This year’s tea travel adventure takes us deep into China, to the Yunnan-Guizhou plateau—the origin of tea plants and the historic home of the Tea Horse Road.

On this tea trip, you’ll gain an in-depth understanding of green tea, yellow tea, and Pu’er tea, while also exploring black tea, dark tea, and matcha.

You’ll be part of a small group, so your specific questions will get personal attention. Our goal is to turbo-boost your understanding of Chinese tea, so you can confidently explore this dynamic world and start answering the ultimate question:

Learning Tea at Origin Changes Everything

At a certain point in a serious tea journey, tasting great tea is no longer enough. There is a natural pull to understand where tea truly comes from — not just geographically, but culturally, environmentally, and humanly. This is why many people eventually choose to learn tea in China through a China tea tour or tea learning trip focused on real experience at origin.

Tea is deeply tied to place. The mountains, climate, soil, local traditions, and daily lives of tea producers all shape what ends up in your cup. When tea is experienced only through finished tea, much of this story remains hidden. Being in a tea region changes that immediately. Seeing the landscape, feeling the climate, and walking through tea gardens gives tea a sense of reality and permanence that cannot be replicated elsewhere.

For many, one of the most meaningful moments is simply standing in a tea mountain where teas they have studied and loved for years are grown. The connection between place and cup becomes unmistakable. Tea stops feeling like a product and starts feeling like something living — shaped by season, weather, and the hands that made it. It is often a quiet but profound shift.

Learning tea at origin also deepens how quality is understood. Instead of focusing only on flavor, you begin to understand the story behind each tea — the challenges producers face, the decisions made during harvest, and the realities of producing exceptional tea year after year. Even without technical training, seeing these realities builds a deeper respect for the tea itself.

Another powerful part of learning tea in China is experiencing tea culture in its natural environment. Tea is not separate from daily life. It is part of how people welcome guests, build trust, celebrate, and connect. Sitting down to drink tea where tea is simply part of everyday rhythm often changes how tea is understood — not just as a beverage, but as a cultural language.

Many people also notice that their tasting naturally evolves after spending time in tea regions. Tea becomes easier to understand. Differences between teas become clearer. Instead of focusing only on flavor notes, you begin to sense structure, material quality, and overall balance more intuitively.

Visiting tea regions also changes how value is perceived. Seeing the labor, skill, and care involved in production makes rarity and pricing easier to understand. It becomes clear why some teas are difficult to produce consistently, and why truly exceptional teas are often limited.

Perhaps most importantly, learning tea at origin changes your relationship with tea itself. For many serious tea people, it becomes a turning point — the moment tea moves from interest to something much deeper and more personal.

Learning tea at origin does not replace study, tasting, or certification. It completes them. It connects knowledge to place, and tasting to lived experience. For those committed to going deeper into tea, a tea trip to China often becomes one of the most meaningful steps in that journey.

This isn’t just a tea trip—it’s a deeply educational and immersive experience. Here’s what you’ll discover:

• Sensory Impact: Stand in tea gardens that feel like stepping into an ancient Chinese calligraphy painting.
• Hands-On Learning: Work in processing rooms and encounter tea aromas you didn’t even know existed.
• Expert Tastings: Taste countless teas while diving into their rich flavor profiles.

But all this is only the beginning. Along with the above-mentioned experiential indulgence, this tea tour will significantly elevate your tea knowledge. Whether you’ve studied tea before or are building on previous experience, this trip will help you organize your understanding, fill knowledge gaps, and develop a rock-solid foundation.

As our travels unfold, we’ll continue building on this strong foundation, helping you master real-world knowledge about tea farms, factories, professional tea tasting and appraisal, as well as gain insights into Chinese tea history, market trends, and cultural influences.

Who This Trip Is For

• Tea enthusiasts
• Tea professionals
• Buyers
• Tea educators
• People who love high-quality tea

This tea trip is NOT for tourism-first travelers or checklist travelers.

Zhen Lu, Jianli Wu, and Phil Rushworth

Jianli’s knowledge of Chinese tea is simply unparalleled. Rich in academic knowledge as well as extensive field and market experience, she also brings 20 years of teaching to the table, having taught both beginners and professionals in China. You’ll learn so much traveling with her, tea plants, tea farming, tea garden, history, cultural lineage, tea processing, tasting, and appraisal. This vast tea knowledge is what she specializes in delivering, helping you understand the logic behind each sip when it comes to teas from all over the world. Let me emphasize the professional tea appraisal we will be teaching you during the trip. This is what Jianli has been teaching tea professionals, including tea educators, tea farmers and producers, tea merchants, and more in China for decades. What’s more precious is that after 30 years in China’s tea industry, she’s still humble and passionate about learning more about tea. She is excited to show you around the tea regions and view Chinese tea from a new angle through conversation and interaction with you.

Phil and Zhen will be there to bridge the difference between the East and the West, not just language, but also culture. Especially tea culture and the nuances of understanding tea. This will make your China tea trip so much more rewarding. A complete approach with an authentic Chinese perspective and the ease of clear English delivery, ensuring minimum misunderstanding and missed information.