AFTERNOON TEAPOT PARTY WITH JANE PETTIGREW

To celebrate Afternoon Tea Week the UKTA is hosting an Afternoon Teapot Party with Jane Pettigrew

Wednesday 11th August 18:00 - 19:30 (GMT)

Tickets £10 each

Jane will host this virtual tea party and will share a short visual history of the teapot.

Bring your own afternoon tea and crucially, your favourite teapot.

There will be a special quiz with a fantastic prize: a FREE place on Jane’s History and Etiquette of Afternoon Tea Course (worth over £300!)

It is open to everyone and profits go straight to the Tea Leaf Trust working on tea farms in Sri Lanka.

This extra special event will celebrate Afternoon Tea Week 2021, which runs from 9th-15th August.

Join us on 10th August at 6pm UK Time, Jane will be taking afternoon tea and we hope you will also prepare your own and enjoy it during the party.

Whilst you sup your afternoon tea, Jane will teach a short history of the teapot:

Every tea lover has a favourite teapot! Or maybe more than one favourite? Maybe you love them all? But where did the idea of steeping tea leaves in a squat, chummy, round-bodied pot come from? Jane will tell us all about the teapot’s journey from Yixing and China’s early porcelain works to tea tables all around the world. It will make your favourite pot seem even more special.

We will conclude with a special tea-related quiz. Afternoon Tea lovers - you don’t want to miss this! The prize is a place on Jane’s wonderful History and Etiquette of Afternoon Tea Course, usual price £312. 

WHAT WILL I NEED?

1. Your phone, tablet or computer to join the webinar.

2. OPTIONAL: Bring your favourite teapot to show on screen.

3. OPTIONAL: Prepare your own afternoon tea to enjoy during the party.

Price: £10 (all profits to Tea Leaf Trust)

This Academy Extra webinar will be held on Zoom. Please note that bookings close 2 hours before the start of the Webinar.

BOOK YOUR TICKET NOW >>

VIRTUAL TEA PARTY WITH JANE PETTIGREW

A monthly online event - anyone can attend

Tickets £18 each

Join Jane for a virtual tea party - anyone can attend, no prior UKTA qualifications / course attendance necessary (but we highly recommend joining this session for those who have taken any of the four History & Etiquette of Afternoon Tea webinar modules.)

The Virtual Tea Party is intended to give anyone who has attended Jane’s live Webinars on The History and Etiquette of Afternoon Tea, or anyone else who is interested, an understanding of how a tea party happens in a real situation.

Jane will take tea in her living room at home using all her traditional tea wares. She will have ready a pot of tea, a selection of sandwiches, some scones, jam and clotted cream and a few small pastries.

She will position her computer so that those attending can see exactly how she has set the table and arranged the food; how she pours the tea; holds her cup; how she uses her small tea knife to eat the scones; and how she uses the small pastry fork to eat the pastries.

She will talk in detail about every stage of the experience and take questions from those attending after each section of the tea party.

NEW! Are you the proud owner of some interesting pieces of teaware such as toasting forks, muffin dishes, old tea jars or caddies, boxed sets of teaspoons or tea knives, maybe an unusual teapot, or a favourite cosy? Bring them along to our next virtual tea party for a fun ‘show and tell’ session over afternoon tea. Jane will host the gathering while seated at her tea table and she would love to hear your stories of favourite and unusual tea treasures.

This will be a fun but also instructional experience.

VIEW DATES AND BOOK

THE STORY OF THE TEA DANCE

This 90-minute Academy Extra webinar is open to everyone interested in the social history of tea or dance history.

Presented by UK Tea Academy's Director of Studies and author of sixteen books on tea - world-renowned tea master Jane Pettigrew.

Tickets £18 each

The Story of The Tea Dance starts with the introduction of entertainment (including 'dancing on the carpet') to afternoon tea in the 1880s, then traces the gradual rise in popularity of dancing at tea-time. We will discuss the arrival of the Tango in London in 1913 and the subsequent craze for Tango Tea Dances; moving on to tea dances in the 20s, 30s and 40s. Finally, we will consider the resurgence of interest in tea dances since the 1980s.

The connection between afternoon tea and dancing dates back to the second half of the 19th century, and Jane Pettigrew will begin by explaining the earliest literary references to 'carpet dances'. She will then present how the arrival of the Tango in London caused a surge in popularity of tea-time dancing, bringing colour, music and fashion to the city's hotels.

This 90-minute Academy Extra webinar, held on the zoom platform, will include images from a variety of sources and Jane's own engaging presentation, ending with time for questions.

Our Academy Extra virtual event is open to everyone interested in the social history of tea or dance history and is presented by UK Tea Academy's Director of Studies and author of sixteen books on tea - world-renowned tea master Jane Pettigrew.

WHAT WILL I NEED?

Just your phone, tablet or computer to join the webinar.

Price: £18

VIEW DATES AND BOOK >>

INTERNATIONAL TEA DAY COMPETITION WINNER

This year for International Tea Day, we asked you to help us celebrate the leaf we love by taking part in our special "Pick Your Tea" Competition.

Thank you so much to all who entered. We received so many heartfelt and beautiful pieces of writing. It is fantastic to read how much tea means to everyone. We will be sharing some of our favourite entries on Instagram over the coming weeks.

We are delighted to announce that the winner is:
Sed Chiang

Memoirs of my magical rare cup

What’s the most favourite part of your day? Well! Mine definitely is that moment when I get to sit down with a warm cuppa tea. Be it spring or fall, bright or dull, at the sandy seaside or in the magical mountains, this ethereal drink called “Tea” never fails to fill my heart with it’s tender loving essence. Just like a dear old pal, it allows me to truly be myself. It patiently listens and understands. And if paid enough attention, it also whispers to me, a few words of compassion and kindness.

As a kid, I grew up in the mystical valleys of Sikkim, an erstwhile tiny Himalayan kingdom, now a fully organic province in India. Every morning, my mother used to ask “Is anybody up for tea? (souja/cha in local dialect) And I very excitedly, used to be the first person to show up. Although years have passed by and I now live a million miles away from home, that particular moment, a calling of tea rather, is a moment I look forward to, even today.

And much like all you lovely tea heads out there, I too choose to brew my tea depending on the occasion, time, weather, mood and so forth. However, my top favourite pick would definitely be Sikkim Temi Tea. Temi tea is a camellia sinensis varietal, grown and hand plucked in the misty Himalayan slopes where the scintillating mountain sun is woven with pleasantly intoxicating clouds, the melodious rain, delicate wildflowers and some sweet hilly bird songs.

This refined golden benevolent liquor emanates light floral and sweet notes which are too full of reminiscence from my precious childhood days and it allows me to sojourn back to the mountains on a virtual journey with my loved ones, whom I’ve been missing so much during this isolation period. All these years, tea has not only disciplined me on how to live and cherish the present, besides, it has furthermore kept me grounded and instilled in me a sense of sanguineness, especially during these trying times.

To say the least, Tea for me is way more than just a drink. It’s an ambition, a revived memory, a true bliss of Mother Nature, a profound yet gentle reminder of all the small meaningful things which reverberates through every sip and sporadically, it’s just an excuse to enjoy my favourite biscuits and sweet treats.

Lastly, on this very special occasion of International Tea Day, I’d like to thank each one of you out there who is involved in bringing this blissful liquor into our cups.

Wishing you all a very Happy International Tea Day 2021.

Sed has won a beautiful tea box from our friends at Bredemeijer and a selection of fine teas from Canton Tea. 

INTERNATIONAL TEA DAY - 21st MAY 2021

Help us celebrate the leaf we love by taking part in these special International Tea Day activities!

The UKTA competition to celebrate International Tea Day

PICK YOUR TEA
Choose one significant tea and write a paragraph on the story behind the tea - or why it is so special. This can be anything from how it is grown or crafted to the first sip of an exotic blend to just one you can't do without every day. Include a picture.

The winning entry will win fine teas from Canton Tea and a beautiful tea box with canisters to store them in, from our friends at Bredemeijer. Also, your paragraph about your favourite tea will be circulated on social media, and published in the UKTA newsletter.

To enter: post your entry on Instagram with the hashtag #uktapickyourtea and tag us @uk_tea_academy. Or send your paragraph and photo to info@ukteaacademy.com, with "International Tea Day Competition" as the subject of your email. Closing date: 5pm on Wednesday 19th May.

Tea Leaf Trust's Tea Party Quiz Night

The UK Tea Academy's chosen charity, Tea Leaf Trust, is hosting a special tea party quiz.

Get your family together, challenge your quiz loving friends and join us from the comfort of your home for our tea inspired fundraising event. Featuring actor and voice artist Matt Houston, the quiz includes tea and non-tea related rounds all pre-recorded and ready to use whenever you can get your friends together.

To take part please email info@tealeaftrust.com

A link for the quiz will be sent out from Friday the 21st of May: International Tea Day and will be available throughout May and June for you to use when you please!

UPDATE REGARDING COVID-19

Dear tea lovers. This is a challenging time for everyone, we hope that you are all staying safe and well.

We have taken the difficult decision to close our classroom, and not to run our classroom courses due to the spread of the COVID-19 virus, to help keep us all safe from the risk of infection. Bookings are of course fully transferable to any future course, once the situation settles down.

However - we have launched many new online learning options so that you can learn about tea remotely. CLICK HERE to explore them.

In addition, All Academy Extra evening events have been postponed:

Anyone who has bought a ticket for these events can either be refunded or keep their ticket for when the event is rescheduled.

STAY SAFE AND DRINK TEA

Tea is good for your mind, body and soul, so keep drinking it!

Here are some Tea Things you can do during this down time:

• Make your tea drinking at home into a daily ritual to keep you calm and happy, whether that is mindfully preparing Matcha or just taking time out of your day to prepare and drink your favourite tea
• Online Tea Time: arrange to call / video chat a friend whilst you both drink tea - this might be especially important for an elderly relative
• Have another cup of tea every day: our Tea, Science and Health tutor Dr Tim Bond says the best thing you can do for your long term health is drink 1 more cup of tea a day
• Buy tea online from small retailers who need your support in this challenging time for the hospitality industry
• Spend time developing your tasting palate and your tea brewing skills by tasting different teas and making notes on their taste, aroma, mouthfeel, brewing parameters etc.
• Catch up on your tea reading (perhaps join the @teabookclub which meets online to discuss tea books)