During the month of February, World Tea Academy is offering a $40 discount on its ADV.15 Aromas of Tea Part 1: The Basics course. Aromas are a significant component of the tea drinking experience and this course helps students identify the aromas of different teas, how the tea leaf produces aromatic chemicals, how the human body experiences them, and how various aromas equate to the quality levels of teas. The course, which has been in development during the past year, is the first of its kind. It is beneficial for all tea professionals, including growers, importers, blend developers, teahouse owners, and sommeliers.
The course was co-written by Scott Svihula, owner of Hula Consulting and former Global Tea Championship judge, and Virginia Utermohlen-Lovelace, MD, retired faculty member of the Division of Nutritional Sciences at Cornell University, in Ithaca, New York. Both also developed the Scents of Tea kits, tea aroma kits that help tea specialists and tea lovers master the olfactory experience of tea.
“The tea industry has never had its version of an aroma kit. Now with the creation of the Scents of Tea kits we have a tea aroma kit based on science,” Svihula said. “Like other beverage industries we wanted to offer a certified training course to help tea professionals immerse themselves in the specific aromas of steeped tea by experiencing and learning to recognize the scents of the actual chemicals in the tea. By completing the exercises included in these classes, you train your olfactory sense, and by learning to recognize these aromas you can become a better cupper, purchaser, and developer.”
ADV.15 begins by covering how aroma chemicals develop in the leaves of green and oolong teas while they are growing in the field, how these chemicals continue to change during processing, and how they manifest in the steeped tea. Each student will receive 9 tea scents specifically chosen to represent prominent chemicals in green and oolong teas, coupled with a detailed description of the human olfactory system, and instructions detailing how to train to recognize the scents.
ADV.15 is a prerequisite for ADV.16 Aromas of Tea Part 2: Oxidation, Firing, Fermentation, which delves more deeply into how tea processing affects the aromas of white, black, yellow and puer teas. Students will receive another set of 9 scents that, together with the set of scents received in ADV.15, provide an overview of the major aromas in the main categories of tea.
“This training tool, just like similar tools in the wine industry, will help you understand teas better so you can buy better teas, know when there is something off with the tea, develop better tea blends, develop better marketing language to convey the quality of the tea you sell, etc.,” said Svihula.
Click here to register for ADV.15 Aromas of Tea Part 1: The Basics course and enter the ADV1540 discount code. Furthermore, those who go on to complete ADV.16 Aromas of Tea Part 2: Oxidation, Firing, Fermentation will receive a discount code to purchase the balance of the Professional Kit from Scents of Tea to explore all 45 common aromas found in single origin teas. Both ADV.15 and ADV.16 are required courses for those who want to obtain the World Tea Academy’s Tea Aroma Expert Certification.
ADV.02 is a prerequisite class for our new Tea Aroma Expert certification class, ADV.15, Aromas of Tea Part 1: The Basics. If you have not completed ADV.02, it will be offered again in June, so keep an eye out!