Chicago Coffee Roastery: All About Tea

Tea, tea, wonderful tea.

Over the past few years a good area of growth for our business
as wells as many others has been tea, both whole leaf and bagged tea.

In support of the motto ... an educated consumer is the best consumer... we have assembled a
little tea info to pack into your brain.

All About Tea

Harvested from the Camillia Sinensis plant, Tea is grown in over 30 countries world wide. There are 4 main varieties of tea.
Black, Green, Oolong, & White

Black Tea ... is the most commonly consumed tea. Black tea undergoes the four stages of production... Withering, rolling, oxidation, and drying.

Green Tea ... is simply picked, rolled and briefly steamed or fired to prevent oxidation. Green tea has a "grassy' light flavor without any traditional "tea" taste. Recently, Green tea has been in the spotlight for all the health benefits which have been discovered. (Our Asian friends of course have known this for several millennium)

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Oolong Tea ... is withered and briefly fermented before it is fired in a pan or basket. Oolong tea is actually in the middle stages of oxidization between being Green and Black. Oolong is often the tea found served at your favorite Asian restaurant.

White Tea ... is truly rare. The tea is steamed and dried, preserving the light, subtly grassy flavor. The tea buds are covered with small silvery hairs, which give it the white look.

Tea Grading

Tea is graded by the quality of the leaf, whether it is full or broken, as well as the coloring on the leaf.

Tea grading is based on the term Orange Pekoe (or OP). This is not a flavor! Orange Pekoe (pronounced Peek-Oh) is considered the base grade for whole leaf tea. Technically it refers to the first and second leaf picked off of the new growth on a branch of the tea tree.

FOP -

Flowery Orange Pekoe which is the next grade up. Indicates a longer leaf the Orange Pekoe. Flowery denotes a tender leaf bud.

GFOP -

Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe finer leaf with silervy or golden colors to leaf.

TGFOP -

Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe - GFOP with "tips" of gold on the en of the leaf.

BOP

The same as OP, however the additional B in front indicates it is Broken and not a full leaf tea.

Fannings -

While not usually marked to indicate this grade in any way, this is the little bits of tea leaves that will be used in quick-brewing tea bags.

Harvested from the Camillia Sinensis plant, Tea is grown in over 30 countries world wide. There are 4 main varieties of tea. Black, Green, Oolong, & White

	Black Tea ... is the most commonly consumed tea. Black tea undergoes the four stages of production... Withering, rolling, oxidation, and drying.

Green Tea ... is simply picked, rolled and briefly steamed or fired to prevent oxidation. Green tea has a "grassy' light flavor without any traditional "tea" taste. Recently, Green tea has been in the spotlight for all the health benefits which have been discovered. (Our Asian friends of course have known this for several millennium)	<

	Oolong Tea ... is withered and briefly fermented before it is fired in a pan or basket. Oolong tea is actually in the middle stages of oxidization between being Green and Black. Oolong is often the tea found served at your favorite Asian restaurant.

White Tea ... is truly rare. The tea is steamed and dried, preserving the light, subtly grassy flavor. The tea buds are covered with small silvery hairs, which give it the white look.
Tea Grading
Tea is graded by the quality of the leaf, whether it is full or broken, as well as the coloring on the leaf.
Tea grading is based on the term Orange Pekoe (or OP). This is not a flavor! Orange Pekoe (pronounced Peek-Oh) is considered the base grade for whole leaf tea. Technically it refers to the first and second leaf picked off of the new growth on a branch of the tea tree.
FOP - Flowery Orange Pekoe which is the next grade up. Indicates a longer leaf the Orange Pekoe. Flowery denotes a tender leaf bud. GFOP - Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe finer leaf with silervy or golden colors to leaf. TGFOP - Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe - GFOP with "tips" of gold on the en of the leaf. BOP The same as OP, however the additional B in front indicates it is Broken and not a full leaf tea. Fannings - While not usually marked to indicate this grade in any way, this is the little bits of tea leaves that will be used in quick-brewing tea bags.