Different Grades of Tea Different Grades of Tea Contact Us Different Grades of Tea Remember that tea grades are not standardized, so they may vary widely according to country or region of origin. Also, tea grades do not necessarily indicate quality. The acronyms found below describe the dry leaf's appearance, not its taste. Taste, after all, is in the tongue of the beholder. Terms Describing BLACK TEA GRADES (ORTHODOX TEA) WHOLE LEAF Fine Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe TFG OP Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe TGF OP 1 Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe 1 GF OP Golden Flowery Broken Orange Pekoe BPS Broken Orange Pekoe Fine Dust FD Terms Describing BLACK TEA GRADES (CTC Tea) BROKEN Pekoe The word "pekoe" comes from the Chinese word bai hwa or "white flower". In Taiwan, occasionally the Latin alphabet is used with a language system called POJ (an interesting bit of trivia to impress your friends with: this system was actually developed by the Taiwanese Presbyterian Church). Under the POJ system, the word is "peh-hoe", which has evolved over time into "pekoe".

Today the term is used to classify a superior grade of black tea. A pekoe tip is the down-like white or yellow hair on the tip of the youngest tea leaves. So the next time you hear someone refer to a tea as being "tippy", you'll know that they mean it has an abundance of tips! OP: Orange Pekoe No, it's not orange flavored tea. It does not refer to a particular flavor, color, or even quality. It simply designates a particular leaf size. During the manufacture of tea, the resulting product is leaves of varying sizes. OP denotes a particular size (typically larger leaves) that will not pass through a sieve of particular width. Choppy Orange pekoe | WikiTea | Fandom powered by Wikia [ show ] The tea industry uses the term Orange Pekoe to describe a basic, medium-grade black tea consisting of many whole tea leaves of a specific size; [1] however, it is popular in some regions (such as North America ) to use the term as a description of any generic black tea (though it is often described to the consumer as a specific variety of black tea).

[3] [4] Within this system, the teas that receive the highest grades are obtained from new flushes. This includes the terminal leaf bud along with a few of the youngest leaves. Grading is based on the size of the individual leaves and flushes, which is determined by their ability to fall through the screens of special meshes [5] ranging from 8–30 mesh. [6] This also determines the wholeness, or level of breakage, of each leaf, which is also part of the grading system. Although these are not the only factors used to determine quality, the size and wholeness of the leaves will have the greatest influence on the taste, clarity, and brewing-time of the tea. [7] When used outside the context of black-tea grading, the term "pekoe" (or, occasionally, Orange pekoe) describes the unopened terminal leaf bud (tips) in tea flushes. As such, the phrases "a bud and a leaf" or "a bud and two leaves" are used to describe the "leafiness" of a flush; they are also used interchangeably with pekoe and a leaf or pekoe and two leaves.

[8] Etymology A black tea with white "hairs" plainly visible on its surface The origin of the word "pekoe" is uncertain. One explanation is that "pekoe" is derived from the transliterated mispronunciation of the Amoy (Xiamen) dialect word for a Chinese tea known as white down/hair (白毫). [9] This is how "pekoe" is listed by Rev. Robert Morrison (1782–1834) in his Chinese dictionary (1819) as one of the seven sorts of black tea "commonly known by Europeans". [10] This refers to the down-like white "hairs" on the leaf and also to the youngest leaf buds. Another hypothesis is that the term derives from the Chinese báihuā "white flower" (白花), and refers to the bud content of pekoe tea. Sir Thomas Lipton , the 19th-century British tea magnate is widely credited with popularizing, if not reinventing, the term for Western markets. The "orange" in Orange Pekoe is sometimes mistaken to mean that the tea has been flavored with orange , orange oils, or is otherwise associated with oranges.

However, the word "orange" is unrelated to the tea's flavor. [1] There are two explanations for the meaning of "orange" in Orange Pekoe, though neither is definitive: The Dutch royal House of Orange-Nassau . The Dutch East India Company performed a central role in bringing tea to Europe and may have marketed the tea as "orange" to suggest a royal warrant. [9] The copper color of a high-quality, oxidized leaf before drying, or the final bright orange color of the dried pekoes in the finished tea. [11] These usually consist of one leaf bud and two leaves that are covered in fine, downy hair. The orange color is produced when the tea is fully oxidized. Manufacture and grades Wilson Ceylon Earl Grey F.B.O.P. (Flowery Broken Orange Pekoe) Black Tea Grading Pekoe tea grades are classified into various qualities, each determined by how many of the adjacent young leaves (two, one, or none) were picked along with the leaf buds. Top-quality pekoe grades consist of only the leaf buds, which are picked using the balls of the fingertips. Fingernails and mechanical tools are not used in order to avoid bruising.

When crushed to make bagged teas, the tea is referred to as "broken", as in "Broken Orange Pekoe" (also "Broken Pekoe" or "BOP"). These lower grades include fannings and dust , which are tiny remnants created in the sorting and crushing processes. Orange Pekoe is referred to as "OP". The grading scheme also contains categories higher than OP, which are determined primarily by leaf wholeness and size. [5] [12] Broken, Fannings and Dust orthodox teas have slightly different grades. Crush, Tear, Curl (CTC) teas, which consist of leaves mechanically rendered to uniform fannings have yet another grading system. Grade terminology Choppy: Tea that contains many leaves of various sizes. Fannings: Small particles of tea leaves used almost exclusively in tea bags. A grade higher than Dust. Flowery: A large leaf, typically plucked in the second or third flush with an abundance of tips. Golden Flowery: Tea that includes very young tips or buds (usually golden in colour) that were picked early in the season. Tippy: Tea that includes an abundance of tips.

Whole leaf grades The grades for whole leaf orthodox black tea are: Ceylon Orange Pekoe Grades OP1 - Orange Pekoe 1: A slightly delicate long wiry leaf with the light liquor. OPA - Orange Pekoe A: A bold long leaf tea which ranges from tightly wound to almost open. OP - Orange Pekoe: Main grade of Orange Pekoe, in the middle between OP1 and OPA. OP—Orange Pekoe: Main grade in tea production. Can consist of long wiry leaf without tips. OP sup—Orange Pekoe Superior: Primarily from Indonesia. Similar to OP. F OP—Flowery Orange Pekoe: High-quality tea with a long leaf and few tips. Considered the second grade in Assam, Dooars, and Bangladesh teas, but the first grade in China F OP1—Flowery Orange Pekoe First Grade Leaves: As above but with only the highest quality leaves in the F.O.P classification GF OP1—Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe First Grade Leaves: Higher proportion of tip than FOP Top grade in Milima and Marinyn regions; Uncommon in Assam and Darjeeling.

TGF OP—Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe: Tea with the highest proportion of tip; Main grade in Darjeeling and Assam. TGF OP1—Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe: As above, but with only the highest quality leaves in the T.G.F.O.P classification FTGF OP—Finest Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe: Highest quality grade (Note: "Special" is occasionally substituted for "Finest", with a number 1 at the end to indicate the very finest). Often hand processed and produced at only the best plantations. Roughly one quarter tips. SFTGFOP(1)—Special Finest Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe: Sometimes used to indicate the very finest. A joke among tea aficionados is that "FTGFOP" stands for "Far Too Good For Ordinary People". Broken leaf grades BT—Broken Tea: Usually a black, open, fleshy leaf that is very bulky. Classification used in Sumatra, Sri Lanka, and some parts of Southern India. BP—Broken Pekoe: Most common broken pekoe grade. From Indonesia, Ceylon, Assam and Southern India.

BPS—Broken Pekoe Souchong: Term for broken pekoe in Assam and Darjeeling. FP—Flowery Pekoe: High-quality pekoe. Usually coarser with a fleshier, broken leaf. Produced in Ceylon and Southern India, as well as in some parts of Kenya. BOP—Broken Orange Pekoe: Main broken grade. Prevalent in Assam, Ceylon, Southern India, Java, and China. F BOP—Flowery Broken Orange Pekoe: Coarser and broken with some tips. From Assam, Ceylon, Indonesia, China, and Bangladesh. In South America coarser, black broken. F BOP F—Finest Broken Orange Pekoe Flowery: The finest broken orange pekoe. Higher proportion of tips. Mainly from Ceylon's "low districts". G BOP—Golden Broken Orange Pekoe: Second grade tea with uneven leaves and few tips. GF BOP1—Golden Flowery Broken Orange Pekoe 1: As above, but with only the highest quality leaves in the GFBOP classification.

TGF BOP1—Tippy Golden Flowery Broken Orange Pekoe 1: High-quality leaves with a high proportion of tips. Finest broken First Grade Leaves in Darjeeling and some parts of Assam. Fannings grades PF—Pekoe Fannings OF—Orange Fannings: From Northern India and some parts of Africa and South America. FOF—Flowery Orange Fannings: Common in Assam, Dooars, and Bangladesh. Some leaf sizes come close to the smaller broken grades. GFOF—Golden Flowery Orange Fannings: Finest grade in Darjeeling for tea bag production. TGFOF—Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Fannings. BOPF—Broken Orange Pekoe Fannings: Main grade in Ceylon, Indonesia, Southern India, Kenya, Mozambique, Bangladesh, and China. Black-leaf tea with few added ingredients, uniform particle size, and no tips. Dust grades D1—Dust 1: From Sri Lanka, Indonesia, China, Africa, South America, and Southern India. PD—Pekoe Dust TEA LEAF GRADING TEA LEAF GRADING Ingredients: How to brew: industrial ..

£3.84 Ingredients: How to brew: Honeyb.. £3.03 Choppy - contains many leaves of various sizes Fannings - small particles of broken leaves used in tea bags Flowery - contains large leaves typically plucked in the second or third flush with an abundance of tips Golden Flowery - contains very young tips and/or golden buds picked early in the season Tippy - contains abundance of tips WHOLE LEAF GRADES (Ceylon Orange Pekoe (OP) grades) OP1 - slightly delicate, long and wiry leaf with the light liquor OPA - bold and long tea leaf which ranges from tightly to almost open OP (Orange Pekoe) - main grade (grade between OP1 and OPA) which consists of long pointed leaves without tips - youngest and smallest on a branch OP Superior - similar to OP; primarily from Indonesia F OP (Flowery Orange Pekoe) - high-quality tea contains a fine tender long young leaves, few tips and delicate end pieces of buds. First grade in China, second grade in Assam, Bangladesh and Dooars.

F OP1 (Flowery Orange Pekoe 1) - highest quality leaves in FOP classification GF OP1 (Golden Fowery Orange Pekoe 1) - higher proportion of tips and golden yellow buds than FOP classification. Top grade in Marinyn and Milima provincies, but uncommon in Darjeeling and Asam TGF OP (Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe) - the highest proportion of golden tips. Main grade in Assam and Darjeeling. TGF OP1 (Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe 1) - high proportions of golden tips, highest quality leaves in TGFOP classification FTGF OP (Finest Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe) - exceptionally highest quality grade often hand processed and produced only at the best plantations containing golden flowers, leaf buds and the youngest tea leaves SFTGFOP (Special Finest Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe) - the very finest FOP. Only first two leaves and bud are harvested. BROKEN LEAF GRADES BT (Broken Tea) - usually a black open fleshy bulky leaf. Classification used in Sri Lanka, Sumatra and some parts of Southern India.

BP (Broken Pekoe) - most common broken pekoe grade. Cassification used in Assam, Ceylon, Indonesia and Souther India. BPS (Broken Pekoe Souchong) - classification for broken pekoe in Darjeeling and Assam. FP (Flowery Pekoe) - high-quality pekoe usually coarser with a fleshier broken leaves rolled into balls. Produced in Southern India, Ceylon and some parts of Kenya. BOP (Broken Orange Pekoe) - main broken grade. Mainly from China, Java, Assam, Ceylon and Southern India. F BOP (Flowery Broken Orange Pekoe) - coarser and broken leaveas with small proportion of tips. Produced in China, Bangladesh, Ceylon and Assam. In South America coarser and black broken. F BOP F (Finest Broken Orange Pekoe Flowery) - finest broken orange pekoe having higher proportion of tips. Mainly from Ceylon. G BOP (Golden Broken Orange Pekoe) - second grade tea with uneven leaves and few tips.

GF BOP1 (Golden Flowery Broken Orange Pekoe 1) - highest quality leaves in the GFBOP classification. TGF BOP1 (Tippy Golden Flowery Broken Orange Pekoe 1) - high-quality leaves with a high proportion of tips. Produced in Darjeeling and some parts of Assam. FANNINGS GRADES PF (Pekoe Fannings) OF (Orange Fannings) - produced in Northern India and some parts of Africa and South America. FOF (Flowery Orange Fannings) - some leaf sizes come close to the smaller broken grades. Mainly produced in Bangladesh, Assam and Dooars. GFOF (Golden Flowery Orange Fannings) - finest grade in Darjeeling for tea bag production. TGFOF (Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Fannings) BOPF (roken Orange Pekoe Fannings) - black leaf tea with added ingredients, uniforma particle sizes and with no tips. Classification used as main grade in Indonesia, Kenya, China, Ceylon, Mozambique and Southern India.

DUST GRADES D1 (Dust 1) - produced in China, Africa, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Southern India. PD (Pekoe Dust) Orange pekoe O Orange pekoe Orange pekoe (also spelled pecco) is a term used in the Western tea trade to describe a particular grade of black teas (Orange pekoe grading). Despite a purported Chinese origin, these grading terms are typically used for teas from India, Sri Lanka, and countries other than China and Taiwan; they are not generally known within Chinese-speaking countries. The grading system is based upon the size of processed and dried black tea leaves; high-grade teas are produced with only the best leaves. The tea industry uses the term Orange Pekoe to describe a basic, medium-grade black tea consisting of many whole tea leaves of a specific size; however, it is popular in some regions (such as North America ) to use the term as a description of any generic black tea (though it is often described to the consumer as a specific variety of black tea). Within this system, the teas that receive the highest grades are obtained from new flushes. This includes the terminal leaf bud along with a few of the youngest leaves.

Grading is based on the size of the individual leaves and flushes, which is determined by their ability to fall through the screens of special meshes ranging from 8–30 mesh. This also determines the wholeness, or level of breakage, of each leaf, which is also part of the grading system. Although these are not the only factors used to determine quality, the size and wholeness of the leaves will have the greatest influence on the taste, clarity, and brewing-time of the tea. When used outside the context of black tea grading, the term Pekoe (or, occasionally, Orange pekoe) describes the unopened terminal leaf bud (tips) in tea flushes. As such, the phrases "a bud and a leaf" or "a bud and two leaves" are used to describe the "leafiness" of a flush; they are also used interchangeably with pekoe and a leaf or pekoe and two leaves. Etymology The origin of the word pekoe is uncertain.

One explanation is that "pekoe" is derived from the transliterated mispronunciation of the Amoy (廈門; pinyin: Xiàmén) word for a Chinese tea known as white down/hair (白毫; POJ: pe̍h-ho, pronounced as "pek-ho"). The refers to the down-like white "hairs" on the leaf and also to the youngest leaf buds. Another hypothesis is that the term derives from the Chinese bai hwa "white flower" (Chinese: 白花; pinyin: báihuā; POJ: pe̍h-hoe), (Cant. bak ho) and refers to the bud content of pekoe tea. Sir Thomas Lipton, the 19th-century British tea magnate is widely credited with popularizing, if not reinventing, the term for Western markets. The "orange" in Orange Pekoe is sometimes mistaken to mean that the tea has been flavored with orange, orange oils, or is otherwise associated with oranges. However, the word Orange is unrelated to the tea's flavor. There are two explanations for the meaning of "Orange" in Orange Pekoe, though neither is definitive.

"Orange" is believed to refer to one of the following: The Dutch royal House of Orange-Nassau. The Dutch East India company performed central role in bringing tea to Europe and may have marketed the tea as "Orange" to suggest a royal warrant. The copper color of a high-quality, oxidized leaf before drying, or the final bright orange color of the dried pekoes in the finished tea. These usually consist of one leaf bud and two leaves that are covered in fine, downy hair. The orange color is produced when the tea is fully oxidized. Manufacture and grades Pekoe tea grades are classified into various qualities, each determined by how many of the adjacent young leaves (two, one, or none) were picked along with the leaf buds. Top-quality pekoe grades consist of only the leaf buds, which are picked using the balls of the fingertips. Fingernails and mechanical tools are not used in order to avoid bruising. When crushed to make bagged teas, the tea is referred to as "broken," as in "Broken Orange Pekoe" (also "Broken Pekoe" or "BOP").

These lower grades include fannings and dust, which are tiny remnants created in the sorting and crushing processes. Orange Pekoe is referred to as "OP." The grading scheme also contains categories higher than OP, which are determined primarily by leaf wholeness and size. Broken, Fannings and Dust orthodox teas have slightly different grades, and Crush, Tear, Curl (CTC) teas have yet another grading system. Grade terminology Choppy - Tea that contains many leaves of various sizes. Fannings - Small particles of tea leaves used almost exclusively in tea bags A grade higher than Dust. Flowery - A large leaf, typically plucked in the second or third flush with an abundance of tips. Golden Flowery - Tea that includes very young tips or buds (usually golden in colour) that were picked early in the season. Tippy - Tea that includes an abundance of tips. Whole leaf grades The grades for whole leaf orthodox black tea (in ascending order) are: OP - Orange Pekoe - Main grade in tea production. Can consist of long wiry leaf without tips. OP sup - Orange Pekoe Superior - Primarily from Indonesia. Similar to OP.

F OP - Flowery Orange Pekoe - High-quality tea with a long leaf and few tips. Considered the second grade in Assam, Dooars, and Bangladesh teas, but the first grade in China F OP1 - Flowery Orange Pekoe First Grade Leaves - As above but with only the highest quality leaves in the F.O.P classification GF OP1 - Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe First Grade Leaves- Higher proportion of tip than FOP Top grade in Milima and Marinyn regions; Uncommon in Assam and Darjeeling. TGF OP - Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe - Tea with the highest proportion of tip; Main grade in Darjeeling and Assam. TGF OP1 - Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe - As above, but with only the highest quality leave in the T.G.F.O.P classification FTGF OP - Finest Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe - Highest quality grade. Often hand processed and produced at only the best plantations. Roughly one quarter tips. A joke among tea aficionados is that "FTGFOP" stands for "Far Too Good For Ordinary People".

Broken leaf grades BT - Broken Tea - Usually a black, open, fleshy leaf that is very bulky. Classification used in Sumatra, Sri Lanka, and some parts of Southern India. BP - Broken Pekoe- Most common broken pekoe grade. From Indonesia, Ceylon, and Southern India. BPS - Broken Pekoe Souchong - Term for broken pekoe in Assam and Darjeeling. FP - Flowery Pekoe - High-quality pekoe. Usually coarser with a fleshier, broken leaf. Produced in Ceylon and Southern India, as well as in some parts of Kenya. BOP - Broken Orange Pekoe - Main broken grade. Prevalent in Ceylon, Southern India, Java, and China. F BOP - Flowery Broken Orange Pekoe - Coarser and broken with some tips. From Assam, Ceylon, Indonesia, China, and Bangladesh. In South America coarser, black broken. F BOP F - Finest Broken Orange Pekoe Flowery - The finest broken orange pekoe. Higher proportion of tips. Mainly from Ceylon's "low districts".

G BOP - Golden Broken Orange Pekoe - Second grade tea with uneven leaves and few tips. GF BOP1 - Golden Flowery Broken Orange Pekoe 1 - As above, but with only the highest quality leaves in the GFBOP classification. TGF BOP1 - Tippy Golden Flowery Broken Orange Pekoe 1 - High-quality leaves with a high proportion of tips. Finest broken First Grade Leaves in Darjeeling and some parts of Assam. Fannings grades PF - Pekoe Fannings - OF - Orange Fannings - From Northern India and some parts of Africa and South America. FOF - Flowery Orange Fannings - Common in Assam, Dooars, and Bangladesh. Some leaf sizes come close to the smaller broken grades. GFOF - Golden Flowery Orange Fannings- Finest grade in Darjeeling for tea bag production. TGFOF - Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Fannings. BOPF - Broken Orange Pekoe Fannings - Main grade in Ceylon, Indonesia, Southern India, Kenya, Mozambique, Bangladesh, and China. Black-leaf tea with few added ingredients, uniform particle size, and no tips.

Dust grades D1 - Dust 1 - From Sri Lanka, Indonesia, China, Africa, South America, and Southern India. PD - Pekoe Dust How To Brew The Perfect Cup Of Tea | Types Of Tea Production | Tea History How to brew the perfect cup of tea Orange Pekoe, SFTGFOP, etc... what do these mean? Tea nomenclature Due to a lack of information on the subject, there is great confusion over one of the simplest of tea terms, OP (Orange Pekoe). Contrary to popular opinion, Orange Pekoe does not refer to a particular flavor, or even to a specific variety or quality or tea. Orange Pekoe is nothing more than a designation of leaf size. As a result of the manufacturing process, the final product is comprised of leaf particles of varying sizes. Because the finer particles steep quickly, the tea is sifted into lots of uniform leaf size. Teas designated OP are comprised of larger leaf particles or whole leaves that will not pass through a sieve of a particular gauge. BOP (Broken Orange Pekoe) designates a grade that is finer than OP.

Grades finer than BOP are called fannings, PF for Pekoe Fannings, and the smallest particles are referred to as dust. Dust grades are used primarily in teabags. Other letters are often appended to the grade of tea to produce a baffling list of designations such as SFTGFOP1 (Super-Fine Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe, grade 1). While there is a general correlation between acronyms and the general appearance and character of the tea, there is no strict correlation between the acronyms and the value or flavor of the tea. While these lengthy acronyms appear on nearly every chest of single-estate tea, the real value of the tea is in its appeal to the palate.

A brief guide to decoding the specifications PF: Pekoe Fannings GBOP: Golden Broken Orange Pekoe TGBOP: Tippy Golden Broken Orange Pekoe GTGFBOP: Golden Tippy Golden Flowery Broken Orange Pekoe BPS: Broken Pekoe Souchong GFOP: Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe TGFOP: Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe FTGFOP: Fine Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe FTGFOP1: Fine Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe, grade 1 SFTGFOP1: Super Fine Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe, grade 1 Musc: Muscatel Tea Grades are only descriptions of the dry, cured leaf. They have no necessary relation to the aroma, color or flavor of the end product. Tea Grades: Orange Pekoe, Pekoe, Souchong, Fannings, Dust, Loose tea, Bagged Tea, Fannings, Broken Orange Pekoe, Vintage, 1st flush, 2nd flush and Autumnal.

It is possible to get a delicious cup from ugly, broken leaves; it is also possible to get an awful cup from well-handled, beautiful whole leaves. The basic grades of black tea include: Orange Pekoe (OP); Flowery Orange Pekoe (FOP), Pekoe, Souchong, Broken Orange Pekoe (BOP), Broken Orange Pekoe Fannings, Broken Pekoe Fannings and Dust. Orange Pekoe: Since much of bagged tea sold is marked Orange Pekoe, many people think that Orange Pekoe is a special kind of tea. But it is not. It is a grading measurement that applies only to the size and physical condition of the leaves, not their kind or quality. The tea is characterized by long, thin, wiry leaves which sometimes contain the white or yellow tip of the leaf bud. Most tea that is labeled Orange Pekoe is blended black tea, typically from India and/or Sri Lanka. Pekoe: is derived from a Chinese word meaning 'white'; this referred to the white hair on the leaf bud.

Early merchants used the word to mean that the leaves so graded were exclusively plucked from the tip of the branch: the leaf bud and the two leaves below the bud. Its use in India and Sri Lanka (Ceylon) broadened to mean whole leaves of a uniform size, and this is what it generally means now. This may include leaves picked from lower on the branch. Flowery Orange Pekoe: is often abbreviated 'FOP'. The term 'flowery' apparently refers to the leaf bud, since actual tea flowers are not used in the preparation of the drink. Orange: is variously described as a reference to the Dutch House of Orange or as a reference to an old Chinese practice of including orange blossoms as a flavoring agent. Whichever story is true, Orange Pekoe leaves are higher quality than Pekoe leaves. Souchong: means large leaves, generally not from the tip of the branch. Fannings and Dust: Processed tea is sieved to ensure that leaves of uniform size are packaged together. Fannings and dust are bits and pieces of tea leaves left over from the sieving that separate whole leaves from large pieces of leaf. Fannings are slightly larger than Dust.

Loose Tea: is a generally whole leaf but they are easily broken during handling and packaging. Bagged Tea: is usually Broken Orange Pekoe and Broken Pekoe, fannings, and dust. The broken grades are created by mechanized crushing of the leaves. Broken leaves infuse more quickly, which is desirable in a tea bag. But because of their larger surface area, broken leaves also become stale more quickly. Darjeeling Grades: High-quality Darjeelings are often graded according to a complex system including terms such as TGFOP and FTGFOP. Here's what they stand for: TGFOP: Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe. 'Tippy', 'Golden', and 'Flowery' are all references to the leaf bud at the tip of the branch. (Buds have a lighter color than fully formed leaves, hence 'golden'.) FTGFOP: Fancy [or Finest] Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe. 'Fancy' is a term also used in the grading of oolongs. SFTGFOP: Super-Fine [Fancy/Finest] Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe.

When dealing with Darjeelings, you may also see the following terms: Estate: names the plantation where the leaves were grown. Vintage: means that the leaves are the product of one harvest, and are not blended with any others. The are 3 main times of year for producing good quality Darjeelings: 1st flush - Spring time harvested teas from late Feb. to mid April. The young leaves yield a light tea with generally intense muscatel with point. A gentle afternoon tea. 2nd flush - Harvested in June, these teas are more fully developed. The liquor is bright and the taste full and round excellent muscatel. A superb afternoon tea that is especially good with scones and raspberry conserve. Autumnal - Not always available depending upon the weather, they are typified by a round taste and coppery liquor. Excellent as a breakfast tea with milk. Tea Types | Tea Varieties | Tea Grading Tea Varieties The basic term for whole leaf grade tea. Tea Grading Once manufactured, tea is graded based on its physical description (including leaf size and color). Tea grading varies widely from country to country and from one type to another.

It is important to know that tea grading does NOT reflect the quality of the brew (with the exception of graded teas from Taiwan). Indian black teas are subject to the most structured and extensive grading system. Because the consumer is most likely to encounter the method used for grading Indian and Ceylon black tea, we offer a more detailed description of it below. The basic term used in grading Indian and Ceylon black tea is Orange Pekoe (pronounced PECK-oh), or OP. The word "pekoe" is derived from the Chinese word "bai hao," for white tip, a reference to the white downy hairs found on the bud leaves. The word "orange" has nothing to do with orange flavor or scent, but may be a reference to the Dutch House of Orange, the Dutch royal family in the early days of the European tea trade. In addition to the OP designation, additional letters are often assigned to describe the leaves' various characteristics. Black tea is broken down into four different categories: whole leaf, broken leaf, fannings and dust, each of which is described below: Whole Leaf Grades OP Orange Pekoe: The basic term for whole leaf grade tea.

OP contains long, pointed leaves that are larger than FOP and have been harvested when the end buds open into leaf. OP usually does not contain tips. FOP Flowery Orange Pekoe: FOP tea is made from the end bud and first leaf of each shoot. FOP contains fine, tender young leaves with buds, also referred to as tips (a mark of quality tea). GFOP Finest Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe: Very high quality FOP. SFTGFOP Supreme Finest Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe: Very high quality FOP with lots of golden tips. The numeral "1" is often added to the end of the description to indicate a top quality tea (e.g. SFTGFOP1). Broken Leaf Grades The term Broken Orange Pekoe, or BOP, is used to describe large leaf fragments. The same grading terminology that is used for whole leaf (OP) teas is also applied to BOP teas (e.g. TGBOP = Tippy Golden Broken Orange Pekoe). BOP teas retain much of the quality attributed to whole leaf, or OP tea, and are often used to make tea blends.

Fannings are leaf fragments smaller than the BOP grade, often used in tea bags. Dust Dust is generally the remnants of the grading process (after OP, BOP and Fannings have been removed). It is often used in ready-to-drink (RTD) beverages such as bottled iced tea. Tea leaf grading | WikiTea | Fandom powered by Wikia Choppy contains many leaves of various sizes. Fannings: are small particles of tea leaves used almost exclusively in tea bags. Flowery: consists of large leaves, typically plucked in the second or third flush with an abundance of tips. Golden Flowery: includes very young tips or buds (usually golden in colour) that were picked early in the season. Tippy: includes an abundance of tips.

Whole leaf grades The grades for whole leaf orthodox black tea are: Ceylon orange pekoe (OP) grades' OP1—slightly delicate, long, wiry leaf with the light liquor OPA—bold, long leaf tea which ranges from tightly wound to almost open OP—main grade, in the middle between OP1 and OPA, can consist of long wiry leaf without tips OP Superior—primarily from Indonesia, similar to OP Flowery OP—high-quality tea with a long leaf and few tips, considered the second grade in Assam, Dooars, and Bangladesh teas, but the first grade in China F OP1—as above, but with only the highest quality leaves in the FOP classification Golden Flowery OP1—higher proportion of tip than FOP top grade in Milima and Marinyn regions, uncommon in Assam and Darjeeling Tippy Golden F OP—the highest proportion of tip, main grade in Darjeeling and Assam TGF OP1—as above, but with only the highest quality leaves in the TGFOP classification Finest TGF OP—highest quality grade (Note: "Special" is occasionally substituted for "Finest", with a number 1 at the end to indicate the very finest), often

 hand processed and produced at only the best plantations, roughly one quarter tips SFTGFOP—sometimes used to indicate the very finest Broken leaf grades BT—Broken Tea: Usually a black, open, fleshy leaf that is very bulky.

Classification used in Sumatra, Ceylon(Sri Lanka), and some parts of Southern India. BP—Broken Pekoe: Most common broken pekoe grade. From Indonesia, Ceylon(Sri Lanka), Assam and Southern India. BPS—Broken Pekoe Souchong: Term for broken pekoe in Assam and Darjeeling. FP—Flowery Pekoe: High-quality pekoe. Usually coarser with a fleshier, broken leaf. Produced in Ceylon(Sri Lanka) and Southern India, as well as in some parts of Kenya. BOP—Broken Orange Pekoe: Main broken grade. Prevalent in Assam, Ceylon(Sri Lanka), Southern India, Java, and China. F BOP—Flowery Broken Orange Pekoe: Coarser and broken with some tips. From Assam, Ceylon(Sri Lanka), Indonesia, China, and Bangladesh. In South America coarser, black broken. F BOP F—Finest Broken Orange Pekoe Flowery: The finest broken orange pekoe. Higher proportion of tips. Mainly from Ceylon's "low districts".

G BOP—Golden Broken Orange Pekoe: Second grade tea with uneven leaves and few tips. GF BOP1—Golden Flowery Broken Orange Pekoe 1: As above, but with only the highest quality leaves in the GFBOP classification. TGF BOP1—Tippy Golden Flowery Broken Orange Pekoe 1: High-quality leaves with a high proportion of tips. Finest broken First Grade Leaves in Darjeeling and some parts of Assam. Fannings grades PF—Pekoe Fannings OF—Orange Fannings: From Northern India and some parts of Africa and South America. FOF—Flowery Orange Fannings: Common in Assam, Dooars, and Bangladesh. Some leaf sizes come close to the smaller broken grades. GFOF—Golden Flowery Orange Fannings: Finest grade in Darjeeling for tea bag production. TGFOF—Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Fannings. BOPF—Broken Orange Pekoe Fannings: Main grade in Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Southern India, Kenya, Mozambique, Bangladesh, and China. Black-leaf tea with few added ingredients, uniform particle size, and no tips.

Dust grades D1—Dust 1: From Sri Lanka, Indonesia, China, Africa, South America, and Southern India. PD—Pekoe Dust Exchange Tea - Tea Terminology BLOG Tea Terminology Here is a short glossary to help familiarize you with the terminology most commonly used in the tea trade: Grade terminology Choppy - When the tea contains a lot of varying sized leaves. Fannings - Small particles of tea leaves a grade higher than dust. Used almost exclusively in tea bags. Flowery - A large leaf, typically plucked in second of third flush, with an abundance of tips Golden Flowery - The tea contains very young tips or buds (which are usually golden in colour) that were picked early in the season. Tippy - The tea contains an abundance of tips. Whole leaf grades The grades for whole leaf orthodox black tea (in ascending order) are: OP - Orange Pekoe - Main grade in tea production. Can consist of long wiry leaf without tips.

OP sup - Orange Pekoe Superior - Primarily from Indonesia, tea is much the same as above F OP - Flowery Orange Pekoe - High quality tea with a long leaf and few tips, considered second grade in Assam, Dooars and Bangladesh and first grade in China F OP1 - Flowery Orange Pekoe First Grade Leaves - As above but with only the highest quality leaves in the F.O.P classification GF OP1 - Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe First Grade Leaves- Higher proportion of tip than FOP Top grade in Milima and Marinyn regions; Uncommon in Assam and Darjeeling. TGF OP - Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe - Tea with the highest proportion of tip; Main grade in Darjeeling and Assam. TGF OP1 - Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe - As above, but with only the highest quality leave in the T.G.F.O.P classification FTGF OP - Finest Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe - Highest quality tea in the world. Often hand processed and produced at only the best plantations. Roughly one quarter tips.

A joke among tea aficionados is that "FTGFOP" stands for "Far Too Good For Ordinary People". Broken leaf grades BT - Broken Tea - Usually a black, open, fleshy leaf, very bulky. Classification used in Sumatra, Sri Lanka, some parts of Southern India. BP - Broken Pekoe- Most common broken pekoe grade. From Indonesia. Ceylon, Southern India. BPS - Broken Pekoe Souchong - Term for broken pekoe in Assam and Darjeeling. FP - Flowery Pekoe - High quality pekoe. Usually coarser, fleshier broken leaf. from Ceylon and Southern India, also produced in some parts of Kenya. BOP - Broken Orange Pekoe - Main broken grade. Prevalent in Ceylon, Southern India, Java and China. F BOP - Flowery Broken Orange Pekoe - Coarser broken with some tips from Assam, Ceylon, Indonesia, China and Bangladesh. In South America coarser, black broken. F BOP F - Finest Broken Orange Pekoe Flowery - The finest broken orange pekoe. Higher proportion of tips.

Mainly from Ceylon's "low districts". G BOP - Golden Broken Orange Pekoe - Second grade tea, uneven leaves and few tips. GF BOP1 - Golden Flowery Broken Orange Pekoe 1 - As above, but with only the highest quality leaves in the GFBOP classification. TGF BOP1 - Tippy Golden Flowery Broken Orange Pekoe 1 - High quality leaves with high proportion of tips. Finest broken First Grade Leaves in Darjeeling and some parts of Assam. Fannings grades PF - Pekoe Fannings - OF - Orange Fannings - From Northern India and some parts of Africa and South America. FOF - Flowery Orange Fannings - Common in Assam, Dooars and Bangladesh. Some leaf sizes come close to the smaller broken grades. GFOF - Golden Flowery Orange Fannings- Finest grade in Darjeeling for teabag production. TGFOF - Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Fannings. BOPF - Broken Orange Pekoe Fannings - Main grade in Ceylon, Indonesia, Southern India, Kenya, Mozambique, Bangladesh and China.

Black-leaf tea, few added ingredients, uniform particle size, no tips. Dust grades D1 - Dust 1 - From Sri Lanka, Indonesia, China, Africa, South America and Southern India. PD - Pekoe Dust

Question: Choppy, Fannings, Golden Flowery, and Tippy are grades of?
Answer: Tea