Fannings are small pieces of tea that are left over after higher grades of tea are gathered to be sold. Fannings with extremely small particles are sometimes called dusts.[1] Fannings and dusts are considered the lowest grades of tea, separated from broken-leaf teas which have larger pieces of the leaves. However, the fannings of expensive teas can still be more expensive and more flavorful than whole leaves of cheaper teas.
Because of the small size of the particles, a tea infuser is typically used to brew fannings.[2] Fannings are also typically used in most tea bags, although some companies sell tea bags containing whole-leaf tea.[3]
Some exporters focus primarily on broken leaf teas, fannings, and dusts.[1]