Progression

The Tea Essentials Award is a comprehensive course for all. The UKTA qualifications are built from this foundation learning because it ensures all learners have the same tea knowledge, core vocabulary, brewing and sensory skills to succeed at a higher level.   

If you know you want to go further than Tea Essentials Award

If you want to buy the whole Qualification course of Tea Sommelier Award or World Tea Diploma, you can buy a ‘bundle’ which includes the Tea Essentials Award. You only pay for the units in the qualification – not for the Tea Essentials Award, so it gives you the best value.

If you are not ready to commit to buying the whole qualification

If you are not sure you want to progress that far – or you don’t want the upfront financial cost,  you can buy the units one by one. Some units are open access and you can buy now, however, others (like the units in World Tea Diploma) you can only access after you have completed the Tea Essentials Award. That is because you need the foundation tea knowledge and brewing skills for these higher level units.

Every unit counts

Every unit you complete, will count towards the qualification of either Tea Sommelier Award or World Tea Diploma.   

Optional units

The Tea Sommelier Award and World Tea Diploma have different core units, but they share a common group of optional units. If you want to complete both the qualifications, you will need to choose a different optional unit for each qualification.

Higher Awards  

• Professional Tea Sommelier Diploma (Level 5)

To apply for the Professional Tea Sommelier Award, you need to complete all the learning in the World Tea Diploma and the Tea Sommelier Award – including the Final Projects for each qualification. This qualification draws on what you have learnt with a Project focused on your specific area of interest. It is assessed by UKTA and externally moderated by OCN London. 

Details on the Professional Tea Sommelier are available to download here in the Learner Pack.   

• Specialist Tea Diploma (Level 5)

This is a research-based qualification. You can approach it either through completing the World Tea Diploma, or through the RPL (Recognition of Prior Learning). If you have worked in a tea business or have any relevant experience or qualifications, you can apply through this route. 

Details on the Specialist Tea Diploma are available to download here in the Learner Pack.