By Stephanie Harkins

Darjeeling tea, which is a black tea that comes from Darjeeling, India, is often called “The Champagne of Tea” because Darjeeling is to tea what Champagne is to wine, in more ways than one. Only about 1% off all the tea harvested in the world is Darjeeling. And it is for this reason that not only are there limited quantities of Darjeeling tea, but it also demands higher prices than most other teas.

Darjeeling teas are often graded in a traditional and complex grading system which describes attributes of the tea leaves as well as flavor and quality.

Here is a list of common Darjeeling grades and their respective meanings:

Whole Leaf Grades:

SFTGFOP: Super Fine Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe indicates that it contains many tips and are long and wiry in appearance. The brewed tea is light in color.
FTGFOP: Fancy [or Fine] Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe. ‘Fancy’ is a term also used in the grading of oolongs.
TGFOP: Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe. ‘Tippy’, ‘Golden’, and ‘Flowery’ are all references to the leaf bud at the tip of the branch. (Buds have a lighter color than fully formed leaves, hence ‘golden’.)

Broken Leaf Grades:

FTGBOP: Fine Tippy Golden Broken Orange Pekoe leaves are smaller in size and are graded in decreasing order of quality.
TGBOP: Tippy Golden Broken Orange Pekoe.
FBOP: Flowery Broken Orange Pekoe.
BOP: Broken Orange Pekoe.

Darjeeling teas also have an additional description system in place past the grading system mentioned above, which may seem complicated to those unused to the grading system. Here are a few of those descriptive terms used to further describe types of Darjeeling teas:

Estate Tea: Some Darjeeling teas are grown in the same tea garden, which are called Garden Teas, or Estate Teas. The specific garden it was grown in is named on the tea.

Vintage: means that the leaves are the product of one harvest, and are not blended with any others.

Additionally, Darjeeling teas are separated by “flushes”, which are descriptive of the time period in which the leaves are picked.

First Flush: the leaves were plucked in the first growth of the season. It usually produces a very light, delicate drink.

Second Flush: second-growth harvest. More robust and complex than first flush.

Autumnal Flush: harvest after the rainy season.

As you can see, Darjeeling tea is a varied and truly unique type of black tea which offers endless variety and possibilities.

Stephanie is the publisher of The Tea Review Blog.