Tea Craft week 12-18.7.2026
Seven days. Five colours of the teas. One farm in Georgia - from picking the first leaf to grinding your own Matcha.
Most people drink tea. This week, you will make it.
One day, one kind of the tea: black, white, green, GABA, Matcha – with your own hands, your own nose, your own senses.
Accommodation, meals and local transport included – so you can focus on nothing but tea.
July is a great month for making tea. Our garden is in full bloom – plenty of fresh leaves, and at the same time the leaf already has enough strength for more intense processing. Over the course of one week, we will dive deep into the world of handcrafted teas. Each day, a different style. Each day, new techniques to explore.
This particular date is unique: we will have a shaded section of the garden prepared specifically for it – so we can work with Matcha. Shaded leaf harvesting is not available on our farm in any other month.
Our signature product is black tea. So naturally, we will be making various black teas together: short oxidation and long fermentation, GABA "oxygen-deprived" teas, sun-dried teas – and you will see first-hand how small changes in technique shape the final flavour.
And where there's black, there should be white. So we will craft at least two different white teas.
Why not green as well? Of course. We will explore two paths of green tea – the Japanese and the Chinese method – and you will see just how dramatically these techniques affect aroma and flavour. From that point on, you'll be able to read a tea like a maker: taste it and know exactly what technique was used to create it.
Day 2 – Oxidation vs. Fermentation – getting your hands into black tea
Day 3 – The Wither – where the magic of white tea begins
Day 4 – Pan-fired or Steamed – two roads to green tea
Day 6 – Matcha – from the shadows to fresh Matcha
Day 7 – Finishing Day – tea post-production
After breakfast, we check on yesterday's work. Time to find out: Cups in hand! and lets taste it.
Around nine, we head to the garden to pick the leaves for the day. Two hours of focused harvesting.
Around noon, we spread the freshly picked leaves to wither. After lunch, we dive into the theory behind what we will be making – followed by hands-on practice.
If we wrap up the tea work by two, we can head out – the sea or the mountains are within an hour and a half's drive. Plenty of good places. But do not count on it. Sometimes the creative flow is strong - and we will finish only for dinner.
Rain? We'll figure it out in the morning: mountains, sea, spa, a museum, or a visit to another tea producer.
Accommodation:
The hotel in Chokhatauri offers twin rooms with a private shower and air conditioning, located approximately 15 minutes from the garden.
Food:
Together we will explore the local cuisine. Georgian food is a remarkable experience full of unexpected flavours.
Breakfasts are served in a European style.
Lunches are typically either a salad of local ingredients and cheeses, or a meal at a local restaurant.
For dinners, we head out to restaurants to try Georgian specialities.
Group size: 4–8 people
Garden location: Kvenobani, Chokhatauri, Georgia
Local transport: We will pick you up from the airport and take care of all transport throughout Georgia. Planning to arrive a day earlier or leave a day later? Let us know – we'll sort it out.
What's included: Tea workshop, tools, fresh leaves, accommodation, local transport and meals.
What you take home: A hands-on understanding of tea making, an insight into tea production, and at least seven teas you made yourself.
How to register?
Register by sending an email to: petr.sic@post.cz
Day 1 – Harvest is the foundation
Tea picking is sometimes compared to mindfulness meditation – and sometimes to an old-fashioned chat where you and a colleague end up covering your entire lives. For many people it is a life experience: surrounded by tea leaves, carefully choosing the most beautiful ones... the ones you will process yourself.
Day 2 – Black teas
Plunge your hands into the leaf, start rolling gently – letting the tea get used to the pressure before it breaks. Then, towards the end, really put your weight into it until the juice comes out. Already during rolling you will notice pleasant citrus aromas beginning to develop. The tea will also start to darken – that is oxidation kicking in, the essential building block of black tea.
That day we will make both shortly and longer oxidised teas. We will explore the effect of sunlight and time. And we will set some teas aside to follow their fermentation.
Day 3 – White teas
The delicate beauty of white teas lies in their herbal, spring-like tones. We will show how simple techniques can produce very different flavour profiles – and you will create several of them yourself.
Day 4 – Green day
There are several paths to green tea – and each one is readable in the flavour and aroma of the final cup. We will make two green teas: one representing the Japanese tradition, one the Chinese.
Day 5 – GABA
Stimulating GABA production in tea means depriving the leaf of its normal way of generating energy – by cutting off its access to oxygen. You will make several different GABA teas. We will explain the principles; the degree and intensity are yours to decide. I expect you will want to try more than one style.
Day 6 – Matcha
Matcha is a big topic today. But the path to good Matcha starts in the growing. You need to shift the balance of compounds already inside the leaf. That is why we will visit the section of our garden that we shade specifically for this week. Then we will make Tencha – the green tea prepared for grinding.
Day 7 – Finishing and post-production
When you fire tea, the room fills with beautiful aromas. Time to look into the secret of the Maillard reaction. And to finish the teas from the previous days – do you still remember the fermented tea from day one?
Registration:
To register, email me at: petr.sic@post.cz
After registration, I will send you all the details and instructions.
Payment:
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Deposit: 400eur – due within two weeks of registration
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Final payment: 850eur – due by 30 April 2025
Cancellation policy:
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45+ days before the start: 100% of the deposit refunded
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7–44 days before the start: 70% refunded
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0–6 days before the start: 30% refunded
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Any questions?
Write to us at: info@sicaj.cz
| Kategorie: | Workshops - English |
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