Year-round education, community, and support
Being Tea Membership
Being Tea supports a different kind of learner…
Like a beloved yoga studio, but for tea.
As a tea professional, I was trained to practice in small ways daily, like yoga. At Being Tea, we study more like a dedicated yoga student vs one-time certificate courses.
Deep tea education, tailored for everyday life.
Our tea classes are unscripted, warm, and encouraging. I’m doing tea tastings in real time along with you, so you can practice along with me at your own pace. Enjoy recorded videos and live sessions!
Practice and study tea with a real person!
You’re in good hands here, learning from a nationally-recognized, award-winning educator with 20+ years of experience. Beginners welcome!
“Your approach is so accessible to all tea connoisseurs, and informative for me both as a tea drinker and a tea producer.”
Alicia, member since 2020
“Any tea lover who isn’t a member already is seriously missing out!”
Emily, member since 2019
Your membership with Being Tea includes:
Live online classes
Join interactive, drop-in friendly classes, happening almost every week. BYOT (Bring Your Own Tea), no special equipment needed.
Huge video library
Enjoy unlimited access to over 200 full-length class recordings, across a deep range of topics and skills. New videos added monthly.
Quiet Tea Sundays
Unwind and reconnect with our weekly guided tea meditation and rest practice. A beloved offering, now in our 6th year!
Being Tea membership ALSO includes!
Members-only podcast, for our more portable offerings
Generous discount for Tasting Box Club as added program
Members-only discount for private 1:1 classes with me
Priority email access to me for questions and connection
Weekly private member newsletter
Snail Mail! Including seasonal postcards and Care Boxes
What you’ll explore as a Being Tea member…
Being Tea membership offers continuous education for tea in a monthly program that is both self-guided and interactive.
Nearly all of our classes are created exclusively for the membership community – I don’t offer these for any other audience. We have over 200 full-length tea classes, and counting!
Take a look at these recent favorites…
Tasting Vocabulary:
Bakery & Spice
Water Pouring
Techniques
Nurturing Our
Sense of Smell
Hong Kong
Milk Tea
How to
Clean Teaware
Mindful Matcha
Sign up here to join Being Tea!
All of the levels below have the same benefits as listed above. I offer tiered pricing to support financial accessibility. Simply choose the monthly rate that best matches your needs.
Reduced, $10/mo
This is my “community rate” for folks with limited financial means.
Proudly offered through Being Tea’s commitment to financially accessible education.
Standard, $20/mo
This is my “fair exchange” rate, what it takes to produce our program and support students.
If you enjoy two sessions a month, this equals just $10 per class.*
Sustaining, $30/mo
This tier directly offsets the cost to offer our Reduced tier.
This rate 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 as you like. You can also place your membership on pause. Cancel anytime – you’re welcome to rejoin later!
*For price comparison: Basic skills classes that I teach to the public average $20 to $50 per class, depending on the topic. Professional workshops, including ones that you’ll experience here in the program, would start at $250.
– Why Being Tea is different –
We’re truly like no other tea course program
1) This program is intentionally NOT offered as 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 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 tea classes are rooted in inclusive, holistic teaching that is trauma-informed and accessible.
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.
Being Tea is also neurodivergent friendly! You are your own guide for what tea becomes in your life. You are always enough here.
3) No standardized tests, no quizzes, no falling behind, and no gimmicky promises of “mastery.”
Instead of cramming for expensive tests, you’ll develop an enduring relationship with tea that nourishes you as a whole human being.
This means intellectual as well as emotional, mental and spiritual. Areas that are often neglected in technical-focused learning programs that only measure a pass / fail score.
“I love your teaching style; you explain things in a very clear and simple way.
I must admit, some afternoons or evenings, Being Tea is becoming my new Netflix.”
– Andrea G., Being Tea member since 2022
– Being Tea’s PHILOSOPHY –
Tea education as a relationship, not a transaction
Teaching 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 tea. Just so much information to sift through, and so many barriers. This became the inspiration for creating a program that offers continuing education – Being Tea membership. A place where you’re always encouraged and cheered on.
This is how I share my belief that tea education is a relationship, not a transaction. The connection, depth, and financial accessibility of this program is proof that a formal certificate is not the only way to get high quality, meaningful tea education.
It’s also how I was trained in tea, too – in a more personal, mentored way that is unfortunately rare these days. Being Tea is my commitment to giving back and doing something to change that.
“My favorite tea educator is Suzette Hammond.”
– Daniela Titiun, Certified Tea Sommelier, “40+ Resources to Learn About Tea…”
Frequently Asked Questions
Questions before you join? No problem!
Do you offer annual Being Tea memberships? (ie: one payment for a year)
Yes, we do! While most of our community is enrolled monthly – which is super helpful for me, as a small business owner – we do have options to join Being Tea with one convenient payment each year. Learn more here.
Can beginners join classes at Being Tea?
100% yes. I’ve worked with thousands of beginners over my 20+ years in tea – you are super welcome here! Also, there is a helpful selection of classes in our video library specifically for tea newcomers. Look for the “Getting Started” sections!
When are classes scheduled?
I live in Chicago, which is U.S. Central (GMT -6). Most classes happen on weekends, early afternoon, to accommodate Pacific time to Central Europe. We do host some sessions in the evenings, as well.
These are full-length classes, 75-90 minutes, plus an additional 20-30 min for community discussion (which is not included in the recording).
Do I have to be on camera?
Nope. I do not record student audio or video for our library classes, and I never require people to use their camera. You are welcome to enjoy your practice and be comfortable. I think it’s great when students wish to be on camera or use the microphone, as this helps build relationship and community. But using the chat box on Zoom is also equally welcome!
Are all classes in the program recorded?
Nearly all, yes! We do have some sessions that are not recorded, because the structure is framed around interpersonal conversation. So for privacy, we do not record those offerings.
What types of topics are offered?
Oh gosh, SO many topics! I think this is easiest to answer by sharing a little about our libraries and general categories:
– 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 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 is a weekly restorative space for the practice of guided tea meditation. We work with 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, making the time during your week for mindfulness.
– 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.
– 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!
– Okuden (“inner teachings” in Japanese) is a space for a more engaged, advanced tea practice. If tea is more than a beverage for you, Okuden can be a great space to take tea-life appreciation further! Sessions are not structured in a directly instructional manner; they are mostly conversational. They are also shaped for the group assembled, and as such, not recorded for our self-guided library.
– Small Group Saturdays offers a practice that is more personally interactive, with sessions held for just five participants. General topics rotate throughout the seasons, framed around direct coaching and guidance for each student in the group, like a yoga class. Small Group Saturdays sessions are also not recorded.
– About this space –
Being Tea’s Community Values
Being Tea asks 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; religious and cultural heritage; and socioeconomic status. We have a diverse population.
Racism, misogyny, anti-queer or anti-trans, xenophobia, ableism, anti-science, anti-Indigenous, and other similarly dangerous 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 trans, AuDHD, disabled, and immunocompromised. Identities that all inform the inclusive grounding of Being Tea’s educational offerings.
Being Tea’s community values center those who are vulnerable, fragile, and marginalized. This is a soft space.
“What the educator does in teaching is to make it possible for the students to become themselves.”
– Paulo Freire