Little Apothecary Lessons: Orange Pekoe Isn’t Orange. So What Is It?

Despite the name, Orange Pekoe has absolutely nothing to do with oranges. There’s no orange peel involved, no orange flavouring, and it doesn’t describe the colour of the tea.

Orange Pekoe — usually shortened to OP — is a traditional leaf grade used for black tea. It describes the size and style of the finished tea leaf after processing, rather than its flavour.

So where did the confusing name come from?

“Pekoe” is generally traced to a European rendering of a Chinese tea term associated with the fine, pale hairs found on young tea shoots. “Orange” is less certain. One widely repeated explanation connects it with the Dutch royal House of Orange and the historic Dutch tea trade, although the exact origin of the term isn’t firmly established.

And then you’ll encounter what can look like an entire alphabet after it:

OP — Orange Pekoe

FOP — Flowery Orange Pekoe

GFOP — Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe

TGFOP — Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe

FTGFOP — Finest Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe

Words such as “flowery,” “golden” and “tippy” generally indicate the presence of young buds or tips in the finished leaf. Those beautiful golden tips you sometimes see amongst a fine Assam are a good example.

But here’s an important point: tea grades aren’t the same thing as quality ratings. A long string of letters doesn’t automatically guarantee that one tea will taste better than another. Grading primarily describes the appearance and composition of the finished leaf, while the quality in your cup also depends on the cultivar, growing conditions, season, manufacture, freshness and brewing.

So the next time you see Orange Pekoe on a packet of tea, don’t go looking for oranges.

You’re reading the language of the tea trade.