I had lunch in a restaurant today that specializes in serving many kinds
of tea. The list included many varieties that were marked "O.P". We
asked the waitress what "O.P." meant and she said it meant high quality
tea, but didn't know what the letters stood for.

A little web searching this afternoon found the explanation
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orange_Pekoe), but I'm still a little
confused about something. The chart lists a bunch of grades, with OP
being the lowest of them. So what were all the teas that didn't have OP
(or any letters) next to their name? Does that mean they're such a low
grade they don't even rate the lowest rating?

Ian Rastall wrote:
Hey Roy. Which teas do you mean that don't have grades? Do you
mean supermarket tea? The stuff you find is teabags would be a
"dust" grade, I believe.

I think he refered to the menu of the restaurant. While some teas had a
classification (OP or whatever) others did not. So his question was
about the quality of the 'non-graded' teas on the menu.

Roy, in my experience not all tea is classified like that. For example,
I don't think I ever saw a japanese green tea with this sort of
classification, but then again... ;-) At least here in Japan the System
seems to be different.

According to this site just found,
http://www.planetroasters.com/faqspi...20Grading.html
greens aren't classified like that at all, and neither are oolong.
Anyone knows if that is correct?

Roy, do you remember the names or tyes of the teas that were not graded
in OP, FOP..etc. ?

ciao
Patrick

--
"But please remember: this is only a work of Fiction.
The truth, as always, will be far stranger"

Arthur C. Clarke, 2001 - A Space Odyssey

Ian Rastall wrote:
Hey Roy. Which teas do you mean that don't have grades? Do you
mean supermarket tea? The stuff you find is teabags would be a
"dust" grade, I believe.

I think he refered to the menu of the restaurant. While some teas had a
classification (OP or whatever) others did not. So his question was
about the quality of the 'non-graded' teas on the menu.

Roy, in my experience not all tea is classified like that. For example,
I don't think I ever saw a japanese green tea with this sort of
classification, but then again... ;-) At least here in Japan the System
seems to be different.

According to this site just found,
http://www.planetroasters.com/faqspi...20Grading.html
greens aren't classified like that at all, and neither are oolong.
Anyone knows if that is correct?

Roy, do you remember the names or tyes of the teas that were not graded
in OP, FOP..etc. ?

ciao
Patrick

--
"But please remember: this is only a work of Fiction.
The truth, as always, will be far stranger"

Arthur C. Clarke, 2001 - A Space Odyssey

"Roy Smith" wrote in message
...
I had lunch in a restaurant today that specializes in serving many kinds
of tea. The list included many varieties that were marked "O.P". We
asked the waitress what "O.P." meant and she said it meant high quality
tea, but didn't know what the letters stood for.

A little web searching this afternoon found the explanation
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orange_Pekoe), but I'm still a little
confused about something. The chart lists a bunch of grades, with OP
being the lowest of them. So what were all the teas that didn't have OP
(or any letters) next to their name? Does that mean they're such a low
grade they don't even rate the lowest rating?

Roy,

"Contrary to popular opinion, Orange Pekoe does not refer to a particular
flavor, or even to a specific variety or quality or tea. Orange Pekoe is
nothing more than a designation of leaf size."

See http://www.uptontea.com/shopcart/inf...NFOgrading.asp for
additional info.

Regards,
Dean

"Roy Smith" wrote in message
...
I had lunch in a restaurant today that specializes in serving many kinds
of tea. The list included many varieties that were marked "O.P". We
asked the waitress what "O.P." meant and she said it meant high quality
tea, but didn't know what the letters stood for.

A little web searching this afternoon found the explanation
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orange_Pekoe), but I'm still a little
confused about something. The chart lists a bunch of grades, with OP
being the lowest of them. So what were all the teas that didn't have OP
(or any letters) next to their name? Does that mean they're such a low
grade they don't even rate the lowest rating?

Roy,

"Contrary to popular opinion, Orange Pekoe does not refer to a particular
flavor, or even to a specific variety or quality or tea. Orange Pekoe is
nothing more than a designation of leaf size."

See http://www.uptontea.com/shopcart/inf...NFOgrading.asp for
additional info.

Regards,
Dean

In article ,
Patrick Heinze wrote:
Ian Rastall wrote:
Hey Roy. Which teas do you mean that don't have grades? Do you
mean supermarket tea? The stuff you find is teabags would be a
"dust" grade, I believe.

I think he refered to the menu of the restaurant. While some teas had a
classification (OP or whatever) others did not. So his question was
about the quality of the 'non-graded' teas on the menu.

Yes, exactly.

Roy, do you remember the names or tyes of the teas that were not graded
in OP, FOP..etc. ?

No, unfortunately, I do not, but my recolletion is only maybe 1/3 of
the teas had OP after them.

In article ,
Patrick Heinze wrote:
Ian Rastall wrote:
Hey Roy. Which teas do you mean that don't have grades? Do you
mean supermarket tea? The stuff you find is teabags would be a
"dust" grade, I believe.

I think he refered to the menu of the restaurant. While some teas had a
classification (OP or whatever) others did not. So his question was
about the quality of the 'non-graded' teas on the menu.

Yes, exactly.

Roy, do you remember the names or tyes of the teas that were not graded
in OP, FOP..etc. ?

No, unfortunately, I do not, but my recolletion is only maybe 1/3 of
the teas had OP after them.

"Ian Rastall" wrote in message
news
Hey Roy. Which teas do you mean that don't have grades? Do you
mean supermarket tea? The stuff you find is teabags would be a
"dust" grade, I believe.

OP isn't actually the lowest. I think BOP is lower than that,
which is Broken Orange Pekoe. Then there's ENBOP (Extremely Nasty
Broken Orange Pekoe) which is reserved for the stuff I get at
Denny's. :-)

PF (Pekoe Fannings) is smaller than BOP.

I find the grades confusing too. Basically, and here is a good
rule of thumb, the more letters the better. So look for a good
alphabet soup and rest assured you're getting quality. :-)

Not true because size doesn't matter. You can get excellent flavor from PF
or BOP. It all depends on what satisfies your palate and only the individual
can be the judge of that.

--
~~Bluesea~~
Spam is great in musubi but not in email.
Please take out the trash before sending a direct reply.

"Ian Rastall" wrote in message
news
Hey Roy. Which teas do you mean that don't have grades? Do you
mean supermarket tea? The stuff you find is teabags would be a
"dust" grade, I believe.

OP isn't actually the lowest. I think BOP is lower than that,
which is Broken Orange Pekoe. Then there's ENBOP (Extremely Nasty
Broken Orange Pekoe) which is reserved for the stuff I get at
Denny's. :-)

PF (Pekoe Fannings) is smaller than BOP.

I find the grades confusing too. Basically, and here is a good
rule of thumb, the more letters the better. So look for a good
alphabet soup and rest assured you're getting quality. :-)

Not true because size doesn't matter. You can get excellent flavor from PF
or BOP. It all depends on what satisfies your palate and only the individual
can be the judge of that.

--
~~Bluesea~~
Spam is great in musubi but not in email.
Please take out the trash before sending a direct reply.

On Mon, 13 Dec 2004 17:39:09 GMT, Bluesea wrote:

"Ian Rastall" wrote in message
news
[8 quoted lines suppressed]

PF (Pekoe Fannings) is smaller than BOP.

[3 quoted lines suppressed]

Not true because size doesn't matter. You can get excellent flavor from PF
or BOP. It all depends on what satisfies your palate and only the individual
can be the judge of that.

And different leaf sizes can be appreciated for different times. I was
given a wonderful Havukal Nilgiri breakfast tea that has very broken
leaves and yet, even being a 2002, is absolutely delicious...

... but I wouldn't drink it in the evening.

--
Derek

Before you bad mouth somebody for being "puritanical," keep in mind
that the Puritans believed that conception couldn't happen unless the
woman was pleasured in the process.

On Mon, 13 Dec 2004 17:39:09 GMT, Bluesea wrote:

"Ian Rastall" wrote in message
news
[8 quoted lines suppressed]

PF (Pekoe Fannings) is smaller than BOP.

[3 quoted lines suppressed]

Not true because size doesn't matter. You can get excellent flavor from PF
or BOP. It all depends on what satisfies your palate and only the individual
can be the judge of that.

And different leaf sizes can be appreciated for different times. I was
given a wonderful Havukal Nilgiri breakfast tea that has very broken
leaves and yet, even being a 2002, is absolutely delicious...

... but I wouldn't drink it in the evening.

--
Derek

Before you bad mouth somebody for being "puritanical," keep in mind
that the Puritans believed that conception couldn't happen unless the
woman was pleasured in the process.

"Roy Smith" wrote in message
...
I had lunch in a restaurant today that specializes in serving many kinds
of tea. The list included many varieties that were marked "O.P". We
asked the waitress what "O.P." meant and she said it meant high quality
tea, but didn't know what the letters stood for.

She didn't know what she was talking about, but was conveying the myth that
size matters.

A little web searching this afternoon found the explanation
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orange_Pekoe), but I'm still a little
confused about something. The chart lists a bunch of grades, with OP
being the lowest of them.

PF (Pekoe Fannings) and BOP (Broken Orange Pekoe) are smaller than OP. These
are referenced in other paragraphs and, IMHO, should have been included in
the chart.

So what were all the teas that didn't have OP
(or any letters) next to their name? Does that mean they're such a low
grade they don't even rate the lowest rating?

No. Teas from India and, IIRC, Sri Lanka (Ceylon) use the letter gradings,
teas from other countries don't necessarily. Don't get hung up on it, just
sample the grand variety of teas that are available and decide which you
like. Eventually, you might discover that you consistently prefer a certain
set of letters but you'll also gain the understanding that weather and
storage conditions will change the taste of your favorite teas from year to
year and from vendor to vendor.

--
~~Bluesea~~
Spam is great in musubi but not in email.
Please take out the trash before sending a direct reply.

"Roy Smith" wrote in message
...
I had lunch in a restaurant today that specializes in serving many kinds
of tea. The list included many varieties that were marked "O.P". We
asked the waitress what "O.P." meant and she said it meant high quality
tea, but didn't know what the letters stood for.

She didn't know what she was talking about, but was conveying the myth that
size matters.

A little web searching this afternoon found the explanation
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orange_Pekoe), but I'm still a little
confused about something. The chart lists a bunch of grades, with OP
being the lowest of them.

PF (Pekoe Fannings) and BOP (Broken Orange Pekoe) are smaller than OP. These
are referenced in other paragraphs and, IMHO, should have been included in
the chart.

So what were all the teas that didn't have OP
(or any letters) next to their name? Does that mean they're such a low
grade they don't even rate the lowest rating?

No. Teas from India and, IIRC, Sri Lanka (Ceylon) use the letter gradings,
teas from other countries don't necessarily. Don't get hung up on it, just
sample the grand variety of teas that are available and decide which you
like. Eventually, you might discover that you consistently prefer a certain
set of letters but you'll also gain the understanding that weather and
storage conditions will change the taste of your favorite teas from year to
year and from vendor to vendor.

--
~~Bluesea~~
Spam is great in musubi but not in email.
Please take out the trash before sending a direct reply.

"Derek" wrote in message ...
On Mon, 13 Dec 2004 17:39:09 GMT, Bluesea wrote:
snip

Not true because size doesn't matter. You can get excellent flavor from
PF
or BOP. It all depends on what satisfies your palate and only the
individual
can be the judge of that.

And different leaf sizes can be appreciated for different times. I was
given a wonderful Havukal Nilgiri breakfast tea that has very broken
leaves and yet, even being a 2002, is absolutely delicious...

... but I wouldn't drink it in the evening.

Yes, breakfast teas are typically consumed in the morning and are likely to
be robust to jump-start your day. I don't agree that different leaf sizes
have anything to do with the time of day, however, because a blend such as
Russian Caravan also has broken leaves but is usually consumed in the
evening.

--
~~Bluesea~~
Spam is great in musubi but not in email.
Please take out the trash before sending a direct reply.

"Derek" wrote in message ...
On Mon, 13 Dec 2004 17:39:09 GMT, Bluesea wrote:
snip

Not true because size doesn't matter. You can get excellent flavor from
PF
or BOP. It all depends on what satisfies your palate and only the
individual
can be the judge of that.

And different leaf sizes can be appreciated for different times. I was
given a wonderful Havukal Nilgiri breakfast tea that has very broken
leaves and yet, even being a 2002, is absolutely delicious...

... but I wouldn't drink it in the evening.

Yes, breakfast teas are typically consumed in the morning and are likely to
be robust to jump-start your day. I don't agree that different leaf sizes
have anything to do with the time of day, however, because a blend such as
Russian Caravan also has broken leaves but is usually consumed in the
evening.

--
~~Bluesea~~
Spam is great in musubi but not in email.
Please take out the trash before sending a direct reply.