Choose Individual Units
Flexible, focused learning – one unit at a time.
Choose a unit to satisfy a specific interest in tea or fulfill your professional ambition. Some units you can buy now, others open up once you’ve completed the Tea Essentials Award. All units counts towards a qualification – whether or not you want to go that far . . .
Take your pick of the units
The units below give you a fascinating insight to key topics around tea. They are open access – which means you do not have to complete the Tea Essentials Award first as they do not rely on tea knowledge and brewing skills. Every unit here still counts towards a qualification so you acquire more expertise and bank the achievement.
Matcha is a power-packed, powdered tea that has spread from its Zen roots and reverential status in Japan to fast-moving cafés around the world. A look at modern creative preparation to show matcha’s versatilty in a contemporary hospitality environment.
- 1 hour live Q&A
- Self-guided study online
£225
An exploration of the research on the science behind tea’s health claims. Learn how the evidence stacks up about the effects of tea compounds on heart health and metabolism – without the hype or half-truths.
- Self-guided study online
£225
Placing the focus on three under-recognised but highly significant tea regions, this is an exploration of resilience and craft, taking in wild trees, artisan revival and quiet rituals.
- Self-guided study online
£225
Explore how tea is grown, processed, traded and consumed through the lens of sustainability and learn what it takes to make tea production fair, resilient and future-ready. Take your learning into your own professional world and make the changes you want to see.
- Self-guided study online
£225
Explore tea’s place in modern mixology. Create bold, balanced cocktails and mocktails making tea the star performer. Learn flavour pairing and techniques of the mixologist. Join a professional Mixologist to ask questions and explore your ideas.
- 1 hour live Q&A
- Self-guided study online
£225
Beyond the tea bush, there are millions of plant parts used for flavour, scent, medicinal use and therapeutic purposes. We explore some favourites, taking a practical approach to extracting flavour from from roots, berries, seeds and leaves for inspirational infusions.
- Self-guided study online
£225
Unlock your future learning
Tea Essentials Award
This course will help you understand why tea has spread so far, is loved by so many and how thousands of different teas can be crafted from the leaves of the one Camellia sinensis tea plant. It covers knowledge and brewing skills to give a great foundation for all those who are curious about tea, or come into contact with tea at work. You’ll love what you learn and be astonished at how much you didn’t know.
- 4 speciality teas sent to you
- 2 hour Live Tasting Tutorial
- Self-guided study online
£195
Qualification Bundle
You can buy a Qualification ‘bundle’ which includes all the required units for that qualification – and the Tea Essentials Award. This offers the best value as you pay just for the units in the qualification and not for Tea Essentials Award. See our Qualifications page
Qualification Units
Trace the journey of tea through China’s dynasties and regions. Taste the representative teas of the region and understand how terroir, craft and cultivar shape the teas you drink.
- 11 speciality teas sent to you
- 4 hours of live tasting tutorials
- Self-guided study online
£570
Taiwan makes some of the world’s most aromatic and complex teas. Discover floral, high mountain oolongs, the iconic bug-bitten Oriental Beauty and Ruby 18 black – a study in craft, innovation and terroir.
- 6 speciality teas sent to you
- 2 hours live tasting tutorial
- Self-guided study online
£285
Explore the island of Sri Lanka through its teas. Distinguish the distinctive characteristics between high and low-grown teas and understand the elements that shape the leaves.
- 6 speciality teas sent to you
- 2 hours live tasting tutorial
- Self-guided study online
£285
Discover how this diverse continent of mountains and plains produces so much of the world’s black tea and how innovation means new styles are now gaining recognition.
- 6 speciality teas sent to you
- 2 hours live tasting tutorial
- Self-guided study online
£285
Discover Japan’s tea history and tea styles from hojicha to wakocha. Learn about the importance of cultivars and taste rare artisan teas to help understand the value of culture and craft.
- 4 speciality teas sent to you
- 2 hours live tasting tutorial
- Self-guided study online
£285
Trace India’s tea journey from colonial control to contemporary artisan gardens. Learn how terroir, cultivars and processing create some of the world’s most desirable teas.
- 6 speciality teas sent to you
- 2 hours live tasting tutorial
- Self-guided study online
£285
Get inside the rituals, service, business and design of a successful afternoon tea. From scones to strategy, explore how this tradition evolved and how to make it work today. Time with our UKTA Subject Expert will give you a fascinating professional insight.
- 1 hour live Q&A
- Self-guided study online
£225
Develop the vocabulary to describe tea with clarity and imagination and learn to express yourself around the sensory aspects of tea, savouring the aroma, mouthfeel, flavour, body and aftertaste.
- 1 hour live Q&A
- Self-guided study online
£225
Explore how tea pairs with food across cultures and regional cooking. Understand balance, contrast, and how to bring tea and food combinations together with skill and imagination.
- Self-guided study online
