GRADES OF TEA
Tea grading is based on the size of the leaf and types of leaves included in the tea. Though leaf size is an important quality factor, it is not, by itself, a guarantee of quality.
Grading systems and terminology vary with tea type and country.
Generally, the more whole the leaf is and the more buds it contains, the higher the grade of tea.
Teas are often designated as OP or FOP. These designations are part of the grading system used for whole leaf black teas and refer to the leaf size and amount of tip in the tea.
Pekoe means teas picked as 2 leaves and a bud.
OP, or Orange Pekoe, is a full-leaf tea with no tip or buds.
FOP, or Flowery Orange Pekoe, is a longer leaf than an OP and has some buds.
India uses the following grades for Black Tea.
CTC
| CATEGORY | GRADES | NOMENCLATURE |
| CTC Broken Leaf | FP | Flowery Pekoe |
| BPS | Broken Pekoe Souchong | |
| PEKOE | Pekoe | |
| BOPL | Broken Orange Pekoe Large | |
| BOP | Broken Orange Pekoe | |
| BOPsm | Broken Orange Pekoe Small | |
| BP | Broken Pekoe | |
| BPsm | Broken Pekoe Small | |
| CTC Fanning | OF | Orange Fannings |
| PF | Pekoe Fannings | |
| BOPF | Broken Orange Pekoe Fannings | |
| CTC Dust | PD | Pekoe Dust |
| D | Dust | |
| CD | Churamani Dust | |
| GD | Golden Pekoe Dust | |
| SRD | Super Red Dust | |
| FD | Fine Dust | |
| SFD | Super Fine Dust |
Orthodox Teas
| KINDS OF TEAS | GRADES | NOMENCLATURE |
| BLACK TEA | ||
| ORTHODOX TEA | ||
| Whole Leaf | FP | Flowery Pekoe |
| F TGF OP | Fine Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe | |
| TGF OP | Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe | |
| TGF OP | Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe One | |
| GF OP | Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe | |
| FOP | Flowery Orange Pekoe | |
| OP | Orange Pekoe | |
| Broken | BOP 1 | Broken Orange Pekoe One |
| GF BOP | Golden Flowery Broken Orange Pekoe | |
| BPS | Broken Pekoe Soucheng | |
| GBOP | Golden Broken Orange Pekoe | |
| FBOP | Flowery Broken Orange Pekoe | |
| BOP | Broken Orange Pekoe | |
| Fannings | GOF | Golden Orange Fannings |
| FOF | Flowery Orange Fannings | |
| BOPF | Broken Orange Pekoe Fannings | |
| Dust | OPD | Orthodox Pekoe Dust |
| OCD | Orthodox Churamani Dust | |
| BOPD | Broken Orange Pekoe Dust | |
| BOPFD | Broken Orange Pekoe Fine Dust | |
| FD | Fine Dust | |
| D-A | Dust A | |
| Spl. Dust | Special Dust | |
| G. Dust | Golden Dust | |
| OD | Orthodox Dust |
Green Tea follows a slightly different grading system:
| KINDS OF TEAS | GRADES | NOMENCLATURE |
| Whole Leaf | YH | Young Hyson |
| FYH | Fine Young Hyson | |
| Broken | GP | Gun Powder |
| H | Hyson | |
| FH | Fine Hyson | |
| Fannings | SOUMEE | Soumee |
| Dust | DUST | Dust |
Terms for Liquor
Bakey– Unpleasant taste usually caused by very high temperatures and driving out too much moisture during firing.
Body– A liquor possesing fullness and strength.
Bright: The hue ranges from lively bright colour, as opposed to dull and varies from a delicate lime green ( with hints of fading coppery ) in the first flush or spring flush tea leaves to a bright copper-purple in second flush tea leaves and to a pale brown in autumn flush tea leaves.
Brisk– A live taste in the liquor, as opposed to flat or soft.
Burnt– Tea that has been subjected to extremely high temperatures during firing. Undesirable.
Dull– A liquor that is neither clean nor bright. Caused by severl factors, such as bacterial contamination, faulty firing of excessive moisture content.
Thin– Lacking in body- often due to under withering or inadequate fermentation.
Terms for Infused Leaf
Coppery– Colour of infused leaf, usually denoting a good quality tea. Reference particularly to CTC.
Even – Infused leaves with uniformity of colour and size.
Green – Generally undesirable. Typical of first flush.
Mixed/Uneven – Infused leaf which has more than one colour.
Nose/Point – Fragrance in infused leaf with subtle hints of flowers or fruits or Muscatel character or sometimes showing characteristics of all three combined.
Terms for Dry Leaf
Black – a desirable characteristic for Orthodox tea leaf appearance.
Bold – Pieces of leaf that are too big for a grade.
Chesty – Taint caused by unseasoned chest panels.
Clean – Free of stalk/fibre.
Fibre – Shreds of stalk in CTC grades- indicating bad plucking.
Golden Tip/Tippy – Desirable feature in Orthodox Teas, indicating presence of pubescent buds.
Grainy – Hard cut CTC leaf
Stalky – Indicating undue presence of stalk. The result of coarse plucking
Stylish – Leaves which are wiry, neatly twisted and evenly sized.