuwara Eliya, Dimbulla, Uva, Ratnapura, Kandy; China - Anhuai (Keemun), Yunnan - (Dianhong)& (Puerh); East Africa - Kenya Speaker: Lalith Guy Paranavitana, President & Founder, Empire Tea Services, LLC

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

1. Compare taste & aroma.
2. Compare color.
3. Compare infusion.
4. Compare dry leaf.
5. Compare their Geography.

Focused Tasting: The Tea of Uganda, Great Tea with a Cause

At 5800 feet above sea level, in the Bushenyi District of southwest Uganda, 60,000 small holder growers grow and produce unique and exceptional teas. Experience these fine Ugandan teas, learn about how privatization of their factory has helped the growers lift themselves up, and how the relationship with "Call To Care Uganda" is changing the lives of women, children, and families of this region. Speaker: Phil Parda, President, WorldSource International.

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

1. Use your new working knowledge of the teas of Uganda.
2. Understand the uniqueness of the micro-climate the Ugandan teas are produced in.
3. Understand the nature of cooperative privatized tea production.
4. Experience the connection between individual growers and the impact of global exposure.
5. Know how "Call To Care Uganda" is helping the Igara Growers improve their lives through tea.

Sunday, June 9, 8:00 - 11:00 a.m.

Skill Building Workshop: How to Make Money with Events

Learn how to organize market and present a profitable, informative and fun event. This interactive session provides all the information you’ll need from selecting the right teas and tasting topics to how best to set up and merchandise for maximum sales. Leave this session with the essential tools and resources you need to begin hosting and making money with events now. Gain the confidence to become your community tea expert, while learning how to maximize your exposure and multiply your sales. Get tips and simple to execute ideas from someone who has successfully conducted hundreds of events in numerous settings. Speaker: Beth Johnston, Founder & CEO, Teas Etc.

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

1. Understand how to sell throughout the event, making it easy for attendees to buy.
2. Determine what tea information is important and how connecting it to specific teas simplifies and improves the educational experience.
3. Learn the top 10 elements that will take your event from good to great.
4. Discover hidden opportunities to share your tea knowledge within your community beyond the retail environment to broaden your customer base.
5. Learn how to engage and inspire attendees.

Skill Building Workshop: Tea Processing – An Experiential Lab (Part 2)

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

Sunday, June 9, 11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

Focused Tasting: Oolong, the Under-Discovered Tea

Oolong teas range in flavor from bright and floral to dark and mysterious, and everything in between. During this session we will touch on the processing of oolong, famous areas of production and styles. We will also infuse and sample some teas to compare and contrast. During the session we will discuss why Oolongs can be an important part of your menu, contributing to your sales and profits. Speaker: Tim Smith, Chief Leaf, The Tea Smith

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

1. Describe Oolong tea, and the basic steps of production.
2. Understand how processing affects the final tea.
3. Differentiate between different styles.
4. Understand how preparation affects the taste in the cup.
5. Explore ideas for featuring Oolongs in your store.

Focused Tasting: The Unknown Teas of Taiwan

Most are familiar with Taiwan's Pouchong, Oriental Beauty, Jade Oolongs, and Amber Oolongs but there are other alluring treasures of Taiwan just waiting to be discovered. In this Focused Tasting session, Thomas Shu will introduce some of the indigenous wild tea plants, unknown to many in the West, but becoming very popular in Taiwan. He will also demonstrate how to effectively present a tea tasting workshop to introduce new teas to your customers. Speaker: Thomas Shu, Owner, ABC Tea House