Tea School
We offer three progressive levels of tea education. Each level builds upon the last, and you determine your own pace and depth. All students engage with The Three Gates of Tea™ (Mind, Body, Spirit) across all levels, with increasing sophistication and integration as they progress.
Level 1 - Foundations of Tea Practice
Level 1 is a five-day foundational course that establishes tea as a daily ritual and meditative practice. Through bowl tea (碗茶, wǎnchá), you will learn to engage the senses, attune to tea’s energy (茶气, cháqì), and cultivate a steady relationship with tea. Rather than focusing on complexity or technique, this level centers on the quiet foundations of practice: attention, repetition, and presence. Many experienced tea drinkers discover that beginning here deepens their practice in unexpected ways. Level 1 is not basic; it’s foundational. These skills support both a lifelong relationship with tea and deeper study within the Camellia path.
Who this course is for: Level 1 is the foundation for all study at Camellia. Whether you are new to tea or have some experience and want to refine your practice, this course establishes the core ritual and understanding that support deeper study. No prior experience is required. Completion of Level 1 is required before Levels 2 & 3.
Curriculum & Details:
Day 1 - Tools & Posture
Day 2 - Water & Tea
Day 3 - Cultural History of Tea
Day 4 - Engaging the 5 Senses
Day 5 - Dancing with Qi
Course Details
March 23-27, 2026 | 8-9AM MST / 2-3PM GMT
Next Dates
60 mins daily over 5 days | Virtual
Commitment
$50 | Provide your own teas
Pricing
Level 2 - The Art of Tea Service
Sharing tea is an intimate act. It creates space for connection, attention, and quiet presence. Level 2 builds on the personal ritual developed in Level 1 and focuses on the art of serving tea for others. You will learn how to host small gatherings, prepare tea with clarity and grace, and shape an environment that invites reflection rather than performance. Over five weeks, we explore the principles that make tea service meaningful: intentional preparation, aesthetic sensitivity, relational awareness, and deep listening. You will learn how to prepare and serve tea with calm confidence, arrange a welcoming chaxi (茶席), and guide guests into a shared moment of stillness. Whether serving tea to a loved one or hosting a small circle, this course helps you transform tea from a personal ritual into a relational practice.
Who this course is for: Level 2 is for students who have established a personal tea ritual and feel called to share tea with others. It is ideal for those who wish to host tea gatherings for friends, family, or small groups with greater intentionality and presence. Completion of all 5 days of Level 1 is required. Level 2 prepares students for Level 3’s advanced study.
Curriculum & Details:
Week 1 - How to Be a Humble Guest
Week 2 - Pouring Tea: Fundamentals of Form & Structure
Week 3 - The Three Gates of Tea™
Week 4 - The Four Shaping Forces™
Week 5 - The Six Participants™
Important note: Completing Level 2 does not grant permission to serve tea for personal gain (money or publicity). That boundary is explicit and intentional.
Course Details
TBC - Fall 2026
Next Dates
150 mins weekly over 5 weeks | Virtual
Commitment
$350 | Provide your own teas
Pricing
Level 3 - Advanced Study: The Three Gates of Tea™
This immersive six-month mentorship is designed for students who wish to deepen their tea practice and refine their understanding of tea as a discipline. Rooted in the Three Gates of Tea™—ChaXue (茶学), ChaYi (茶艺), and ChaDao (茶道)—this program explores tea as an integration of study, art, and cultivation. Students refine their brewing technique across multiple methods, including Gongfu brewing (功夫茶), while developing a deeper sensitivity to how attention, form, and context shape the tea experience.
A central focus of this mentorship is learning how to serve tea in a way that honors its cultural roots while gradually discovering your own authentic expression. Students begin by exploring the clarity and restraint of traditional forms. From that foundation, they learn how personal style and innovation can arise naturally, without imitation or appropriation.
The mentorship also deep-dives into the Four Shaping Forces™—cultivar, terroir, processing, and brewing—as a framework for understanding how tea (and humans) become what they are. This lens strengthens discernment and helps students recognize how their own choices as servers shape the final experience in the cup. Over time, students refine not only technique but also judgment: when to follow tradition closely, when adaptation is appropriate, and how to integrate tea into life or professional work with integrity.
Who this course is for: Level 3 is best suited for students who maintain a personal tea practice and feel called to pursue deeper study. Many students at this level wish to serve tea publicly or integrate tea into their professional work. The mentorship supports both paths while maintaining clear ethical boundaries around service and teaching. Completion of Levels 1 and 2 is required.
Course Structure:
5-day in-person opening retreat
Biweekly virtual group calls
5-day in-person closing retreat
Course teas and teawares will be provided
Important Note: Level 3 is not a certification. It marks the beginning of deeper study and the refinement of a lifelong tea practice.
Course Details
TBC - 2027
Next Dates
TBC
Commitment
TBC
Pricing
The Path of Study
Tea practice unfolds in stages. At Camellia, study moves through three levels that gradually deepen your relationship with tea. Each level builds on the one before it.
Level 1 — Ritual
Learn how to make tea a steady ritual that supports clarity and cultivation. Through repetition and attention, you establish a personal practice that steadies the mind and deepens awareness.
Level 2 — Relationship
Learn how to serve tea to others with presence, grace, and intentionality. Tea becomes a relational practice that fosters connection, deep listening, and shared moments of reflection.
Level 3 — Discernment & Self-Expression
Learn how to honor tradition while discovering your own authentic way of serving tea. Through deeper study, refine your craft and give shape to your unique expression.
Walk the path with us
Classes are offered in small cohorts and shared quietly throughout the year.
Join the list to be notified when new opportunities to study tea are released.
What You Will Carry Forward …
A tea ritual that supports cultivation and clarity.
A respectful relationship to tea’s cultural roots.
An integrated practice of science, art, and spirit.
The ability to create intentional tea spaces and weave tea naturally into your life or work.
A personal expression of tea grounded in tradition and shaped by your lived experience.
A Note for Practitioners
Let tea carry your work deeper.
We guide practitioners to extend their work through tea by training them to use ritual and brewing as vehicles for awareness and transformation.
Tea as an offering in your work:
If you are a healer, coach, therapist, teacher, or facilitator, tea can become a powerful vehicle for deepening your practice and serving your clients.
Why practitioners integrate tea:
Tea supports cultivation of stillness, presence, beauty, non-duality, and ritual. It pairs beautifully with introspective and relational practices.
Examples of how practitioners ally with tea:
Attachment therapists explore patterns of giving and receiving through the ritual of serving tea.
Medicine facilitators open or close journeys with tea, supporting grounded transitions.
Executive coaches use the precision of brewing to strengthen intuition and attunement.
Meditation teachers guide students into stillness through tea meditation.
Bodyworkers and energy healers help clients sense subtle energy (qi) and settle into presence.
Serving tea with integrity:
Tea can deepen many modalities, but it should be approached with care. You do not need to become a tea expert. What you do need is:
A personal relationship with tea
Skill in brewing and serving with presence
Understanding of the tea you serve
Cultural respect and ethical awareness
Tea alone is not a complete path of cultivation. It works best when paired with an existing practice or modality.
The path for practitioners: Practitioners typically move through the three levels of study:
Level 1 — Ritual: Develop your own tea practice.
Level 2 — Relationship: Learn to serve tea for others with presence and care.
Level 3 — Discernment & Self-Expression: Integrate tea into your professional work with maturity and integrity.
Ethical Guidelines for Students
Camellia students commit to humility, generosity, and respect within the tea community.
We speak kindly, address concerns directly, and avoid snobbery around skill, access, or resources.
We recognize cultural appropriation and exercise discernment about when and how to respond.
Boundaries Around Service & Teaching
Sharing tea with friends and community is always welcome.
Serving tea publicly for compensation or exposure requires proper training and a teacher’s blessing.
Teaching tea requires the same.
The title “Tea Master” is not self-declared. It is bestowed by others in recognition of decades of study.