Tea, similar to wine and cheese and other gourmet items,
has its own language.  The following text provides
an easy introduction to tea talk.

General Tea Terms:
  • Camellia Sinensis: the scientific name for the tea                                                   
    plant--all tea comes from this plant--has thick, dark                                                    
    green leaves, a strong thick stem, and white or pink                                                    
    flowers
  • Pekoe: from the Chinese word that describes the                                                  
    white hairs on the side of the leaves of certain teas,                                                       
    denotes small, whole leaf tea
  • Orange Pekoe: a superior grade of black tea of larger                                               
    tea leaves--nothing to do with oranges
  • Firing: drying tea leaves by hot air or in a wok to
          quickly stop fermentation
  • Tippy: an abundance of tips, the down-like white or yellow hair on the tip of the
    youngest tea leaves
  • Choppy: leaves of varying sizes
  • Souchong: a bold and round leaf
  • Agony of leaves: rolling and unfurling of the leaves in boiling water
  • Withering: reduction of moisture from fresh tea leaves by circulating air
  • Oxidation: often referred to as fermentation, exposure to cool, damp air while the
    oxygen reacts with the sap to turn the leaves to a dark color

Grades of Black Tea:
  • OP (Orange Pekoe): good quality with large leaves from Sri Lanka or southern
    India
  • OP Sup (Orange Pekoe Superior): from Indonesia
  • FOP (Flowery Orange Pekoe): teas from the first leaf and bud of the shoot
  • GFOP (Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe): higher quality tea that includes the
    golden tips of the young buds leaves
  • TGFOP (Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe): higher quality tea that includes
    more of the golden tips of the young buds leaves
  • FTGFOP (Fine Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe, or, in jest, Far Too Good For
    Ordinary People): extremely high quality
  • SFTGFOP (Super Fine Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe): even higher quality
  • BOP (Broken Orange Pekoe): small or broken pieces of leaves
  • Fannings: tiny bits and pieces, usually leftovers from processing, found in tea
    bags along with tea dust

Production Methods:
  • Orthodox: by hand, the highest quality of production
  • CTC (Crush, Tear, and Curl): mechanized method used for lower quality leaves
    that end up in tea bags

Types of Tea: (Click here for more on this topic.)
  1. White Tea: White tea does not undergo an oxidation (fermentation) process.
    When infused, white tea makes a pale yellow cup color and a delicate, fresh
    flavor.
  2. Green Tea: Green tea fermentation is stopped after a minimal amount of
    oxidation through heat.  The Japanese method applies heat through steam, and
    the Chinese method uses dry cooking in hot pans.
  3. Oolong Tea: Mostly produced in China and Taiwan, oolong tea falls between
    green tea and black tea.
  4. Black Tea: Black tea is a fully-fermented tea. It is the most common form of tea in
    southern Asia (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, etc.). Black tea is
    generally stronger in flavor and contains more caffeine.
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About Camille's Tea:
Camille's Tea, based in the San Antonio, Texas area, offers a wide variety of gourmet teas, including flavored teas, traditional teas, green teas,
herbal teas, decaffeinated teas, decaf teas, caffeine free teas, and iced teas, and lavender, Shea butter, Chantal teapots, Lomonosov teapots, tea
infusers, tea accessories, Bearington Bears, tea linens, neck warmers, Herbal Concepts slippers and eye pacs, and Pre de Provence bath and
body products.  We also feature multiple tea of the month clubs.  Read more >>
To pay by check or money order,  email camille@camillestea.com.