(Photo/World Tea Academy)World Tea Academy’s recent developments have made it better than ever. In August, World Tea Academy introduced a new Tea Blending Certification track. In October, it launched a new and improved website. Additionally, this year, Lisa Boalt Richardson joined forces with Donna Fellman to support the academy’s growth and expansion.
World Tea Academy’s enhancements broaden the scope and depth of its online tea education within a modern, convenient platform. Anyone around the world can comfortably study about tea’s origins, health benefits, brewing techniques and more. Actively enrolled students also have constant access to the class materials, and to their instructors through email.
The new website has a clean layout and is easier to navigate, more user-friendly and makes registration effortless. Course descriptions are clear and concise. A new comprehensive brochure detailing course offerings can be downloaded from the site.
The new interactive Certification Tracker on the website helps enrolled students who are pursuing certifications track their progress. It provides an overview of course requirements, including any recent changes for each certification. The Certification Tracker helps students to stay organized and focused so they can efficiently achieve their educational goals. Each certification requires seven courses and students can check off classes as they are completed.
The new advanced certification program, the Certified Tea Blender track, was created in response to the high demand from people in the tea industry who wanted to know how to blend and scent their own teas. New classes that are part of this certification track include Advanced 12: Formulating Delicious Blends (which was written by Virginia Lovelace Utermohlen), and Advanced 13: The Art of Flavoring, Blending and Scenting Tea Part 1 (which written by the late Brian Keating). Advanced 14 will be launching in June 2019.
Lisa Boalt Richardson
The addition of Lisa Boalt Richardson helped facilitate World Tea Academy’s recent developments. Richardson, who is the academy’s new Online Assistant Manager, brings several years of tea industry expertise and more than a decade of experience with the World Tea brand as a contributor and educator. She has traveled the world researching the tea industry and worked with fortune 500 companies in product development and assisted them in launching new tea lines. She has authored three books about tea and is a highly sought public speaker on the subject.
Online Education Director Donna Fellman said, “She was brought on board to help support World Tea Academy’s consistent growth and expansion into our new certification programs and other offerings that will be introduced in 2019 going forward.” Fellman added, “None of this would be possible without Lisa; she has been invaluable. She will be very much a part of World Tea Academy’s future growth.”
Richardson said, “Donna Fellman has been my tea mentor for a long time and I feel privileged to work under her at World Tea Academy.”
Donna Fellman
World Tea Academy graduate Michael Hemling, who is the head of finance and administration at the World Food Program in Myanmar, completed the 11 required classes for the Tea Sommelier Certification. He appreciated the depth and comprehensiveness of the program, as well as the instructors’ passion for tea.
“With a busy schedule working for the World Food Programme in Myanmar, I liked the flexibility of the program,” said Hemling. “I enjoyed receiving the package with the tasting teas every month and going through the program. I also enjoyed the collaborations and discussions with my fellow students.”
He added, “I highly recommend World Tea Academy. The courses are very practical and hands on, it is about how far you take your passion forward.”
Fellman and Richardson are currently working on developing additional new curriculum that they aim to launch in the second half of 2019.
