You love tea. This is where you finally learn it.
For everyone who wants to understand tea but has no idea where to start — we start you at the very beginning.
In three days you go from what is tea to a trained palate — tasting your way through three countries side by side: Korea, Japan and China, each with its own method, its own flavour, its own terroir. No experience needed. Just come curious.
You want to learn about tea. You just don't know where to start.
That's not your fault. Tea is vast — six types, dozens of countries, endless names — and no one ever hands you a place to begin. So most people who love tea never get past the cup in front of them.
This is that place to begin. We start from the very first question — what tea actually is — and build, step by step, into real skill you keep for life: how it's made, why it tastes the way it does, and how to tell one cup from another with confidence.
One plant. Three countries. One clear path.
Every green tea you'll taste comes from the same species — yet Korea, Japan and China each make it their own way, and each cup tells a different story of method, flavour, and the land it grew in.
You'll taste all three side by side and learn to read the difference: the terroir, the craft, the timing. In one focused day, what once felt like a mystery becomes a map you can follow.
A structured foundation — not a tasting, a training.
Across one intensive day you build the ground every tea sommelier stands on before they specialise: understand the tea, taste it with method, and brew and serve it to a professional standard.
Understand tea completely — the plant, the process, the place.
Taste and evaluate any tea with method and shared vocabulary.
Brew and serve to a professional standard, every time.
The Green Tea Masterclass — where it begins.
The Basic level opens with a four-hour masterclass: two hours of theory, two hours with a cup in your hand. It sets the palate and the vocabulary the rest of the training builds on.
The theory
- What a tea sommelier actually is
- How terroir — land, soil, altitude — lives in the leaf
- How process turns one plant into many: steaming vs. pan-firing, oxidation, timing
- How to look, smell, and describe a cup with real vocabulary
The tasting
- Six green teas, poured side by side
- Two from Korea, two from Japan, two from China
- Guided tasting notes — what to taste for, in order
- You place each tea by country, by process, by feel
Six greens. Three countries. One table.
Tasted blind and side by side, so the differences you learned in theory land on your own palate.
Korea
Jeju & HadongJeju nokcha, first flush
Bright, mineral, faintly sweet — grown on Jeju's volcanic island soil.
Hadong hand-roasted green
Rounder and nutty — mountain tea from Hadong, gently pan-roasted by hand.
Japan
Uji & KagoshimaSencha
Steamed, not pan-fired — grassy, crisp, oceanic on the finish.
Gyokuro
Shade-grown for weeks — deep, savoury, almost broth-like.
China
Hangzhou & FujianLongjing (Dragon Well)
Pan-fired flat leaves — toasty, chestnut-sweet, smooth.
Jasmine green tea
Green tea scented with fresh jasmine blossom — floral, fragrant, softly sweet.
Eight chapters. One clear green tea foundation.
Tap any chapter to expand ↓
The course follows the same eight-part structure used in the class material — from tea fundamentals and terroir to the three major green-tea traditions, finishing with sensory perception.
Understand Camellia sinensis, what counts as true tea, and the basic language needed to read a tea from leaf to cup.
Explore how geography, climate, soil, altitude, cultivar and season shape the character of tea.
A practical introduction to the compounds that shape taste, aroma and structure in the cup.
See how one tea plant becomes six major tea categories through different processing choices.
Follow Chinese green tea from growing environment and regional style through processing and sensory expression.
Study Korean green tea through its growing regions, seasonal harvests, roasting traditions and distinctive sensory profile.
Understand the Japanese approach to green tea through cultivation, steaming, shaping and regional expression.
Bring the course together through structured sensory evaluation and comparative tasting.
Learn it. Taste it. Connect it.
Small cohorts, cups on every table
Each module is a lesson followed immediately by guided tasting and sensory drills, so the theory lands on your own palate. Kept small on purpose, so every student is guided personally.
Bring the knowledge into the cup
The course closes with structured sensory practice that brings the eight chapters together in the cup.
- Comparative green tea tasting across China, Korea and Japan
- Eight chapters, theory + comparative tasting + sensory practice
- A printed workbook & sommelier vocabulary sheet
- All teas and brewing tools provided
12:30 PM – 4:30 PM.
Four focused hours. The course moves from core tea knowledge into China, Korea and Japan, then finishes by training the palate through sensory perception.
Course date
12:30 PM – 4:30 PM · Zürich
Tea Foundations
01–04 · What is Tea? · What is Terroir · The Chemistry of Tea · The Six Categories of Tea
Chinese Green Tea
05 · From Terroir to Cup
Korean Green Tea
06 · From Terroir to Cup
Japanese Green Tea
07 · From Terroir to Cup
Tea Sensory Perception
08 · Taste, Aroma & Mouthfeel · comparative tasting and sensory practice
One continuous four-hour course covering all eight chapters shown in the course material.
Apply for the Basic level →For the person who wants to understand, not just drink.
- You love tea and want to finally know what you're tasting.
- You're curious about becoming a tea sommelier — and want the real first step.
- You work with food, hospitality, or wellness and want a genuine skill.
- You want one focused day immersed in tea, learning something beautiful and practical with your hands.
Basic is where it begins.
The School is built in levels. Each one deepens the last, from foundation to a full professional credential.
Basic
Foundation — the leaf, the craft, the palate. Eight chapters covering tea foundations, terroir, chemistry, three green-tea origins and sensory perception.
Intermediate
Deep dives by tea type and origin; blending and pairing.
Advanced
Evaluation mastery, sourcing, and the business of tea.
Certified Sommelier
Final assessment and the KTeaShop certification.
Before you apply.
Yes. The course has been redesigned as one intensive day. The same eight-module foundation is still covered, but theory and hands-on practice now sit together in one continuous flow: learn the idea, taste it, practise it, then apply it.
Not at all — it's built for exactly you. We start from the very first question, “what is tea?”, and assume zero background. Curiosity is the only thing you need to bring.
That's the whole reason this school exists. Instead of drowning you in names, we give you one clear path: from the plant, through three countries and their methods, to a palate that can actually taste the difference.
Yes — because the four hours are tightly structured around the essentials. You move from fundamentals into China, Korea and Japan, then finish by connecting the theory to taste, aroma and mouthfeel through sensory practice.
Begin your training.
Tea Sommelier School · Basic — CHF300
Sat 31 Oct, 12:30–4:30 · Zürich
Questions first? Email info@kteashop.com