the programme
Running a Chinese-tea pop-up in a European or Asian city demands more than excellent tea — it requires logistical precision, local network building, and a deep understanding of how to present gōngfū chá (工夫茶) to a walking audience. This 13-week quarterly cohort brings together a small group of vendors, each preparing a real-world pop-up, under the guidance of Sandry Law, Teamotea’s Head of Procurement based in Kunming, Yunnan.
Over thirteen weeks, you will move from concept to a fully costed, location-ready plan. Each session blends operational rigour with tea tasting, grounding every decision — from equipment selection to menu pricing — in the specific qualities of Chinese tea. You will learn to assess which Shēng Pǔ’ěr (生普洱) can travel without losing vitality, how to design a brewing station that handles high volume yet honours the leaf, and when a single-origin Dān Cōng (单丛) can become the narrative centre of your event.
The cohort follows the natural rhythm of a pop-up cycle. Early weeks focus on venue procurement and regulation; middle weeks on tea sourcing, storytelling, and audience building; final weeks on execution, dry-run protocols, and post-event reflection. Tastings are paired with each phase — for instance, a deep dive into roasted Wǔ Yí (武夷) oolongs when you are crafting your menu, or a comparative session of aged white teas when discussing shelf-life and transport.
Sandry brings on-the-ground procurement insight: he will share supplier evaluation frameworks used at tea.travel scouting trips, negotiate minimums that suit a pop-up scale, and walk you through the seasonal calendar of key tea-producing regions. You will also receive templates for partnership agreements, risk assessments, and local permit checklists — all built on real pop-ups that Teamotea has supported across fifteen cities.
Throughout the programme, participants have access to a private cohort channel on tea.community, where you can share venue photos, ask location-specific questions, and collaborate on shared freight or cross-promotion. Supplementary material from tea.school — including video guides on water chemistry and gongfu service flow — will be recommended at relevant weeks, while rapid ordering of missing tea or equipment can be handled via shop.thetea.app and tea.equipment.
By the end of the 13 weeks, each vendor will have a complete pop-up playbook: a curated tea list with sourcing contacts, a logistics map, a staffing brief, and a promotional story that resonates with the local audience. The cohort is limited to twelve seats, ensuring every plan receives individual attention, and the quarterly rhythm means the learning stays fresh — ready to be applied as soon as the next pop-up date opens on your calendar.
Week by week
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Week 1 — Lǎo Bān Zhāng (老班章) Shēng Pǔ’ěr. foundations of pop-up logistics — venue types, audience expectations, and the seasonality of tea events across Europe and Asia.
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Week 2 — Wò Duī (渥堆) Shú Pǔ’ěr. post-fermentation as a storytelling tool — explaining shú (熟) processing in a fast-moving pop-up environment.
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Week 3 — Lóng Jǐng (龙井). green-tea freshness and cold-chain logistics for European cities — sourcing windows from Hangzhou.
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Week 4 — Dà Hóng Páo (大红袍). building a roasted-oolong menu that performs under high-volume brewing — balance, oxidation, and charcoal finishing.
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Week 5 — Tiě Guān Yīn (铁观音). brewing parameters for speed and consistency — adapting traditional gōngfū methods for a counter service.
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Week 6 — Bái Háo Yín Zhēn (白毫银针). intimate white tea flights — designing a seated tasting corner inside a busy pop-up.
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Week 7 — Jīn Jùn Méi (金骏眉). luxury positioning and pricing strategies — when and how to offer premium black teas in a pop-up.
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Week 8 — Huáng Shān Máo Fēng (黄山毛峰). short shelf-life teas — transport planning and on-site storage for delicate green leaf.
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Week 9 — Fèng Huáng Dān Cōng (凤凰单丛). terroir-driven storytelling — using single-bush dān cōng to create an immersive educational pop-up.
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Week 10 — Mí Lán Xiāng (蜜兰香). aromatic oolongs and sensory memory — engineering scent-driven moments in a pop-up layout.
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Week 11 — Shuǐ Xiān (水仙). aged and re-roasted teas — demonstrating maturation value and encouraging repeat visits.
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Week 12 — Zhèng Shān Xiǎo Zhǒng (正山小种). cross-cultural appeal of smoked black teas — building a pop-up menu that bridges Eastern and Western palates.
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Week 13 — Bái Dān (白牡丹). final event execution — dry runs, contingency planning, and post-pop-up debrief with the cohort.
What’s included
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thirteen live online sessions with Sandry Law, Head of Procurement
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private vendor channel on tea.community for ongoing cohort discussion and peer support
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pop-up planning toolkit — venue checklist, budget template, partnership agreement drafts
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seasonal wholesale sourcing guide with direct links to shop.thetea.app and puerh.app for inventory checks
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curated tea tasting kit shipped each month from Yunnan, featuring the week’s featured tea
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early access to new tea arrivals and limited lots on puerh.app before public release
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certificate of completion from tea.school, credit-bearing towards the tea.degree programme
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twenty percent discount on tea.equipment for pop-up brewing gear and transport cases
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lifetime access to recorded sessions and updated toolkit materials