Tea Tasting Glossary

International Tea Consultants & Authorised Auctioneers of "Tea Board of India" - Coonoor (TN), Coimbatore (TN) and Cochin (Kerala), India


A Glossary of Tea Grades

Terms describing the Grading of Black Tea -

Pekoe
Whole leaf black tea produced by a medium plucking of the second leaf on the tea bush. The word Pekoe comes from the Chinese meaning 'white hair' and was originally applied to the early tea plucking, due to the white down on the backs of the young leaf tea.

Orange Pekoe
Black comprising leaf 8 to 15 millimeters long, which has fewer tips than an FOP.

Flowery Orange Pekoe
FOP, can be either whole leaf or broken leaf Orthodox black tea with a lot of tip which gives it a finer quality.

Flowery Pekoe
A whole leaf black tea with the leaf rolled lengthwise.

Broken Orange Pekoe
BOP, black tea comprising broken segments of somewhat coarser leaf, without tip. Can be applied to both Orthodox and CTC teas.

Fannings
Small grainy particles of leaf (1 to 1.5 millimeters) sifted out of better grade teas. Fannings will make a liquor that is often as good as that of a whole leaf grade and its grade which applies to both Orthodox and CTC teas. In the Orthodox teas fannings will include broken orange pekoe fannings (BOPF) and golden orange pekoe fannings (GOPF) which describe the amount of tips in a grade.

Dust
The smallest particle of leaf size in both Orthodox and CTC teas which is normally used for tea bag teas, as they infuse quickly with the full flavor and strength coming through the tea bag material.

TEA GRADES - Terms:
BLACK TEA & GREEN TEA

ORTHODOX BLACK TEA:

ORTHODOX - Whole Leaf:
P	PEKOE - is a grade of black tea. Derived from Chinese word (pe-ko) also means "fine feathers"
FP	Flowery Pekoe
OP	Orange Pekoe
FOP	Flowery Orange Pekoe
FOP1	Flowery Orange Pekoe - First Grade Tea
GFOP	Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe
TGFOP	Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe
TGFOP1	Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe - First Grade Black Tea
FTGFOP	Fine Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe
FTGFOP1	Fine Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe - First Grade
FTGFOPS	Fine Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe - Special Grade
FTGFOPS1	Fine Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe - Special, First Grade Tea

ORTHODOX - Brokens:
BP	Broken Pekoe
BP1	Broken Pekoe First Grade
BPS	Broken Pekoe Souchong
BOP	Broken Orange Pekoe
BOP1	Broken Orange Pekoe First Grade
GFBOP	Golden Flowery Broken Orange Pekoe
GBOP	Golden Broken Orange Pekoe
FBOP	Flowery Broken Orange Pekoe
FBOP1	Flowery Broken Orange Pekoe First Grade Tea

ORTHODOX - Fannings:
OF	Orange Fannings
BOPF	Broken Orange Pekoe Fannings
FOF	Flowery Orange Fannings
GOF	Golden Orange Fannings
TGOF	Tippy Golden Orange Fannings
BOPFD	Broken Orange Pekoe Fannings Dust

ORTHODOX - Dust:
PD	Pekoe Dust
CD	Churamani Dust
BOPD	Broken Orange Pekoe Dust
BOPFD	Broken Orange Pekoe Fine Dust
FD	Fine Dust
D	Dust
D1	Dust One
Spl. D	Special Dust
GD	Golden Dust

CTC (Cut-Tear-Curl) BLACK TEA:

CTC - Bolders:
FP	Flowery Pekoe
P	PEKOE
SBOP	Small Broken Orange Pekoe
BOPL	Broken Orange Pekoe Large

CTC – Brokens:
BOP	Broken Orange Pekoe
BOPS	Broken Orange Pekoe Small
BP	Broken Pekoe
BP1	Broken Pekoe One
BPS	Broken Pekoe Small
SBP	Small Broken Pekoe

CTC – Fannings:
BOPF	Broken Orange Pekoe Fannings
PF	Pekoe Fannings
PF1	Pekoe Fannings One

CTC – Dust:
PD	Pekoe Dust
PD1	Pekoe Dust One
CD	Churamani Dust
CD1	Churamani Dust One
D1	Dust One
RD	Red Dust
RD1	Red Dust One
SRD	Super Red Dust
SFD	Super Fine Dust
GD	Golden Dust
FD	Fine Dust

GREEN TEA:

GREEN TEA – Whole Leaf:
YH	Young Hyson
FYH	Fine Young Hyson

GREEN TEA – Brokens:
GP	Gun Powder
H	Hyson
FH	Fine Hyson

GREEN TEA – Fannings:
SOUMEE	Soumee

GREEN TEA – Dust:
Dust	Dust