Black Tea Leaf Grading
There are so many different things to consider when selecting your tea. But considering the importance of tea in most people's lives (second most consumed beverage in the world after water) we think it is pretty important.
Did you know that there are 7 different grades of Black Tea? This categorisation depends upon the size and age of the tea leaf. Check out our lovely little illustration... really you want to make sure that your tea leaves are the top two on the plant - Flowery Orange Pekoe or Orange Pekoe.
It is also possible to grade tea based upon size of the harvested tea.
- Orange Pekoe - Whole leaves.
- Broken Orange Pekoe - Broken leaves.
- Fanning - Broken leaves about the size of a pin head.
- Dust - Sorry to say this is probably what you are getting in most tea bags. It is sometimes called sweepings - evoking nice imagery of it being swept off the factory floor.
Then there is the consideration of whether the tea has been plucked by hand (like our Blighty Brew Organic Premium Black) or by machine (Blighty Brew Orange Pekoe Black).
So many considerations. Rest assured though that we have looked into this and made sure that our Blighty Brew Organic Whole Leaf and Bud Teas are vertiginous in both grade and performance.
https://blightybooch.com/collections/blight-brew-loose-leaf-tea