MARIA EMÍLIA FERRARI PARIZIO - THE TEA EXPERIENCE, BRAZIL

UKTA student Maria Emília Ferrari Parizio now has her own Tea Experience and consultancy business, and a newly-opened Tea Room in Brazil.

Maria says: "My passion for tea started when I lived in London in the 1990s. At that time, I had gone to the UK in order to improve my English because I wanted to take all the Cambridge Exams and become an English Teacher, which I did.

Of course, I never imagined that in the future I would decide to study and enter into this beautiful, enchanting, one-way universe of Tea.

As I consider England the country of my heart, I thought that I would be able to find highly skilled people there and, with all my respect to all Tea Masters around the world, I found Jane Pettigrew and her team at the UK Tea Academy. I studied with UKTA in 2017, when I first did my Tea Champion Course, and then in 2018, I went back to take the Tea Sommelier course.

I decided to open a Tea business, which I named The Tea Experience and, at the beginning, I thought I could offer my services by going to peoples' houses and sharing a little of everything I had learned to help others understand more about tea culture, and the correct way to brew tea - with the proper water, the most suitable temperature, etc…

So, in May 2018 I held my first The Tea Experience event. It was an unforgettable day in so many ways! I learned so much that day - about organizing, about arranging everything beforehand, and about the fact that it isn’t easy. But when it was over, seeing everyone so happy, enjoying networking and understanding how Tea touches our lives, I fell in love with my new business. Since then, my husband and my Mum have supported me and encouraged me to go forward.

So in 2019 I opened a Tea Room, where, every month, we hold Tea Experiences that are helping me to grow this beautiful Tea World, gaining more and more people who have also begun to love it. Since I started the company, I have held Tea Experiences in people’s homes, in jewellery shops, clothing shops, at events related to Luxury Cruises (Regent Seven Seas), at Christmas celebrations, at kids’ parties, at birthdays, weddings, and at a well-known Architecture exhibition in Brazil called Casa Cor. At all these Tea events I serve tea and other tea-based drinks without alcohol (I decided in my business not to mix alcohol and tea), and they have all been really successful!

This year I will celebrate 2 years of working with The Tea Experience. Also this year, I have been invited to act as consultant to two tea houses here in Belo Horizonte and I hope to fulfil their expectations and also to honour the name of my school, The UK Tea Academy, to which I am very grateful."

We wish Maria the best of luck with her Tea business. You can follow her on Instagram HERE. 

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!