What can a cup of tea teach us about East Asia? On September 26, Dr. Joey Smith and Dr. Mari Noda explored that question at the Ohio Tea Festival, held at the Cherry Valley Hotel in Newark. Their presentation, “Tea Culture in East Asia as an Undergraduate General Education Course,” offered festivalgoers a look inside Ohio State’s EALL 2284 classroom, where preparing and tasting tea are part of learning about its history and cultural significance.

The presentation highlighted the many directions a study of tea can take, from cultivation and processing to art, history, trade, and the customs surrounding sharing a cup. In Spring 2026, the course brought together 20 students from a range of majors, giving them opportunities to connect their own interests with tea and East Asian cultures.

Beyond classroom tastings, students visited a tea plant at Ohio State’s Biological Sciences Greenhouse and experienced Japanese tea ceremony with the Sayū tea group and Chinese tea ceremony with Dr. Ruth Lu, a certified tea master. These experiences connected classroom discussions with the plants, objects, and practices students were studying.

The semester culminated in group tea “party” projects, where students put their learning into practice by designing activities for others. Projects included comparing Longjing tea brewed at different temperatures and exploring additions to black tea. Preparing and serving tea became an opportunity to ask questions, share discoveries, and bring people together.

Students interested in exploring tea culture can join Smith’s Spring 2027 class. The three-credit course fulfills the General Education Foundation requirement in Historical and Cultural Studies. Whether students arrive as regular tea drinkers or are just beginning to explore, EALL 2284 offers plenty to discover, discuss, and taste.