Tea Encyclopedia – Terms and leaf grades explained
In our tea lexicon, we explain the most important abbreviations and designations frequently used for tea varieties and leaf grading. These specifications primarily describe production and sifting methods and may be used differently depending on the region of origin.
These are production and sifting designations that can have different meanings depending on the production region. The leaf grading of the tea is only of secondary importance to its quality.
Basic Terms
| Orange | This term dates back to the 18th century. "Oranje" is the Dutch word for "royal," and it was used to label certain teas selected for the royal household. Over the years, this term was adopted by England. |
| Pekoe | Another word for the leaf. |
| 1 | The number at the end of the leaf grade indicates the best sifting. |
Leaf Tea Gradings
| Abbreviation | Meaning |
|---|---|
| OP | Orange Pekoe. Main grades of Ceylon, Java, and African tea production. Sometimes long, wiry leaves. |
| OP Sup. | Orange Pekoe Superior. Fine leaf with many golden tips, only available from Indonesia. |
| FOP | Flowery Orange Pekoe. Simple grading for teas from Ceylon, Assam, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Darjeeling, and Africa. |
| GFOP | Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe. Tea with a higher proportion of tips. In Kenya, these are the top leaf grades. Also found, albeit rarely, in Assam, Darjeeling, and Africa. |
| TGFOP | Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe. Highest proportion of tips. Main grade for Darjeeling and Assam. |
| FTGFOP1 | Finest Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe 1. Mainly Darjeeling, sometimes also Assam. Finest production grades, made with special care; uniform, tippy leaf. |
| SFTGFOP1 | Special Finest Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe 1. Top grading with a uniform leaf. Particularly common in Darjeeling and Assam. |
Leaf grading primarily describes leaf size, sifting, and processing. It is an indication of the type of tea, but not automatically a complete judgment of quality.
Broken Gradings
| Abbreviation | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Broken | The English term for "broken," small-leaf tea, as opposed to whole-leaf tea. |
| BP | Broken Pekoe. Brown-black, heavy broken tea, often with some stem, sometimes very woody. From Indonesia, Ceylon, and South India. |
| BOP | Broken Orange Pekoe. Main broken grade in Ceylon, South India, Java, and China. |
| GBOP | Golden Broken Orange Pekoe. Next, second sorting, fewer tips. |
| FBOP | Flowery Broken Orange Pekoe. Coarser broken tea with some tips. Comes from Assam, Indonesia, China, and Bangladesh. In South America, it is a coarser, black broken tea. In South India, Pekoe is often called FBOP. |
| GFBOP | Golden Flowery Broken Orange Pekoe. Mainly produced in Assam. A top tea among broken grades and the only tippy broken tea from Kenya. Very popular in East Frisia. |
| TGBOP | Tippy Golden Broken Orange Pekoe. Finest broken grade in Darjeeling and Assam. Highly tippy, uniform leaf. |
| BPS | Broken Pekoe Souchong. Assam and Darjeeling, spherical leaf. |
Fine Siftings and Production Methods
| CTC | CTC = Crushing, Tearing, Curling. CTC production: Shortened production process; emphasis is placed on a uniform leaf and a quick-coloring infusion. | Fannings | Small tea particles approx. 1 mm in size, exclusively for tea bags. |
| Dust | Tea dust, exclusively for tea bags. |
Other Designations
| Tippy / Tip | Refers to the light-colored parts of the tea, i.e., the leaf buds of young, tender tea leaves that do not darken as much during infusion. |
| CL / Clonal | Designation for teas plucked from "clones." Clones are seedlings that combine the optimal characteristics of one or more tea plants. Here, the stems or tea wood are also processed. |
Don't be put off by abbreviations: they help categorize a tea but do not replace your personal taste. The deciding factors are fragrance, leaf appearance, infusion, cup color, and, of course, the taste.
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