About Tea . . .

Tea first became popular in Britain when King Charles II married a Portugese Princess named Catherine of Braganza. She was a keen lover of tea and her arrival in the English Royal Court is what first made it fashionable. The fashion then later spread to the wealthier classes.

The East India Import Company saw the opportunity in Britain and began importing tea in 1664. In 1689 the government of the day introduced high taxes, which kept tea well and truly a drink for the wealthy of the country. In 1784, the Prime Minister, William Pitt the Younger dramatically reduced the tax, which made legal tea affordable and ended the smuggling trade. Then finally in 1964, the tax on tea was abolished.

In the 1970s the Americans invented tea bags. These were slow to take off in the UK until being more widely adopted later in the 1970s.

Facts about tea . . .

Tea is the second biggest industry after tourism

The first tea was created and drunk in China over 5000 years ago

Tea first arrived in Europe in 1560 in Portugal

96% of cups of tea drunk in the UK are made with tea bags

98% drink tea with milk

30% take sugar in tea

Tea contains half the amount of caffeine found in coffee

Afternoon tea . . .

Anna, 7th Duchess of Bedford, is said to have started the idea of afternoon tea in the early 1800s. To ward off the hunger pangs between lunch and dinner, she introduced the idea of taking afternoon tea at about 4pm.

High tea . . .

High tea was started for the working communities. It was their main meal of the day, and was a cross between afternoon tea enjoyed in fashionable drawing rooms and the dinner enjoyed in houses of the gentry at seven or eight in the evening. Tea was served, together with meats, bread and cakes.

Tea shops . . .

The first tea shop was opened in 1864 at a bread company shop which started to serve food and drinks. It was set up by a lady who served tea to her more favoured customers and word soon spread and the shop became extremely popular.

Tea shops spread throughout Britain and are now popular with the British and tourists alike.

Types of tea . . .

English Breakfast Tea
This is usually a blend of Assam and Ceylon teas to create a flavoursome, strong tea to give a good brisk start to the day.

Afternoon Tea
This is usually a blend of Darjeeling tea and Ceylon tea to produce a refreshing and light tea. Afternoon tea is produced for its flavour rather than its strength.

Flavoured Teas
These are teas blended with fruit, spices or herbs. Fruit flavoured tea such as peach or lemon, is real tea blended with fruit peel or fruit juice. Spiced and herb teas, such as cinnamon, nutmeg or mint, are also real teas blended with spices or herbs.

Fruit and Herbal Infusions
Infusions and Tisanes such as Camomile, Spearmint or Nettle do not contain any real tea and are naturally caffeine free.

Chai
'Chai' is the word for tea in many parts of the world.  Chai, from India is basically spiced milky tea and is increasing in popularity all over the world.  It is generally made up of rich black tea, milk and a combination of spices and sweetener. Spices include cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and pepper.

Iced Tea
Iced tea is most popular in the USA, with over 70% of all tea served being iced tea. It is now becoming increasingly popular throughout the world. Iced tea is best made with either a Ceylon Tea or a China Keemun.

Green Tea
Green tea has been credited with having many health benefits.It contains about a third of the level of caffeine of most coffees and has minimal processing. It has been popular in the Far East for thousands of years and is now becoming increasingly popular in the west.
 
White Tea
White tea is the uncured and unfermented tea leaf. White tea is fast-dried and usually contains young tea leaves and tea buds, which have been found to contain lower levels of caffeine than older leaves. This suggests that white teas should be lower in caffeine content than green teas.

Black tea leaf grades . . .

The different grades of tea are explained below. Two words are used throughout these gradings, Pekoe and Orange. The word 'pekoe' comes from the Chinese word pek-ho meaning the white downy hairs on the underside of the leaves of certain varieties of tea bush.

'Orange' denotes quality because of The Netherland's House of Orange, who were the royal family of the first European country to import tea. It is a name linked with expensive, high quality tea.

Whole Leaf Grades
Special Finest Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe (SFTGFOP) - the very best whole leaf quality

Finest Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe (FTGFOP) - exceptionally high quality leaf

Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe (TGFOP) - Flowery Orange Pekoe with a good proportion of tips

Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe (GFOP) - Flowery Orange Pekoe with some tips

Orange Pekoe (OP) - long pointed leaves that have been harvested when the end buds are opening into leaves

Pekoe (P) - shorter, coarser leaves than Orange Pekoe

Flowery Pekoe (FP) - leaves that have been rolled lengthwise; shorter, coarser pieces than Orange Pekoe

Pekoe Souchong (PS ) - shorter, coarser leaves than Pekoe

Broken Leaf Grades
The following Broken leaf grades refer to the broken pieces of leaf from the above grades:

Tippy Golden Broken Orange Pekoe (TGBOP)

Tippy Flowery Broken Orange Pekoe (TFBOP)

Tippy Golden Flowery Broken Orange Pekoe (TGFBOP)

Golden Broken Orange Pekoe (GBOP)

Flowery Broken Orange Pekoe (FBOP)

Broken Pekoe Souchong (BPS)

BP (Broken Pekoe)

Fannings
Fannings are the finest siftings remaining when the larger whole leaf and broken grades have been removed

Pekoe Fannings (PF)
Broken Orange Pekoe Fannings (BOPF)

Tea grades . . .

TEA GRADES IN ASCENDING ORDER

OP - Orange Pekoe - Main grade in tea production. Can consist of long wiry leaf without tips.

OP sup - Orange Pekoe Superior - Primarily from Indonesia, tea is much the same as above
 
F OP - Flowery Orange Pekoe - High quality tea with a long leaf and few tips, considered second grade in Assam, Dooars and Bangladesh and first grade in China
 
F OP1 - Flowery Orange Pekoe First Grade Leaves - As above but with only the highest quality leaves in the F.O.P classification
 
GF OP1 - Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe First Grade Leaves- Higher proportion of tip than FOP Top grade in Milima and Marinyn regions; Uncommon in Assam and Darjeeling.
 
TGF OP - Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe - Tea with the highest proportion of tip; Main grade in Darjeeling and Assam.
 
TGF OP1 - Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe - As above, but with only the highest quality leave in the T.G.F.O.P classification
 
FTGF OP - Finest Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe - Highest quality tea in the world. Often hand processed and produced at only the best plantations. Roughly one quarter tips.