Victoria Bisogno of El Club del Té and Jane Pettigrew are releasing their new co-authored “The Tea Sommelier Handbook”, written in both English and Spanish.
The Tea Sommelier Handbook is a powerful tool that helps to learn the most important cultural and technical aspects of tea. It has a didactic and at the same time, technical approach that together with the cupping practice of the reader, can lead to the acquisition of specific knowledge on tea, and to understanding the role of a tea sommelier, what makes it particularly important to people working in a teashop or entrepreneurs starting a new business.
The Tea Sommelier is an expert in tea, highly trained in its culture, service, cupping and pairing. The Tea Sommelier is the person in charge of selecting the tea service for a tea house, tea room, restaurant, hotel, special event, etc. He or she is responsible for thea selection of the tea, the distribution, the service and relevant advice required by the client or institution. He or she also has the necessary training to work as a free agent, offering his services as a maître or expert of the gastronomic tea world, through cuppings, private tastings, and presentations.
This handbook offers technical and cultural knowledge to achieve expertise in:
- Distinguishing the principal types and varieties of tea, and their correct method of preparation;
- Recognizing the principal sensory characteristics of the different types of tea;
- Evaluating tea quality;
- Selecting tea suppliers and providing tea for the service;
- Designing tea menus;
- Knowing about the correct storage of tea;
- Knowing and select the necessary utensils for the tea service;
- Arranging the room and the tea service;
- Organizing different types of tea service;
- Directing cuppings, tastings and presentations about tea;
- Advising and guiding clients as to the selection of tea and the correct pairing for the time of day;
- Starting his or her own tea enterprise (tea room, confectionery, tea bar, teashop, tea lounge, etc.);
- Creating a sensory experience of the act of drinking tea, and to be able to describe it.
It is available in bookstores in Argentina, Chile and Uruguay. For shipments to other parts of the world, please write to [email protected] or order through The Tea House Times.
Tea Sommelier Handbook Contents
Chapter 1: The History of Tea
Chapter 2: Introduction to Tea
Chapter 3: Principal Tea Producing Regions
Chapter 4: The Technical Aspects of Tea
Chapter 5: Tea Service
Chapter 6: Properties of Tea
Chapter 7: Sensory Evaluation of Tea
Chapter 8: White Tea
Chapter 9: Green and Yellow Tea
Chapter 10: Black Tea
Chapter 11: Oolong
Chapter 12: Dark Teas (Puerh and Hei Cha)
Chapter 13: Tea and Cocktails
Chapter 14: Tea Ceremonies
Chapter 15: Tea Etiquette and Protocol
Learn more about El Club del Té and The Tea Sommelier Handbook.