Tea Grading Guide

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Tea comes in many different shapes, sizes and grades. There are many factors that contribute towards each teas unique liquor profile which then determines the grade of the tea and ultimately the price you pay.

Organic and Non-Organic teas are graded in the same way, however at Mr. Tea we choose to focus on certified premium organic loose leaf tea only. You can find out why we choose organic here

The below guide is aimed at providing you with a high level view of the different grades of tea to help you understand the different types of quality available.

How to Grade Tea (Green & Black)

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.

BLACK TEA:

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

Broken:

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

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