The origin of tea can be traced back to over 4000 - 5000 years ago in China. All black teas come from the Camellia Senensis Bush.
There is a four step procedure to manufacture black tea. First there is the process of Withering. The objective of withering is to reduce the moisture content in the tea leaf. The plucked leaves are laid out in troughs where air is passed through the tea, removing the moisture. This can take up to 17 hours and by the end of the process the leaves have a ‘wilted’ appearance. The second step is Rolling. There are two type of rolling. The Orthodox which is the process of rolling the tea leaves between rollers until they are gently broken. The other type of rolling is the Cut, Tear, Curl method in which a machine cuts and tears the leaves into smaller pieces. The purpose of this process is to break the leaves so the enzymes are released and the third step of oxidation begins. The third step is the Oxidation. The broken leaves are laid out to ‘oxidize’ or ‘ferment’. This part of the process is very important as this will significantly impact the overall taste and quality of the tea. This can take up to two hours. The fourth and final step is the Drying. To stop the oxidation process, the tea leaves are heated. The dried tea is now ready to be sorted into grades before packing.
Grading is the next factor in the processing of Black Tea. It is classified into four different categories: Whole Leaf, Broken Leaf, Fanning’s and Dust. These prized leaves get graded as follows during the manufacturing process:
Whole leaf black tea: Flowery Orange Pekoe (FOP) consists of fine, tender, young leaves rolled with a certain proportion of “tips”. These tips, being the very ends of the bud’s leaves, constitute a guarantee of quality. Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe (GFOP) which is the FOP with “golden tips”, fine tips of the golden yellow bud’s leaves. Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe (TGFOP) FOP with lots of “golden tips”. Finest Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe (FTGFOP), exceptional quality FOP. Special Finest Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe (SFTGFOP), the very best FOP with a large proportion of leaves having golden “tips” of new leaf buds, a guarantee of very, very high quality. Orange Pekoe (OP), long, pointed leaves, larger than FOP rolled lengthwise. These are harvested when the terminal buds open into leaf. Orange Pekoe rarely contains “tips”. Pekoe (P), shorter, less fine leaves without tips. Flowery Pekoe (FP) leaves specially rolled into ball shape. Pekoe Souchong (PS) shorter, coarser leaves. Souchong (S) large leaves rolled lengthwise. Often used for Chinese souchong black tea.
Broken Leaf Black Tea. Broken Orange Pekoe (BOP), Golden Broken Orange Pekoe (GBOP), Flowery Broken Orange Pekoe (FBOP), Tippy Golden Broken Orange Pekoe (TGBOP), Golden Flowery Broken Orange Pekoe (GFBOP) and Tippy Golden Flowery Broken Orange Pekoe (TGFBOP).
Fanning’s Black Tea. Made from smaller, flat pieces of broken orange pekoe and used to make quick-brewing, strongly flavored, robust teas with good color. Broken Orange Pekoe Fanning’s (BOPF).
Dust Black Tea. Tiny bits of broken leaf used to brew strong tea quickly, popular for black tea bags. Broken Orange Pekoe Dust (BOPD), Pekoe Dust (PD), Red Dust (RD), Super Red Dust (SRD), Fine Dust (FD), Super Fine Dust (SFD) and Golden Dust (GD).
The proper way to brew loose tea is to place the loose tea into the teapot and pour hot water into the teapot. Stir the water to ensure all leaves are submerged in the water. Place lid on the teapot to allow it to steep for 3 – 5 minutes. Then pour through a strainer into the teacup. To brew tea using a tea bag is similar. That is you place your teabag inside of the teapot and add hot water. Allow to steep 3 – 5 minutes. Remove teabag and pour into teacup.

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