Being Tea

Hello, my name is Sooz (Suzette Hammond). Teaching tea has been my professional and personal life for nearly 20 years. For me, tea is so much more than a beverage. I understand tea as an ancient culture, a way of life, and a contemplative teacher. Tea, through learning, sharing and teaching, is one of our most powerful connectors.

Over the years with students, I’ve been moved to see just how tea supports body, intellect and emotion. A practice with tea teaches us to be vulnerable as we sit in the present moment, and witnesses our being listened to.

Tea is also a study that distinctly benefits from relationship-style continuing education. And this is how I teach tea.

All of my classes are beginner friendly, trauma-informed and supportive for mental health, and take a holistic approach to tea.

This is very different from an academic or dogmatic style teaching that enforces a rigid “sameness” for everyone. Here, students can seamlessly move between tea tasting and evaluation courses to tea meditation and mental well-being, with an intentional through-line connecting the experiences.

I’m a nationally-recognized, award-winning teacher, and the 2018 recipient of the World Tea Award for Best Tea Educator.

As someone with a professional trade background in tea, I work with professionals and tea lovers alike. Everything I offer here is online and specifically developed for welcoming folks who have felt intimidated elsewhere learning tea, or that they somehow just don’t belong.