2027 Schedule For Events & Volunteering

Next year, we will facilitate both volunteering and at least three in-person paid events.  These events will include one seminar, where you will learn to make tea at our volunteer site and discuss issues surrounding tea co-ops here in China; one tea professional tea-tasting course, where you will learn about white tea in Fujian, and receive an accredited certificate; one tea culture tour, where you can visit Derek's Yangzhou tea house and the famous ceramic town of Yixing. 

Tea Co-op Seminar (Huoshan & Lu'an):  May 1st - May 6th 2027.  【Educational】 Inspired by the international brigades who visit Cuba each May to experience work and life in the country. This event will be another combination of theory, praxis, and travel. Visitors will get to help pick and process tea by hand. They will also get to participate in a series of discussions on the history of co-operatives in China and contemporary problems of tea production. These discussions will be enriched by hands-on participation and trips to tea markets, pilot sites of organic and matcha production,   

Tea Tasting Course (Fuzhou, Fuding,  & Zhenghe): July, Date TBD 【Professional】 Run by the Fujian Tea Society and the International Tea Industry Development Association, this is an accredited, bilingual, 3-day intensive course with university tea assessment faculty. Learn the same terminology, standards, and methods needed to pass the primary-level professional tea assessor test: become a professional-level knower of white tea. There is an optional trip to Fuding and Zhenghe that these organizations offer after the tasting course.

Tea Culture Course (Yangzhou & Yixing):  October 20th - 25th 2027 【Experiential】Experience the ancient city of Yangzhou that has thrived on the banks of the grand canal for nearly 2000 years.  Drink Derek’s stored and saved favorite teas in his tea house and travel south for a tour of the ancient teapot capital of Yixing.  Meet with a maker whose grandparents both worked in the State Owned factories, and try your hands at making an yixing tea cup.

Sign-up Process:

For each of these events, the deadline to express interest is January 31st, 2027. Please send us an e-mail at admin@onerivertea.com with your name and a brief self-introduction, specifying which event you wish to attend. 

We will then calculate prices accordingly for the group based on how many people sign up. For any of these events to take place, we need at least four people to sign up. We will then announce a final price before February 28th 2027. You can anticipate that each event (including food, lodging, and domestic transportation) will cost around $600 - $1,500 USD.  With more sign-ups, the price per person can and will be reduced.