Tea Glossary

After the tea has been processed, it is graded by leaf size, appearance and quality. The following are abbreviations commonly found in TeaSource. These describe the physically leaf itself, not the taste.

Orange Pekoe (OP) - This tea usually does not contain any tip. Compared to an FOP tea, the leaves of an OP tea have been plucked when the bud opens into a leaf producing a longer leaf.
Try: Kenya OP

Flowery Orange Pekoe (FOP) - A tea that is made up of young buds and first leaves. It also contains a well balanced amount of tip (the end pieces of the bud).
Try: Yunnan FOP

Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe (TGFOP) - This tea is the same as a FOP tea but with more golden tips.
Try: Ligri Pookerie TFGOP1

Finest Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe (FTGFOP) - A higher quality of a FOP tea.
Try: Namring 1st Flush FTGFOP1

Special Finest Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe (SFTGFOP) - The highest quality of an FOP tea.
Try: Khongea 2nd Flush SFTGFOP

Broken Orange Pekoe (BOP) - An OP tea with broken leaves rather than whole leaves.
Try: Strong Assam

Flowery Broken Orange Pekoe (FBOP) - An FOP tea with broken leaves rather than whole leaves.
Try: Ceylon Lumbini Estate

Crush, Tear, Curl (CTC) - These teas are sent through rollers which tear and break the leaf after it has been witherered. They are typically stronger and have a shorter steep time.
Try: TeaSource Classic Iced Tea