World Tea Diploma

Your access to an internationally recognised tea qualification. Learn through origin stories, cultivation and processing with insights into tea history and culture. UKTA Tea Specialists guide you through a professional evaluation of high grade, representative teas in the Live Tasting Tutorials.

Outline

The UKTA World Tea Diploma is a regionally focused, academically grounded qualification designed for tea enthusiasts and professionals who want to understand tea through the lens of origin and global diversity. It will take you to the heart of the tea culture, history and landscape of six major tea-producing regions: China, Japan, India, Sri Lanka, Taiwan and Africa. Each unit will introduce you to a diverse selection of teas, representative of the terroir, varietal and production of their region.

This is your opportunity to join Live Tasting Tutorials with the UKTA’s international Tea Specialists, all regional experts who have lived and worked in their specific area of focus. You brew and taste the teas together, guided through an evaluation of each to assess their distinct characteristics. You will learn how the combination of people, place and processing shape each tea and you’ll develop the knowledge and vocabulary to express yourself as a globally literate tea professional.

World Tea Diploma includes:

• Seven core regional units

• One optional unit (chosen from a set of three*)

• 39 speciality teas

• Seven Live Tasting Tutorials

• One Final Project unit

World Tea Diploma Bundle includes:

• World Tea Diploma as above +

• Tea Guide Award (7 teas)

• Tea Essentials Award

The Tea Guide and Tea Essentials Awards are prerequisites for the World Tea Diploma. You will need to complete these in full before progressing to the Diploma itself. If you have already completed either award, your achievement carries forward and you do not need to repeat anything. All relevant study materials and teas for units you have not already completed, will be sent as part of the bundle.

Total Learning Time
This World Tea Diploma typically takes 100–120 hours to complete (not including Tea Essentials or Tea Guide). You’ll spend around 30–35 hours with the online content, including reading and quizzes. The remaining time is spent on tasting activities, Live Tasting Tutorials, note-taking, MCQs and developing your Final Project. It’s a flexible qualification designed to fit around your schedule.

Assessment
Your Final Project is a piece of work to connect your learning across all regions. You will decide on the topic, your approach and how you deliver the presentation, but the UKTA will provide plenty of guidance. Your Final Project is marked by a UKTA assessor and externally moderated by OCN London.

Achievement

When you pass all seven core units, one optional unit, and your Final Project, you will receive the Open College Network London World Tea Diploma Certificate. You will also receive an OCN London digital badge for each unit successfully completed. This award confirms your achievement at Level 3 and demonstrates global tea knowledge, sensory insight, and cultural fluency across diverse tea traditions.

Progression
The World Tea Diploma unlocks access to the Specialist Tea Diploma. By also completing the Tea Sommelier Award you could progress to the Professional Tea Sommelier Diploma.

Snapshot

Qualification Bundle

If you’re starting your UKTA tea journey you can choose the units one by one and work towards a qualification – World Tea Diploma or Tea Sommelier Award. However, if you already know which qualification you want to achieve, you can buy a Qualification Bundle.

The Qualification Bundle includes every unit you need to meet the full requirements for that qualification – so you’re up and running.

Choose the one bundle that has your preferred option.

Bundle WTD 1: Core units + Tea and Health: the evidence

Bundle WTD 2: Core units + Matcha Power: How to Harness it

Bundle WTD 3: Core units + Botanical Infusions

World Tea Diploma Core Units

Teas of China

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.

Teas of Taiwan

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.

Teas of India

Follow 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.

Teas of Africa

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.

Teas of Sri Lanka

Explore the island of Sri Lanka through its teas. Distinguish the distinctive characteristics between high and low-grown teas and understand the elements that influence the distinctive aroma and flavour of the leaves.

Teas of Japan

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.

Teas of Nepal, Vietnam, S Korea

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.

World Tea Diploma Final Project

The Final Project to achieve the World Tea Diploma draws your learning from the course together. You decide on the topic, your approach and how you deliver the presentation, but the UKTA will provide plenty of guidance.

World Tea Diploma Optional Units

Tea and Health: the evidence

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.

Matcha Power: how to harness it

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.

Botanical Infusions

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.

Next Steps

After completing World Tea Diploma you are eligible for the following Qualifications

Tea Sommelier Award

This award builds the basis for full-spectrum tea sommelier skills. You’ll develop a tea sensory language, customer confidence, service insight and storytelling power. You’ll get behind Afternoon Tea, around Tea and Food Pairing, and into Sustainability, Mixology and the evidence of Tea and Health. Designed for those working in hospitality, retail, events or education, the Tea Sommelier Award is a practical qualification which combines technical knowledge with creative and service-focused skills – supported by live Q&A sessions with Specialist Experts.

This is the price including ALL qualifications to achieve Tea Sommelier Award.

£1585

Professional Tea Sommelier Diploma

The Professional Tea Sommelier Diploma marks the culmination of your structured tea education. As the highest-level UKTA award, it challenges you to bring together your learning from both the Tea Sommelier Award and the World Tea Diploma in an independent final project that demonstrates your leadership, insight and originality.

from £1500

Specialist Tea Diploma

This qualification is a self-directed research project. For tea professionals who want to contribute something thoughtful, personal and new to the world of tea. It invites you to identify a challenge, theme or opportunity in tea and respond to it through a project, demonstrating rigour, creativity and independent thinking with a real-world application.

from £1500

FAQs

Everything you need to know about this unit and our courses. Can’t find the answer you’re looking for? Please chat to our friendly team.

Question

Answer

Question

Answer

Question

Answer

Question

Answer

Question

Answer

Question

Answer

World Tea Diploma

World Tea Diploma

Outline

Snapshot

Qualification Bundle

World Tea Diploma Core Units

World Tea Diploma Optional Units

Tea and Health: the evidence

Next Steps

£1585

from £1500

from £1500

FAQs

Join our newsletter