Orange Pekoe is probably a staple in many homes. I know that growing up it was the only tea we had in the house. After many years, I started to think that this was the only tea out there. Silly me.
In North America, it is popular to use the term
as a description of a specific variety of black tea. Orange Pekoe (OP) is a term that describes the “grade” of a tea leaf in India or Sri Lanka and it actually has absolutely nothing to do with oranges. Orange refers to the Dutch noble House of Orange-Nassau, which brought
tea to Europe during the 18th century. Pekoe refers to the top bud of
the tea plant. To be classified as Orange Pekoe, the tea must be
composed purely of the top two leaves and bud of the tea plant.
as a description of a specific variety of black tea. Orange Pekoe (OP) is a term that describes the “grade” of a tea leaf in India or Sri Lanka and it actually has absolutely nothing to do with oranges. Orange refers to the Dutch noble House of Orange-Nassau, which brought
tea to Europe during the 18th century. Pekoe refers to the top bud of
the tea plant. To be classified as Orange Pekoe, the tea must be
composed purely of the top two leaves and bud of the tea plant.
Tea leaf grading is a process of evaluating the quality of tea leaves. The highest grades are referred to as “orange pekoe”. When I was younger, the “orange pekoe” I had indulged in were from tea bags which is referred to as “broken orange pekoe” (BOP) since the leaves are crushed.
To learn more about grades of tea, RateTea has a great section on their website here.
Wonderful article, so fun to hear about other people's views on tea and culture. I have been living with a family of tea farmers in Xishuangbanna Yunnan in Southwestern China, the birthplace of tea. The first tea the world ever had is what we now call Puer tea, raw Puer. After spending much time with this family, I have been able to share this tea with folks. The culture, the love, and the way this tea makes you feel is incomparable and the tea is all from one family, one farm. Definitely just would love to chat about tea sometime if you want to write me. http://www.MistyPeakTeas.com happy to send out any samples as well. Anyone tried Raw Puer tea? The green kind?