The UC Davis Global Tea Initiative’s Colloquium for 2021 is January 21, and due to COVID is being held virtually via Zoom.

Sixth Annual GTI Colloquium - Logo

UC Davis Global Tea Initiative for the Study of Tea Culture and Science

The Global Tea Initiative was founded in 2015 as an interdisciplinary initiative combining arts and social sciences with agricultural and food sciences. They aim to be an international resource for information, research, and teaching. Focusing on academia and the tea industry, their goal is to promote education for students and professionals alike.

Global Tea Initiative Mission Statement

“GTI’s mission is to promote the understanding of tea through evidence-based knowledge with a global perspective–promoting tea research from anywhere in the world, in any discipline, with any methodology.  We actively foster knowledge through colloquia and symposia, lectures, and workshops which address the needs of the campus, industry, and general public. Teaching across the disciplines, we have also begun to write a new Global Tea Culture and Science curriculum for undergraduates and graduate UC Davis students. 

“GTI constantly pushes the boundaries of tea knowledge to share with the wider world. Through interdisciplinary and collaborative work, GTI asks new types of questions to find new types of answers. Though Camellia sinensis is our primary focus, GTI recognizes that all things consumed as “tea” also merit study.”

6th Annual Global Tea Initiative Colloquium

This year’s theme is “The Stories We Tell: Myths, Legends, and Anecdotes about Tea.” With this theme, the keynote address is by Lisa See, author of The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane with research partner Linda Louie, owner of Bana Tea and is entitled, “No Coincidence, No Story: How a Trip to Tea Mountains Inspired a Novel.”

The sessions of the colloquium cover the following areas:

  • The Story of New Areas and New Techniques in Tea
  • Narrating Tea through Politics and Biocultural Research
  • UC Students Talk about Tea
  • Talking about Legendary Teas, New Teas, and Spiritual Beliefs
  • Industry session: A cup of tea is for everyone

Find the full online program here.

The Colloquium starts at 09:00 Pacific Standard Time. Register on their website here.

GTI Logo is from their website