Orange pekoe

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For the Japanese jazz band, see Orange Pekoe (band).

Orange pekoe (also spelled pecco) is a term mainly used to describe a grade of tea found in the grading system used for sorting black teas (Orange pekoe grading).[1][2] The system is based solely upon the size of the processed and dried black tea leaves.

The term Orange Pekoe is used in the tea industry to describe a basic medium grade black tea consisting of many single whole tea leaves of a specific size;[1] however, it is usually used in popular Western culture to describe any generic black tea, or in some cases, even a specific variety of black tea.[3][4] Black teas to be graded in this system must be obtained from new flushes, which are the terminal leaf bud along with a few of the youngest tea leaves. Grading is based solely on the size of the individual leaves and flushes, which is determined by their ability to fall through screens of specific meshes[5] ranging from 8–30 mesh.[6] This parameter also determines loosely the wholeness, or level of breakage, of each leaf, which is also part of the grading system. Although the grading system is not an indicator of quality, the size of the leaves will, more often than not, influence the taste and clarity of the resulting brew.[7] Black teas of the basic grade (Orange Pekoe) are highly fragrant, with strong floral and fruity aromas, as well as a pleasant woody note. The taste should be slightly bitter with no astringency, and a sweet aftertaste.

Wilson Ceylon Earl Grey F.B.O.P.(Flowery Broken Orange Pekoe)
Wilson Ceylon Earl Grey F.B.O.P.(Flowery Broken Orange Pekoe)

When used outside the context of black tea grading, the term Pekoe, or occasionally Orange pekoe, describes the unopened terminal leaf bud (tips) in tea flushes. As such, terms such as "a bud and a leaf" or "a bud and two leaves", used to describe the "leafiness" of picked flush, are often used interchangeably with pekoe and a leaf or pekoe and two leaves, respectively.[8]

Contents

[edit] Etymology

The origin of the word pekoe is not definitively known. One explanation is that "pekoe" is derived from the transliterated mispronunciation of the Amoy (廈門; pinyin: Xiàmén) word for a Chinese tea known as white down/hair (白毫; POJ: pe̍h-ho, pronounced as "pek-ho").[9] The term refers to the down-like white "hairs" on the leaf and also the youngest apical leaf buds. Another supposition is that the term derives from the Chinese bai hwa "white flower" (Chinese: 白花; pinyin: báihuā; POJ: pe̍h-hoe), referring to the bud content of pekoe tea.

The "orange" in Orange Pekoe is sometimes mistaken to mean that tea has been flavoured with orange and orange oils, or is otherwise associated with oranges. The word Orange has nothing to do with the tea's flavour.[1] There are generally three explanations for the meaning of "Orange" in Orange Pekoe, though none of them is definitive. "Orange" is believed to refer to either:

  1. The Dutch royal House of Orange-Nassau. The Dutch East India company had a central role in bringing tea to Europe, and may have marketed the tea as "Orange" to suggest a royal warrant.[9]
  2. A supposed Chinese practice of using orange blossoms to flavour tea.[2] This may not be true, since flowers are mainly added to green tea, and it is also more customary to use jasmine blossoms.
  3. The copper colour of high quality oxidized leaf before drying or final bright orange color of the dried pekoes in the finished tea.[10] These usually consist of the one leaf bud and two leaves that are usually covered in fine downy hair, which attains an orange colour when the produced tea is fully oxidized.

[edit] Manufacture and grades

The Chinese Pekoe teas are classified into various qualities, according to whether the adjacent young leaves (two, one or none) were picked along with the leaf buds. Top quality pekoe consists of only the leaf buds. The buds are picked using only the balls of the finger tips. Fingernails or mechanical tools are not used, to avoid bruising the picks.

When crushed to make bagged teas, the tea is referred to as "broken", as in "Broken Orange Pekoe" (also "Broken Pekoe" or "BOP"), sometimes sold as loose leaf for reduced price. Bagged teas often also include fannings and dust, which are simply tiny remnants of the sorting and/or crushing process.

Orange Pekoe is often referred to as "OP". The grading scheme contains other categories considered higher quality than OP, which are determined primarily by leaf wholeness and leaf size.[11][5]

Broken, Fannings and Dust orthodox teas have slightly different gradings. CTC teas have a yet different grading system.

[edit] 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 tea in the world. 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".

[edit] Broken Leaf Grades

  • BT - Broken Tea - Usually a black, open, fleshy leaf, very bulky. Classification used in Sumatra, Ceylon, 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.

[edit] 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.

[edit] Dust Grades

  • D1 - Dust 1 - From Ceylon, Indonesia, China, Africa, South America and Southern India.
  • PD - Pekoe Dust
  • PD1 - Pekoe Dust 1 - Mainly produced in India.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c "Stash Orange Pekoe Tea". Stash Tea (2006). Retrieved on 2006-12-12.
  2. ^ a b Swann's Classic Teas. "The Leaf is All: Leaf Grading". Swann's Classic Teas. Retrieved on 2006-12-12.
  3. ^ Peet's Coffee (2006). "Learn: Tea Grades". Peet's Coffee & Teas. Retrieved on 2006-12-12.
  4. ^ Barnes & Watson Fine Teas (2006). "Leaf Grades". Barnes & Watson Fine Teas. Retrieved on 2006-12-12.
  5. ^ a b Marian Segal (March 1996). "Tea: A Story of Serendipity". FDA Consumer magazine. Retrieved on 2006-12-12.
  6. ^ Campbell Ronald Harlers, "Tea Production", Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 1973.
  7. ^ Olde Wyndham Tea Company (2002). "Grades of Gourmet Tea". Olde Wyndham Tea Company. Retrieved on 2006-12-12.
  8. ^ AFD (Appui à la Formation et au Développement). " Les techniques d'exploitation – Cueillette – Normes de cueillette". Théier (Camellia sinensis). Retrieved on 2006-12-12.
  9. ^ a b James Norwood Pratt (May 2002). "The Dutch Invent "Orange Pekoe"". TeaMuse Monthly Newletter. Retrieved on 2006-12-12.
  10. ^ Gillards of Bath (2006). "Dargeeling teas". Gillards of Bath. Retrieved on 2006-12-12.
  11. ^ TeaFountain (2004). "Tea Leaf Grades & Production Methods". TeaStation & TeaFountain. Retrieved on 2006-12-12.