PHYU THWE - MOGOK TEA, MYANMAR

UK Tea Academy student Phyu Thwe grows tea in her home village in Myanmar where her family have 100 acres of old wild tea plants and 80 acres of newly planted bushes.

During her time at the UK Tea Academy she was introduced to Beverly Wainwright, UKTA Authorised Tutor who runs courses at The Scottish Tea Factory, and specialises in community tea projects. Together they have worked towards making fine tea, which is now sold under the name ‘Mogok Tea’ and which some of you had the pleasure of tasting at one of our first Academy Extra events in July 2019.

Phyu says: "In 2019, we made more than 200 kilos of tea and we are planning to double our production in 2020. After doing some research in Myanmar, we are the only speciality tea company in the whole country as many people make tea but in large quantities for cheap export. Our tea making processes are very ecological. Beverly has put system in place to ensure we use the energy as little as possible. She also updated our processing methods to adapt to the weather. 

We formed a partnership with Bellabarista and they are our sole distributor in the UK and available to buy online. Our teas will also be sold in America through Rakasan tea. Another company also will be selling our teas at their wellness centre.

It is the beginning of my dream journey, we achieved so much in a short period of time compared to many others however it isn’t an easy journey for us all. 

This journey all began at The UK Tea Academy. After learning and attaining knowledge from Jane during my Tea Champion and Sommelier training, my introduction to Beverly was the beginning. We have received tremendous support and help from UK Tea Academy throughout the process. Jane has pointed me the right direction and put me in touch with the right people and this made all these achievements possible. 

The UK Tea Academy isn’t just a place to study, it is one big family where you can connect and grow in the tea world. The support from Jane and her team makes our journey so much smoother and more attainable."

THE ROSE TEAROOM, BOGOTA

Christine Bracht, UK Tea Academy qualified Tea Sommelier, opened her beautiful new tea room in Bogota, Colombia, on 1st October. The Rose is in a stunning Tudor house, located in the heart of the English neighbourhood of Bogota, a city in which a tearoom of this type is an entirely new experience. 

After studying for her UKTA Tea Sommelier certification, Christine decided that each customer should see the dry leaf, and watch it infuse at their table, to get the full experience of the leaf. She also has plans for afternoon tea tastings to introduce her customers to fine tea. 

We wish Christine the best of luck with this wonderful new venture. And to anyone in Bogota - we hope you can visit her. We are so proud to see another impressive tea business opening from a former UKTA student!

SALLY WEI AT AMERICAN TEA FESTIVALS

Sally Wei, one of our regular students who is a certified UKTA Tea sommelier and is now working towards her Level 3 Tea Master certification, will be sharing her tea knowledge and passion at several US Tea Festivals this year. She will be the featured speaker at the Midwest Tea Festival, one of the speakers at the Chicago International Tea Festival, talking about Taiwanese tea tasting and Chinese Tea table set up at the Pennsylvania Tea Festival as well as appearing at the Portland Tea Festival, showing exactly where a love of tea can take you.

Sally is an accomplished classical pianist and holds a Doctorate in Musical Arts. As musicians strive for perfection, Sally found equal passions in her enjoyment of tea. In 2006, she broadened this connection through the journey of learning Dharma. Trained in Taiwan and England, Sally embraces these two tea cultures through the philosophy of “Jing Si” (Still Thoughts) in the understanding, preparation and enjoyment of the blessings of Tea.

We congratulate Sally on her upcoming festival appearances and for sharing her love of tea!