Online Tea Course

19 Replies
SFTGFOP said

I like this idea. Please do it!

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Brent said

Thanks for all of the support. Somehow, I wasn’t previously aware of Adagio’s course, which is actually quite similar to what we had planned. While I disagree with some of the content of that course, it seems pretty good – worth doing for anyone wanting the basics.

To answer Keychange’s question: We have deliberated about how much video content the subject really lends itself to. We do intend to provide some video, where appropriate, and as many images as we can, so long as it contributes to understanding. One of the difficulties of this sort of course is that everyone is coming into it with different information. So, it is important to be able to skim familiar material, but equally important to be able to dig deeper into new or interesting topics.

So, for that reason, we opted away from our original idea, which was to have it delivered as a complete video course. The real problem we have is the inability to transmit smell and taste. We’re considering ways that we can offer up samples of various teas so that we can guide folks through specific experiences. Maybe something more for an intermediate/advanced course?

Another thing we are considering is inviting various tea experts to contribute content. We very much like the idea of getting additional voices involved. Just trying to figure out a good way to balance this with the goal of providing clear and focused material.

Thanks again for the encouragement. We decided, this weekend, to move forward with this project. I’ll definitely keep everyone in the loop.

Cheers,
-Brent

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AnnaEA select said

Re: tea samples and curricula. I would suggest having several set ups for this – one using maybe basic grocery store teas, that would be readily accesible anywhere, one maybe with general tea types described and suggested so that students could mix and match out of their own cupboards and preferred purveyors, and then of course your personal sample set for the course.

Myself, I’d be likely to purchase a sample set matched to the curricula, but it would be best, I think, to have grocery store and ‘pick your own’ options too.

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Chris said

+1.

Seems like a great opportunity to partner up with Steepster to deliver teas to my doorstep that are matched to the course.

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Another possible idea is to contact Jason, Jack or Mike and see if they would be willing to offer a deal on the Select program, then use the Select teas as platform in which everyone has the same teas and this will alleviate having to try to work everyone into having the same teas at the same time. Really just a way to cut out the problem of uncertainty. Just a thought:)

Brent said

Yeah, the whole point of integrating specific teas into the course would be to have some control over cause and effect. For example, we could have exercises where we adjusted the water temperature and we would know the effect that this had on the specific tea the student was using.

Wouldn’t be possible if everyone was using their own choice of tea. (Well, possible, but not as refined.)

Cheers.

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This sounds fun! The only thing that comes to mind for me is whether this courses will be delivered in ‘little doses’ like a topic a week, or a few long seminars. I can easily see the Intro thru How to Buy compacted into one lesson, but that entirely depends on how in-depth you’re planning on going. The latter topics are where a lot of time might come in.
I LOVE the idea of tea experts speaking on certain topics.

Brent said

Thanks! The way we’re putting it together, it is entirely self-paced. You have to go through the lessons in order, but you do so at your own pace. Each lesson also has a pre-test that you can take if you don’t think you need to go through the material of that lesson.

It looks like the basic course will be pretty loose (what we are calling the “Tea Aficionado” course). After that, we’re not sure if we’ll put together more advanced courses right away, or if we’ll just compile a number of seminars on specific topics which may later be organized into a course.

One of the things we like is the idea of having some sort of certification course that could be used in professional development, but which is an alternative to the many overpriced, self-accredited options already out there.

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Tamarindel said

Sounds awesome!

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