Tea Grades
FOP ~ Flowery Orange Pekoe
GFOP ~ Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe
TGFOP ~ Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe
FTGFOP ~ Finest Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe
SFTGFOP ~ Special Finest Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe
"....I must address the pekoe. The Chinese word pak-ho roughly means "white or light down," or, as some experts say, literally refers to the soft fuzz on a newborn baby's bottom. The old-fashioned meaning for pekoe, then refers to the downy substance on the bud. But as the language of a tea has evolved, the substance now refers to the second leaf on the shoot of a fine plucking.
Orange Pekoe leaves have nothing to do with the color orange or the flavor of the citrus fruit. The term, derived from a reference to the princes of Orange, was most likely used by Dutch traders to indicate fancy tea. Today, Orange Pekoe refers to the larger of the leaves on a fine plucking, and the term indicates a generally good-quality tea and would certainly not fit in a tea bag!
The best grade of tea is whole leaf tea. These teas are designated by series of initials that frequently include the letter P, for Pekoe. For example, the initials PS refer to Pekoe Souchong. Souchong leaves are the third leaves on the shoot and therefore from a course plucking and not considered as good as orange pekoe leaves.
The best grades of leaf are judged by the size and fullness of the twisted leaf and the lack of stem (except for Taiwanese Oolong tea leaves, which commonly have stems). Good teas are also judged by the brightness of the leaf's color and the presence of buds. When the tea contain buds, words such as golden, tippy, tip, and flowery indicate their desirable presence."
The grade FOP refers to a very good leaf tea. This indicates that the tea is made from fine pluckings with just the right amount of bud and tender leaf tips. From here, the grades go up, through GFOP, TGFOP, FTGFOP, finally to SFTGFOP!"
Excerpt from SerendipiTea: a guide to the varieties, origins and rituals of tea by Tomislav Podreka