NORTHERN TEA MERCHANTS
Incorporating Classic Coffees
Telephone: (01246) 232600
TEA BAG MANUFACTURERS,
Crown House
Facsimile: (01246) 555991
COFFEE ROASTERS,
193 Chatsworth Road
Email:
[email protected]
PACKERS OF TEAS, COFFEES
Web:
http://www.northern-tea.com
AND VENDING PRODUCTS
Chesterfield
Derbyshire S40 2BA
Tea Leaf Grade Terminology

Choppy - When the tea contains a lot of varying sized leaves.

Fannings - Small particles of tea leaves a grade higher than dust. Used almost exclusively in tea bags.

Flowery - A large leaf, typically plucked in second of third flush, with an abundance of tips

Golden Flowery - The tea contains very young tips or buds (which are usually golden in colour) that
were picked early in the season.

Tippy - The tea contains an abundance of tips.
Whole leaf grades
The grades for whole leaf orthodox black tea (in ascending order) are:

OP - Orange Pekoe - Main grade in tea production. Can consist of long wiry leaf without tips.

OP sup - Orange Pekoe Superior - Primarily from Indonesia, tea is much the same as above

F OP - Flowery Orange Pekoe - High quality tea with a long leaf and few tips, considered second grade
in Assam, Dooars and Bangladesh and first grade in China

F OP1 - Flowery Orange Pekoe First Grade Leaves - As above but with only the highest quality leaves in
the F.O.P classification

GF OP1 - Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe First Grade Leaves- Higher proportion of tip than FOP Top
grade in Milima and Marinyn regions; Uncommon in Assam and Darjeeling.

TGF OP - Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe - Tea with the highest proportion of tip; Main grade in
Darjeeling and Assam.

TGF OP1 - Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe - As above, but with only the highest quality leave in
the T.G.F.O.P classification

FTGF OP - Finest Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe - Highest quality grade. Often hand processed
and produced at only the best plantations. Roughly one quarter tips.
A joke among tea aficionados is that "FTGFOP" stands for "Far Too Good For Ordinary People".
Broken leaf grades

BT - Broken Tea - Usually a black, open, fleshy leaf, very bulky. Classification used in Sumatra, Sri
Lanka, some parts of Southern India.

BP - Broken Pekoe- Most common broken pekoe grade. From Indonesia. Ceylon, Southern India.

BPS - Broken Pekoe Souchong - Term for broken pekoe in Assam and Darjeeling.

FP - Flowery Pekoe - High quality pekoe. Usually coarser, fleshier broken leaf. from Ceylon and
Southern India, also produced in some parts of Kenya.

BOP - Broken Orange Pekoe - Main broken grade. Prevalent in Ceylon, Southern India, Java and China.

F BOP - Flowery Broken Orange Pekoe - Coarser broken with some tips from Assam, Ceylon, Indonesia,
China and Bangladesh. In South America coarser, black broken.

F BOP F - Finest Broken Orange Pekoe Flowery - The finest broken orange pekoe. Higher proportion of
tips. Mainly from Ceylon's "low districts".

G BOP - Golden Broken Orange Pekoe - Second grade tea, uneven leaves and few tips.

GF BOP1 - Golden Flowery Broken Orange Pekoe 1 - As above, but with only the highest quality leaves
in the GFBOP classification.

TGF BOP1 - Tippy Golden Flowery Broken Orange Pekoe 1 - High quality leaves with high proportion of
tips. Finest broken First Grade Leaves in Darjeeling and some parts of Assam.
Fannings grades

PF - Pekoe Fannings -

OF - Orange Fannings - From Northern India and some parts of Africa and South America.

FOF - Flowery Orange Fannings - Common in Assam, Dooars and Bangladesh. Some leaf sizes come
close to the smaller broken grades.

GFOF - Golden Flowery Orange Fannings- Finest grade in Darjeeling for teabag production.

TGFOF - Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Fannings.

BOPF - Broken Orange Pekoe Fannings - Main grade in Ceylon, Indonesia, Southern India, Kenya,
Mozambique, Bangladesh and China. Black-leaf tea, few added ingredients, uniform particle size, no
tips.
Dust grades

D1 - Dust 1 - From Sri Lanka, Indonesia, China, Africa, South America and Southern India.

PD - Pekoe Dust

PD1 - Pekoe Dust 1 - Mainly produced in India.