The Tea Studio
This class is what happens when a tea party wanders through a garden, raids the pantry, and refuses to behave. Think jars of botanicals, warm cake, crisp little cookies, and a tea board that’s part charcuterie, part storybook dessert tray.
In The Tea Studio: Botanical Blends, Bakes & Whimsical Boards, we’ll sniff and sip our way through flowers, herbs, and spices, then turn them into a few house tea blends you’ll pack into jars and take home. After that, we head to the oven: one tender snacking cake, one quick bread, and a tray of small, not-too-fussy tea scented cookies designed for dunking, nibbling, and “just one more” bites.
To finish, we’ll build a slightly mad tea board together: fruits and citrus you’ve sliced yourself, creams, honey, sugars, little sweets, and your custom blends lined up for pouring. You’ll leave with your own tea blends, recipes, and a very real temptation to invite people over for tea instead of dinner.
Price: $165 per person plus tax
all ingredients included
Class Overview
This hands-on workshop is part botanical playground, part bake sale, part tea party you actually want to be invited to. We’ll start at the tea table, opening jars of chamomile, hibiscus, rose, lavender, citrus peels, mint, and warming spices, and talk about how they show up in the cup: flavor, aroma, color, and personality.
From there, you’ll build one or two blends of your own, with just enough structure to be helpful and just enough freedom to feel like you’re making something truly yours. While the kettles take a break, we’ll move to the baking side of the kitchen and pull together an easy snacking cake, a quick bread, and a simple cookie that all use the same core techniques. In between, we’ll sneak in a bit of knife practice with fruit and citrus for your board – neat slices, wedges, and garnishes that make the whole thing look a little extra on purpose.
In the last stretch of class, we’ll assemble tea boards: small bowls of cream, honey, sugar, and citrus; your bakes sliced and layered; fresh fruit and nuts tucked in around the edges; and your blends ready for their close-up. It’s part lesson, part hang-out, and absolutely meant to be eaten as we go.
What You'll Learn
How to smell, taste, and evaluate dried botanicals for tea blends (flowers, herbs, peels, and spices).
Basic structures for building a tea blend: base, body, and aromatic top notes.
Simple guidelines for using common botanicals in a home setting, including tasting notes and general traditional uses without turning it into a health seminar.
How to pair brewed tea with baked goods so flavors complement instead of compete.
Core techniques for a flexible snacking cake and quick bread batter that can shift with different flavors and add-ins.
A simple, repeatable cookie that scales well for gifting or gatherings.
Knife skills for prepping fruit and citrus for a tea board: safe, confident slicing, segmenting, and garnishing.
How to build a sweet “tea board” with creams, honey, sugars, fruits, nuts, and baked goods that feels abundant, not fussy.
On The Menu
Menu will change slightly with the season and what looks good at the market, but may include:
Custom Botanical Tea Blends
A small set of loose-leaf blends built from a palette of flowers, herbs, citrus peels, and spices, tailored to your taste.
Citrus or Earl-Grey–Kissed Snacking Cake
A tender, one-bowl cake perfumed with citrus zest or tea, designed to slice into small squares for the tea board.
Tea-Time Quick Bread
A moist loaf (think lemon-berry, spiced carrot, or orange-cardamom) that toasts beautifully the next morning.
Little Tea Cookies
Simple, not-too-sweet cookies such as Matcha, Earl Grey and Chai scented slice-and-bake shortbreads that pair beautifully with hot tea.
Fruit, Nuts & Garnishes
Sliced seasonal fruit, citrus wedges or segments, and a handful of nuts for color, texture, and a bit of knife practice.
Tea Board Accompaniments
Cream, milk, honey, sugars, citrus, and a few small add-ins (like candied ginger or dried fruit) arranged for easy pouring and nibbling.
Who This Class Is For
• People who hear “tea party” and think less doilies, more good snacks and great conversation.
• Home cooks who are curious about botanicals and blending but don’t want their kitchen to turn into an apothecary.
• Bakers who like the idea of one cake, one loaf, one cookie, endless variations.
• Hosts who want to build a sweet board instead of another meat-and-cheese situation.
Take Aways
• Two small jars of your own custom tea blends to take home.
• A basic framework for building future botanical blends from a small home collection.
• Recipes for a snacking cake, quick bread, and simple cookies that you can flavor in different ways.
• Guidelines for building tea boards for brunch, showers, or cozy afternoon gatherings.
• More confidence to play with botanicals, baking, and board-building without needing everything to be perfect.
Class Details
Format: Hands-on tea blending, baking, and board-building workshop
Length: ~2.5 hours
Skill Level: Home cooks and bakers who enjoy a relaxed, hands-on class
Includes: All botanicals and ingredients, tastings throughout, shared tea board at the end, custom blends to take home, printed recipes and blending notes
Cook’s Culinary Collective is a come-to-you experience: I handle the shopping, we cook together in your home, and you enjoy a great night with your guests. When we’re finished, I head out and you get to stay put, happy, and already home.
Class Size: Kept small so everyone blends botanicals, bakes, and builds a tea board with guidance.
Group Size: Minimum 2, maximum 12 in most home kitchens. Larger groups may require an event space.