globaltea.ucdavis.eduThe Global Tea Initiative for the Study of Tea Culture and Science | Global Tea Initiative

Skip to main content Menu Global Tea Initiative Global Tea Initiative Open Search Close Search Search the site: Main navigation (extended config) Home Students + Global Tea Club First-Year Seminar 2019 Student Spotlight: Harold Linde Faculty + Faculty Research Activities Events + 6th Annual GTI Colloquium (2021) + 2021 Colloquium - Call for Papers 5th Annual GTI Colloquium (2020) + 2020 Videos Shields Library exhibit 4th Annual GTI Colloquium (2019) + 2019 Conference Videos 2019 Conference Photos Pt. 1 2019 Conference Photos Pt. 2 3rd Annual GTI Colloquium (2018) + 2018 Conference Videos 2nd Annual GTI Colloquium (2017) + 2017 Conference Videos 1st Annual GTI Colloquium (2016) + 2016 Conference Videos Past Events + (2018) 3rd Annual GTI Symposium + Volunteering Opportunity Article: UC Davis Symposium Explores Future of Tea 2018 Global Tea Initiative Symposium Program Tea Time: Early Chinese Exports Interactive Overseas Lecture: What is Japanese Tea? Media + Podcasts News + Tea News (2019) Tea News (2018) Tea News (2017) Tea News (2016) Presentations + 2019 Conference Presentations Partners Quick Links + UC Davis ALL ABOUT TEA THE FOUR PILLARS OF THE GLOBAL TEA INITIATIVE SOCIAL GOOD GTI builds on the university’s core value of social good. We see tea as an engine for social change and community development—a means by which to improve people’s lives and livelihoods around the world. With special focus on ethics, supply chains, poverty eradication, and sustainability, we care about the welfare of those who make it possible to enjoy tea in the first place. CULTURAL UNDERSTANDING GTI places high value on recognizing the many tea cultures from around the world. Cultural understanding is integral to our philsophy. By bringing attention to both our similarities and differences over tea, the study of tea can promote cultural understanding and build community—and within community, friendship, and from friendship, perhaps world peace. INNOVATIONS IN AGRICULTURE UC Davis has a long-standing history in tea agriculture, having conducted in-depth research on tea since the 1960’s. Aiming to be a pioneer of tea agriculture in the United States, GTI constantly looks towards the future to discover innovations in tea sustainability, cultivation, processing, and more. HEALTH & WELLNESS Many of GTI’s talented faculty at the university conduct research specializing in the numerous health benefits of tea consumption. The effects of Camellia sinensis on the body, mind, and spirit are thoroughly studied at UC Davis. All of this knowledge is shared with the wider world through our yearly colloquiums, seminars, and other events on campus. THE GLOBAL TEA INITIATIVE FOR THE STUDY OF TEA CULTURE AND SCIENCE (GTI) “As we stand there is no organization in the world that embraces Global Tea. With the growth of specialty tea in the US, GTI ideally suited to play that role.” — Manik Jayakumar, Chief Executive, QTrade Teas & Herbs Teas A GLOBAL, INTELLECTUAL, AND CULTURAL EXPLORATION OF TEA Long a global leader in innovations at the nexus of food, health and the environment, UC Davis has launched the Global Tea Initiative to bring the university’s premier research in agriculture, health, science, humanities and social science to bear on the study of tea. This project is driven by the long history and cultural importance of tea beginning in Asia and spreading to almost every continent in the world; the dearth of tea-related scholarship in most disciplines; our campus’s wide-ranging expertise in the humanities and social sciences which we bring to bear on tea in Asia, Africa and the Americas; and our complementary campus strengths and research traditions in nutrition and agricultural sciences. The Global Tea Initiative for the Study of Tea Culture and Science is a teaching, research and outreach effort meant to involve the whole campus, fostering and leading collaboration across the sciences, humanities and social sciences to explore ways tea influences everything from ceramics to gender roles to health practices all over the world. MISSION 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. Documents GTI Information and Updates FOLLOW US HIGHLIGHTS Best Tea Health Advocate: Dr. Yu-Jui Yvonne Wan June 12, 2019 Congratulations to GTI Faculty member, Dr. Yu-Jui Yvonne Wan (Vice Chair for Research, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, UC Davis Medical Center) for winning the Best Tea Health Advocate award at the 2019 World Tea Expo! We are so proud of her accomplishments. Check out her lecture on tea, health, and gut microbiota here ! Global Tea Initiative University of California, Davis , One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616 | 530-752-1011 Questions or comments? Privacy & Accessibility Principles of Community University of California Sitemap Last update: February 18, 2020 Copyright © The Regents of the University of California, Davis campus. 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