Chinese tea terroir and culture
Xiaoye // Small leaf
A long-term course on Chinese tea, geography, history, technique, and people.
Next session
Europe, Asia and Oceania time-zone
The current session started on Saturday, October 26th, 3:30pm UTC+8, and will continue for nine weeks;
you can still join watching the recording of the first classes.
Calculate your timezone
Americas time zone:
We are currently collecting participants for a January 2025 live session: write us to reserve your seat.
Or join the current October session accessing the video recorded lessons, at a discounted rate.
The Xiaoye course is the first part of our journey on Chinese tea, an in-depth travel into each layer of the most important tea-terroirs of China: history, geography, botany, technique, culture, and people.
The tea-learning and tasting will be deeply connected with its original Chinese culture, studying the main factors that determined its change over time through historical events, technical achievements, and market transformation. In each class we introduce elements of Chinese language, to be able to pronounce correctly the teas and places.
The goal of this course is to learn how to independently source and safely purchase your favorite tea, understanding its authenticity and possibly holding a small conversation with your favorite Chinese vendor.
It is aimed to tea enthusiasts and professionals, and it is propedeutic to the Daye - Big Leaf course, that gives access to the official certification as Tea Professional recognized by the Chinese government.
Program
Method
Classes are held online through Zoom, and all the teas shipped to your home, wherever you are. Shipping fees are included for all students in Europe and United States. For other countries additional shipping fees may be applied.
We will use audio / video and a live chat, to sum up the keywords of each lesson and your questions during the course, and we will share a presentation with words and photos. Beside Vivian, the teacher, we always have at least one assistant online to write the key-points in the chat, collect your homework, and to answer your questions.
After each class we share our presentations for self study, the chat log, and some audio files to help you to review the most important words and their pronunciation. During the week we are always available to support you through your individual study both on teas and language.
Meet the teacher
Book a private meeting with Vivian
Next course starts from October 26th, 2024
*we are glad to support the future of our industry offering special rates to business owners and young students.
Open to all our alumni
Live community
Everyone who has taken our Xiaoye or Daye course has access to our international community of students, a live forum and chat where you can find new content, knowledge and organize your own virtual or offline tea tasting.
It is a way to keep yourself up to date with the evolution of the tea industry and find a group of passionate people for your brewing sessions, wherever you go in the world.
Academy
After ten years since the beginning of our journey, first as tea travelers and then as producers, we want to offer a solid structure to our words, and pave the path for all tea enthusiasts. We designed an educational program to enrich the knowledge and awareness on tea and to train future tea professionals, with the purpose to form skilled, conscious and critical tea drinkers, ready to keep improving and take an active part in the growing global industry of fine tea.
The Teacher
Vivian Zhang is a tea master who graduated at the highest level from the Chinese Tea Academy, after attending courses in Beijing and completing her specialization in Kunming. In 2014 she became a tea producer after founding her company, Eastern Leaves, on mount Nannuo in Yunnan. Over the years, she has added the various degrees of the official training on tea - from the ceremony to the cultivation - to her liberal education in Ancient Chinese Literature. In 2016 she graduated with a Master degree in Food and Beverage Management, at Bocconi University in Milan. Together with Eastern Leaves, she divides her life between the mountains in Yunnan and her international travels, where she shares her experiences and the tea leaves she brings from her native land.
Certificate
Upon passing the exam at the end of the Xiaoye level, you will receive a digital certificate as per your participation. Said certificate can be printed upon request: shipping fees will be calculated in accordance with your country of residence.
At the end of the Daye level, a unique certificate in "Chinese Tea Taster and Connoisseur", legally registered with the Chinese Federation, will be issued by All China Federation of Supply and Marketing Cooperatives, Kunming headquarters.
Further information