Credentialing body
Independent credentialing for Chinese tea professionals
tea.academy is the credentialing arm of the Teamotea constellation. We examine, grade and certify practitioners of Chinese tea against published rubrics aligned with national standards including GB/T 22111-2008 for geographical indication pǔ'ěr and GB/T 30357 for oolong classification.
4
Sittings per calendar year
38%
Master tier pass rate, 2025
11
Accredited senior proctors
9 yrs
Continuous examining since 2017
Current examinations
Examinations open for the 2026 spring sitting
Four graded examinations are open for candidate registration ahead of the sitting scheduled 8–22 April 2026. The Certified *Shēng Pǔ'ěr* (生普洱) Grader and the Advanced Aged Tea Specialist papers assess blind-cup identification against reference vintages drawn from Menghai and Yunnan stockholdings. The Certified Oolong Evaluator paper covers *Mí Lán Xiāng* (蜜兰香) and adjacent Phoenix Mountain cultivars under GB/T 30357.1-2013. The White and Yellow Grader paper addresses GB/T 22291-2017 for bái chá. Candidates may purchase calibrated reference flights through shop.thetea.app prior to sitting; structured preparation courses are listed at tea.school.
Examination bulletins
Recent notices from the board of examiners
The board issues bulletins on a quarterly basis covering sitting results, rubric revisions and curriculum changes. The 2026 spring sitting results bulletin records the cohort distribution across all four tiers and lists holders newly admitted to the register. The aged tea curriculum update notice details revised assessment criteria for *Wò Duī* (渥堆) fermentation evaluation, drawing on field reference data collated through puerh.app and provenance documentation maintained at thetea.app. Bulletins remain the authoritative record of any change to scoring rubrics and are issued no later than fourteen days following each sitting.
Examining panel
Senior examiners and technical specialists
Examinations are administered by a panel of senior tea experts holding regional authority across Hunan, Guangdong, Henan and the Russia–Mongolia corridor. Cross-regional aged-tea papers are technically supervised by Amgalan Chin from the Buryatia office, with green and yellow tea calibration led by Zhou Xiang. Oolong papers are jointly graded by Mei Yang and Fang Ting; white tea calibration falls to Chen Hui Yi. Service-tier assessments for hospitality candidates are observed by head sommelier Hinson Tse. The full roster, including each examiner's region of authority and signed specimen, is published on the constellation profile at teamotea.com.
Candidate registration
Register for the 2026 spring sitting
Candidate registration for the April sitting closes 12 March 2026. Foundation tier candidates may sit at any accredited venue listed under tea.events; Master tier candidates must attend the Kunming examining centre in person for the calibration flight and the oral defence of the thesis component. Sitting fees, identification requirements and the locked-down exam-runner technical specification are documented in full in the candidate handbook. Recertification holders should consult the renewal schedule before submitting payment, as renewal sittings are scored against the rubric current at the date of the original credential.