A year-round education program and community that supports your everyday tea life.
Being Tea is a different kind of learning space for a different kind of learner.
This is deep continuing education for tea that’s tailored for everyday life. Our tea courses are unscripted, warm, and encouraging. I’m doing tea tastings in real time, so you can practice along with me at your own pace.
When you take tea courses here, you’re practicing with a real person.
You’re in good hands here, learning from a nationally-recognized, award-winning educator with 20 years of experience – and who loves beginners.
Think of Being Tea like you would a beloved yoga studio – but for tea.
I learned tea, professionally and personally, by practicing in small ways daily. Here, we study more like a devoted yoga student vs one-off crash courses.
“Any tea lover who isn’t a member already is seriously missing out!”
– Emily, member since Feb 2019
“Your approach is so accessible to all tea connoisseurs, and it was informative for me as a drinker and a tea producer.”
– Alicia, member since Dec 2020
Your membership with Being Tea includes:
– Join live, interactive classes nearly every week.
– Unlimited access to our tea class recording libraries, with over 200 videos available.
– New videos are added every month!
– Generous discount for our Tasting Box Club as an added program.
– FREE or discounted tickets to other Being Tea non-member events.
– Priority email access to me for questions and connection.
– Weekly private member newsletter.
Join Being Tea and bring more tea into your daily life!
Sign up here to get started!
I offer tiered pricing to support accessibility. All of the levels below have the same benefits; simply choose the monthly rate that best matches your financial and engagement needs.
REDUCED – $10/mo
Reduced ($10/month) is my “community” rate for folks with limited financial means. Proudly offered through Being Tea’s commitment to financially accessible education.
STANDARD – $20/mo
Standard ($20/month) is my “fair exchange” rate – what it takes for me to produce this program. If you enjoy even two live sessions or videos a month, this equals just $10 per class.
SUSTAINING – $30/mo
Sustaining ($30/month) directly offsets the cost to run our Reduced rate tier. It equals only $15 per class if you attended just twice a month. Thank you for your generosity!
Our program is month-to-month. You can change your membership level at any time. You can also place your membership on hold for up to 6-months, before it auto-closes. Cancel anytime – you’re welcome to rejoin later!
*For price comparison: Typical rates for classes I teach to the public average $15- $50 per class. Professional classes, including ones that you’ll experience here in the program, would start at a few hundred dollars.
What you’ll explore here at Being Tea…
Being Tea membership offers continuous education for tea in a monthly program that is both self-guided and interactive.
We launched in 2017 and now have years of courses and experiences for you – over 200 video recordings, and counting.
Our tea courses are organized into sections by topic, just like a library.
Topics in the Being Tea membership program include:
Tea Skills series (click to read)
Our Tea Skills series classes explore deeper sensory development. Includes functional brewing techniques, professional cupping skills, classical teaware introductions, understanding tea categories, and building tea tasting vocabulary.
Tea Meditation series (click to read)
The Tea Meditation series is where we practice mindfulness training with tea. This includes techniques for preparing tea in meditation, seasonal energetics of teas, breathwork (pranayama) with tea, restorative practices for reducing stress, and tea meditation journaling.
Quiet Tea Sundays (click to read)
Quiet Tea Sundays is a weekly restorative space for the practice of guided tea meditation. We work with monthly seasonal themes and incorporate techniques such as pranayama, yoga nidra, journaling, and gongfu cha. This is different from the Tea Meditation series, which is focused on the learning aspect. Quiet Tea Sundays is the practice space, and actually making the time during your week for mindfulness.
Okuden (click to read)
Okuden (“inner teachings” in Japanese) is a space for a more engaged, advanced tea practice. At Being Tea, this is defined not in terms of knowledge one must have already, but how ready their mind and heart is, as a student. Sessions are not structured in a directly instructional manner; they are for practice, discussion, and asking questions. They are also shaped for the group assembled, and as such, not recorded for our self-guided library.
Being Tea Connections (click to read)
Being Tea Connections is an ongoing series where we invite special guest teachers into the Being Tea space to highlight the numerous ways tea connects to the world around us. Subjects include sobriety, activism, tea origin relationships, spirituality, and more. Because we’re never “just” studying tea!
Barista Series (click to read)
Barista Series is a tailored selection of classes that focus on tea as a beverage, such as iced tea and lattes. Ideal for folks who work with tea professionally in a service setting. Includes baristas, specialty coffee workers, tea house staff, and anyone who wants to learn about tea from the lens of service and professional engagement.
“Tea with your meditation classes seems to be the one practice that brings me back to the place I need to be.”
– Fiona, Being Tea member
Read more Being Tea Member Testimonials!
Our difference: Education as a relationship, not a transaction
Teaching people about tea is my full-time work and truly what I love doing most.
As a tea educator of over 20 years, I hear a lot of stories from people about how hard it is to learn about tea. This actually became the inspiration for creating a program that offers continuing education for tea – Being Tea membership. A place where you can always feel encouraged and cheered on.
Every month and every season here, you’ll explore what tea means in daily life, not just one-off workshops or just reading books. In fact, this is how I learned tea myself.
At Being Tea, our courses are designed to be self-guided, holistic, inclusive, and financially accessible. This is how I share my philosophy of education as a relationship, not a transaction. The depth and accessibility of this program is proof that a formal school program is not the only way to get high quality, meaningful tea education.
“My favorite tea educator is Suzette Hammond.”
– Daniela Titiun, Certified Tea Sommelier
Being Tea is like no other tea course program. Here’s why:
1) This program is intentionally NOT a tea certification course or academic school.
Tea means different things to different people. Our self-guided structure invites tea explorers to engage with tea completely on their own terms. That might be creative playtime as a devoted hobby, or a mental health support for well-being, or continuing education for tea industry professionals.
2) All of our classes are trauma-informed and rooted in inclusive, holistic teaching.
We value inclusive and flexible structure over any sort of rigid form. This also means we center the importance of intentional language and body wisdom in this space, too. You are your own guide, after all, for what tea becomes in your life. You are always enough here. Being Tea is also neurodivergent friendly.
3) There are no standardized tests, no quizzes, no “falling behind” here.
Instead of book work or passing quizzes, you’ll develop an enduring, personal relationship with tea that nourishes you as a whole human. This means intellectual as well as emotional, mental and spiritual – areas that are often neglected in highly technical learning programs that only measure a pass / fail score.
Being Tea’s Community Values: Before you join…
Being Tea asks all participants to respect fellow members for their unique differences across race; country of origin; gender and sexual identity; age; body form and/or disability; mental health needs; religious and cultural heritage; and socioeconomic status. We have a diverse student population.
Racism, misogyny, anti-queer or anti-trans, xenophobia, ableism, anti-science, anti-Indigenous knowledge, and other similarly dangerous and non-inclusive views, statements or behavior are not welcome here. Please also note that your program director, Sooz, is an Autistic person, non-binary, and sober; their partner is also disabled, immunocompromised, and non-binary. Being Tea’s community values center the vulnerable, fragile, and marginalized.
Far above any tea subject we explore, Being Tea is here to hold inclusive space for individuals who don’t always see themselves or their needs represented in other public tea spaces. Their humanity and safety is of paramount importance. This is a soft space.
Please consider this when you choose to join this program and join our communal sessions. Thank you!
Ready to join the Being Tea community? Let’s go!
REDUCED – $10/mo
Reduced ($10/month) is my “community” rate for folks with limited financial means. Proudly offered through Being Tea’s commitment to financially accessible education.
STANDARD – $20/mo
Standard ($20/month) is my “fair exchange” rate – what it takes for me to produce this program. If you enjoy even two live sessions or videos a month, this equals just $10 per class.
SUSTAINING – $30/mo
Sustaining ($30/month) directly offsets the cost to run our Reduced rate tier. It equals only $15 per class if you attended just twice a month. Thank you for your generosity!
Our program is month-to-month, and you can change your membership level at any time. You can also place your membership on hold for up to 6-months, before it auto-closes. Cancel at anytime and rejoin later.