Tea masters and tea lovers might insist that the quality of tea leaves depends on judgment from experience.

There is some truth in that.

But the fact of the matter is like coffee and wine, tea grading is done to categorize tea leaves so that they can be differentiated more easily and distributed to different markets.

Instead of give them ratings like A-B-C or 1-2-3, tea grading uses acronyms to label their grades.

This is also partly because different people have different personal preferences to the taste of tea. And one grade might be loathed by one and loved by another.

Saying that, it must be noted that the better grade a pack of tea leaves have does not necessarily mean that it would be the best flavor. Many other factors come into the picture when we discuss that.

Better grading just means that the tea leaves are judged to be of higher quality according to industry labeling.

Here’s how tea grades are different from each other.

D for dust

These are tiny byte-sized broken tea particles that are residue left behind in the production process.

They fall off of tea leaves as the become brittle due the drying stage.

Mostly used in tea bags for the mass market, they can infuse quickly in hot water. And enable one to enjoy the flavor almost instantly.

However, this rapid infusion also means that undesirable flavors also get infused into the cuppa.

FNGS for fannings

Tea fanning are slightly larger particles of tea dust.

If dust are byte-sized, then fannings are kilobyte-sized.

They are larger, resulting in wider surface areas. But are still tiny compared to actual tea leaves.

They share the same drawbacks of tea dust.

S for souchong

This is a reference to the biggest tea leaves harvested close to the bottom of the branch.

Making them the most mature.

The implication is that they can often have a twisted appearance.

They are mostly used for the brewing of smoked teas.

P for pekoe

Pekoe refers to large tea leaves, but smaller than S.

OP for orange pekoe

These grades of tea leaves are whole leaf without tip.

They consist of leaves plucked close to the of the branch. This might be a result of plucking the second leaf.

This makes them the smallest tea leaves on a branch as they are the youngest as well.

They infuse at a much slower rate compared to the broken grades.

This also results in a big jump in taste when moving from broken leaves to orange pekoe.

BOP for broken orange pekoe

This is a category that describes larger tea leaves that have their size reduced by machines.

While they infuse slower than dust and fanning, the infusion rate is considered fast compared to varieties of whole leaves.

They can make a quality pot if the original leaves they originate from are of high quality.

FOP for flowery orange pekoe

This is basically a range that consists of OP and flower leaves or buds.

Sometimes the presence of the first open leaf can categorize one as FOP.

T for tippy

When tea leaves have tips or tippy, it is a reference to it containing whole leaf buds.

These buds can be of a diverse variety of colors including gold, silver, green or even black.

The colors these buds spot depends on their maturity and the production process in which they are put through.

FBOP for flowery broken orange pekoe

As the name describes, this is BOP with flower buds or tips.

G for golden

The term golden can be slapped on any sample when the presence of the color yellow can be observed in the leaf buds by the naked eye.

It is an indication of improved quality.

GBOP for golden broken orange pekoe

Thus, a pack of of BOP with golden tips on lead buds can be labelled GBOP.

TGFOP for tippy golden flowery orange pekoe

Tippy and golden. This is in general, the highest grade of tea leaves one can enjoy.