Souchong has round leaves that make a pale liquid. The smaller, broken leaves of the broken grades make up about 80 percent of the total crop. They make a darker, stronger tea than leaf grades and are the only kind used in tea bags. Broken orange pekoe is much smaller than the leaf grades. It usually contains bud leaf, the mainstay of a blend.
Broken pekoe is slightly larger than broken orange pekoe with somewhat less color.
It is useful as a filler in a blend. Fannings is much smaller than broken pekoe Souchong. Its main virtues are quick brewing and good color. Dust is the smallest grade, useful for a quick-brewing, strong cup of tea. It is only used in blends of similar-size leaf, generally for catering purposes.