Tea Grading Explained
If you've seen letters like OP, BOP, or FTGFOP on a tea label and wondered what they mean, you're not alone — tea grading looks cryptic but it's actually a fairly simple system once explained.
What Grading Actually Measures
Tea grades describe leaf size and appearance after processing, not directly the quality or taste of the tea. Larger, whole-leaf grades generally brew more slowly and offer more nuance; smaller broken grades brew faster and stronger. Grading is most relevant to Orthodox tea, since CTC tea is processed into fairly uniform granules already.
Common Whole Leaf Grades
OP (Orange Pekoe): long, wiry whole leaves, a classic Orthodox grade. FOP (Flowery Orange Pekoe): includes tender leaf tips, slightly higher quality than standard OP. FTGFOP (Finest Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe): a top-tier grade with a high proportion of golden tips, generally the most prized and expensive.
Common Broken Leaf Grades
BOP (Broken Orange Pekoe): smaller broken leaf, brews faster and stronger than whole leaf, common in everyday Orthodox tea. BOPF (Broken Orange Pekoe Fannings): even smaller, often used in tea bags.
Does a Higher Grade Mean Better Tea?
Not automatically — grade tells you about leaf size and tip content, not flavour quality on its own, which also depends on the estate, the season, and the skill of processing. A well-made BOP can outshine a poorly processed FTGFOP. Grading is a useful reference point, not the final word on taste.
Explore our Orthodox range to see these grades reflected in real, single-estate Assam tea.