Tea comes in all kinds of styles and shapes. Black tea is often associated with a grade:
- OP – orange pekoe (denoting a full leaf tea)
- FOP – flowery orange pekoe
- BOP – broken orange pekoe
- TGFOP – tippy, golden flowery orange pekoe
Within the grade, however, appearances can differ widely. Pictured on the right here is a classic, wiry Ceylon OP. An Assam, Nilgiri or Keemun OP will have a completely different look and usually not have that long, wiry leaf style. It is important then to recognize regional variances in tea.
On the left is a Ceylon pekoe which is a more rolled, dense type of leaf. Both are black teas although you can see that the OP has silver tips whereas the pekoe does not.
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