How to Grade Black Tea

You may have been drinking black tea for years or recently started drinking, no matter for what reasons whether it is the unique flavour and aroma or the number of health benefits that come with it. We should all understand how to grade and pick the best black teas available to us in the market.

To start with I will explain there is no particular standard way to grade, therefore the standard can vary from different countries as well as regions. Particular grades given to teas will not guarantee the quality or even the taste of the tea. If you want to understand more about the quality of the tea then you will require learning about the tea location in more detail. Study first where the leaves have been grown, the elevation of the tea plants, methods of harvesting and the method of which the tea is made.

A grade will be assigned due to the size of the leaves of the tea. The size of the leaves will be linked to the process and way the leaves have been plucked. For example black tea could be processed according to the orthodox method, where the tops of the tea plant are used and rolled at the start of the process which can result in a variety of sizes of leaves and grades.

Another method of preparing is the crush, tear and curl method and this method is found to be much more efficient than the orthodox method and the leaves can be machine or hand plucked depending on the plantation.

The top grades are typically the Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe which are all the top tier of the tea plant and are hand plucked when making the tea. If you see a "F" in front it means fine grade or even a "SF" that will be the super fine grade.

The grading system is almost exclusive to teas from Africa, India and Sri Lanka, but some Chinese teas will be graded too. Typically whole leave teas are more expensive but teas with small leaves will give a more favourable tea in general.

Grading of Green and Oolong teas will be different, where the grading is based on the quality and overall taste of the tea. The price you pay for an Oolong or green tea will depend on the location of the leaves, type of tea and how the tea was plucked or harvested. The grading system for green teas will depend on the county it comes from, as Japan will grade according to location, style and quality where as China will base on leaf age, style and shape. Even in India green tea is based on leave styles such as Fanning and Soumee etc.

As in the market today there are thousands of different variety, you will be able find a grade of tea to suit your style, taste and expense. To make the right tea to complete your tea experience you will need good quality water which needs to be boiled and served correctly.

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