Indian tea is typically categorised into two family: CTC (chopped up tea leaves) and orthordox (large leaf). Here we explore the large leaf tea grades:
Pekoe (P): Shorter pieces of leaf than orange pekoe.
Orange Pekoe (OP): Long, pointed leaves plucked as the buds open into leaf.
Broken Orange Pekoe (BOP): Small chopped up leaves about 2-3mm size.
Flowery Orange Pekoe (FOP): High quality tea made from the end bud of new leaf.
Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe (GFOP): The same as flowery orange pekoe but with lots of golden tips (these are the light-coloured ends of the buds and leaves that do not darken during manufacturing)
Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe (TGFOP): Flowery orange pekoe with a higher proportion of tips.
Finest Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe (FTGFOP): Exceptionally high-quality tea with plenty of fine golden tips.
Superior Fine Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe (SFTGFOP)
The above list of grades are not exhaustive – it is merely showing the more common grades.
