“Suzette’s teaching, training and consulting skills have been honed from years of hands-on experience in the tea fields, behind the counter, at the cupping tables and in the offices of tea establishments around the world. What is most impressive is how she thoughtfully synthesizes all of that experience into the considerable expertise she provides her clients and students. Suzette is an amazing resource to the specialty tea industry, to tea enthusiasts and to anyone who wishes to invite tea into their life in a meaningful way. I am so lucky to have had the opportunity to work with her all these years.” – Donna Fellman, Former Director of Online Education, World Tea Academy
“Suzette worked as an embedded, on-site part of our research team for the better part of a year as we were investigating tea brewing. She added tremendous value by being able to marry the traditional art of brewing tea with the science needed to execute it in a repeatable manner, as well as being able to taste the difference between a correct brew and an “almost-correct” brew. I would highly recommend Suzette for anything related to tea or tea brewing.” – Josh Anthony, Director of R&D, SharkNinja – project to develop the Ninja Hot & Cold Brewer System
“I had the pleasure of working with Suzette from early 2015 to end of 2016, during which as Director of Tea & Training at P & T, Suzette managed end-to-end our tea program (from sourcing to serving to educating on our teas). During this time, Sooz also played an integral part in helping to formulate the tea directions of a new line of teas we launched in 2016, from concept to final product. I found Suzette to be strategic and highly organized in seeing projects through to final implementation, and striking a great balance between creative ideas and business pragmatism. In her time at P & T, Suzette was a respected and well-liked team leader and team player and I can highly recommend her to any organization needing her services.” – Jens de Gruyter, Founder/CEO, Paper & Tea (Berlin)
“Suzette’s natural leadership ability, sense of humor and drive for excellence is unmatched. I was always struck by how she effortlessly earned the trust and respect of barista “coffee geeks,” business minded executives, distributor sales reps, and fellow tea enthusiasts alike. Regardless of market channel, customers were blown away by her level of professionalism, wealth of knowledge on the science, history, art and contemporary application of tea in varying business environments.” – Molly Narloch, Key Account Manager, Haelssen & Lyon North America Corp.
“Suzette is an upstanding individual who is professional, articulate and incredibly focused on both the theoretical and practical side of tea. Not only is she a tea subject matter expert, she is passionate about all other beverages: wine, beer, spirits, coffee etc. When Suzette teaches, she uses her vast knowledge of other drinks in drawing parallels for students to help them better grasp the tea concepts.” – John Laloganes, Director of Beverage Management, Kendall College Chicago
“Among all these abilities, Suzette is an outstanding educator and trainer of staff and customers. Her ability to elucidate complicated material, to any level of experience, directly contributes to increased sales and loyalty among existing accounts while also bringing in new ones. She is an indispensable collaborator with the sales and marketing teams in her strategic, measured approach to developing marketing initiatives which require content creation, copy writing, branding, positioning.” – Beau Bernstein, Senior Vice President, High10 Media. *formerly Director Marketing & Sales, Haelssen & Lyon North America Corp.
“Suzette is, hands down, one of the best teachers I had the chance to work with. I worked under her mentorship for over a year and she trained me in tea cupping, tea buying and quality control. She took me through a broad variety of scenarios and problems I could have encountered within tea purchasing and QC, so I felt very well prepared when I started to work without her supervision. We worked on my tasting notes, brewing instructions, teaching style, seminar material, etc. I felt like she was always eager to share her knowledge with me and didn’t hold back. I am forever grateful to Suzette for turning my passion into a profession.” – Ana Kotar, Tea Procurement & Quality Control Specialist, Paper & Tea (Berlin)
“When I took Suzette’s class, I was surprised to find that while tea was the focus, the ritual and experience was representative of something much bigger – our relationships with each other and ourselves. Suzette’s deep knowledge of tea culture and her warm, thoughtful approach made me want to return to these practices (and her classes!) again and again.” – Rachel Zargo, Director of Marketing, Manifest Creative
Want to explore working with me? Get in touch below and let’s chat!
Whether you’re an organization, a business, or an individual looking to take your tea skills and practice to a deeper level, I’d love to connect with you.
I’m able to provide support for time-sensitive projects, ongoing training needs, special events, and online learning. My areas of expertise include functional tea skills, such as brewing, tasting, and evaluation, as well as tea for mindfulness and meditation training to support mental well-being.