Tea leaf grading

Uncommon card · No. 192820

Tea leaf grading is the process of evaluating tea based on the quality and condition of the tea leaves themselves. The highest quality grades for Western and South Asian teas are the "Orange Pekoe" (abbreviated as "OP") "Whole-leaf grades". The lowest grades are referred to as "Fannings" and "Dust". Pekoe tea grades are classified contingent on various leaf qualities and bud content, each grade determined by how many of the youngest leaves (two, one, or none) adjacent to the leaf bud were picked along with the buds. Top-quality grades consist of only the leaf buds, which are picked using the balls of the fingertips. Fingernails and mechanical tools are not used, to avoid bruising. Certain grades of leaf are better suited to certain varieties of tea. For example, most white tea is processed from the buds or shoots of the tea plant. When crushed to make bagged teas, the tea is referred to as "broken", as in "broken orange pekoe" ("BOP"). These lower grades include fannings and dust, which...

Read on Wikipedia · Image Arne Hückelheim, CC BY-SA 3.0