A Cup of Culture: How Professor Katharine Burnett is Changing the Way We View Tea

In exploring the rich tapestry of global cultures, few elements weave as intricate a story as tea. Tracing the spread of tea culture offers a unique lens for art historian Katharine Burnett, professor and co-chair in the Department of Art and Art History, to explore the complex interplay of tradition, globalization, and identity. Burnett’s fascination with tea inspired her to launch UC Davis’s Global Tea Institute for the Study of Tea Culture and Science, which delves into both the cultural and scientific aspects of tea.

Virtual Tea Colloquium Will Address Ties Between Tea and Health

The UC Davis Global Tea Initiative’s seventh annual colloquium, titled “Tea and Beyond: Bridging Science and Culture, Time and Space,” will bring together scholars from around the globe presenting on topics such as tea and general health, anxiety, meditation, use of teas by Indigenous people and specific ethnic populations, and examining non-tea infusions that are often marketed as tea. Taking place Jan.

Steeped in Tea 

Seminar gives students a wide view of world’s most consumed brew.

From a trip to the Consulate General of Japan in San Francisco, to tea tasting, to lectures given by an art historian, chemist, nutritionist, farmer, librarian, and professor of Japanese literature, the seminar “Global Tea Culture and Science” introduces students to the rich and intersectional world of tea.

Growing a California Tea Industry

Researchers around the world are taking advantage of advances in genetic engineering, molecular biology, genomics and horticultural science to develop varieties of tea with less caffeine.

College’s Global Tea Initiative Brews International Support

Just three years old, the UC Davis Global Tea Initiative for the Study of Tea Culture and Science (GTI) is already gaining recognition as a major player in the world of tea.

Tapping the growing enthusiasm of researchers, tea culture devotees, growers, and industry leaders, GTI is taking the next step toward making UC Davis as much a powerhouse in tea research as it is in wine, beer, and coffee studies.

A newly formed GTI Tea Advisory Committee brings together industry leaders committed to developing the initiative.