Ceylon Tea

Sri Lankan tea known for generations as “Ceylon Tea” is reputed for its’ taste and aroma
world over. Sri Lanka is the largest producer of orthodox tea in the world. Currently, Sri
Lanka ranks as the fourth largest tea producer of the world. In the global export front, the
country holds the position of third largest exporter of tea. Sri Lanka applies ISO 3720 as
the minimum standards for tea.

Sri Lankan tea growers and manufactures adopt Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) and
Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) and produce tea under the highest social and
environmental standards. The tea processing factories for exports continually improve
and upgrade to meet required technical and hygienic standards to conform to the
international food safety requirements. Most Sri Lankan tea producers have also
consistently promoted the adoption of the most stringent agricultural standards and
practices, particularly through the adoption of international quality certifications including
HACCP, ISO 22000, Fair Trade, Forest Stewardship Certification(FSC) ISO 9000, CQC,
Ethical Tea Partnership (ETP), UTZ, Rainforest Alliance (RA), Global GAP, SA etc.
thereby ensuring the maintenance of extremely strict production and processing
standards that ensure the safety of consumers, workers and the wider environment.

Sri Lanka exports approximately 50% of its tea in value added form. The product range
includes black and green tea in tea bags, consumer packs, gifts boxes, Ready to Drink
(RTD) form, instant tea and flavored tea etc. Tea based soap, bath gel, shampoo and
cosmetic products have recently been added to the product range.

Lion Logo - Symbol Of Quality

The Lion Logo is owned by Sri Lanka Tea Board and globally trademarked. The
franchise rights for the use of Lion logo awarded to exporters for those products meet not
only specific legal requirement for the lion logo scheme but which also should pass the
quality test. Lion Logo on the pack of tea is a guarantee for 100% Pure Ceylon Tea
packed in Sri Lanka.

PROCEDURE OF LION LOGO REGISTRATION

Anybody who wishes to use the Lion Logo franchise should follow the following
procedures.

1. Lion Logo application and guide lines should be collected from the Tea Tasting
Unit of Sri Lanka Tea Board.
2. According to the guide lines, the application should be duly completed and
forward with the Lion Logo packs to the Tea Tasting Unit.
3. After evaluating the packs, the applicant will be notifying the position of this
Application, if it is approved, a certificate valid for three years will be issued.
4. Under the same brand for additional packs or destinations the Applicant should
submit the packs and application as accordingly for evaluation prior to shipment.
 OZONE FRIENDLY CEYLON TEA
During the 1970s, scientists studying Earth’s atmosphere found that ozone was vanishing
from its upper levels. By 1985, a very large area above Antarctica was almost entirely
free of the gas. The cause of this depletion was quickly identified as chlorofluorocarbon
compounds or CFCs for short – a family of chemicals then commonly used in
refrigerators, freezers and air conditioners. CFCs rise into the upper atmosphere, react
with the ozone there, and destroy it. But besides CFCs, there was another offender:
methyl bromide, a pesticide used to fumigate soil and many agricultural products. At the
time this was discovered, methyl bromide pesticides were widely used in the Sri Lankan
tea industry, on estates as well as in warehouses, aboard ships in and other places
where tea was stored or transported. No-one suspected the environmental damage these
pesticides were causing, 10-15km up in the sky. .

The Montreal Protocol

Alarmed by warnings from the scientists, the world’s nations met in Montreal, Canada in
1987 to decide upon action to protect the ozone layer. Out of this meeting came the
Montreal Protocol, signed by 191 countries including Sri Lanka. Under the protocol,
methyl bromide use by the Sri Lankan tea industry was progressively reduced, then done
away with altogether. As a result of such prompt and effective action by the tea industry
and others, Sri Lanka was acclaimed a ‘leader in ozone-layer protection’, receiving the
Montreal Protocol Implementers Award in 2007.

All tea grown in Sri Lanka is now one hundred percent ozone-friendly. This is a
distinction of which no other tea-producing nation can boast. Plans are now being drawn
up to impose a total ban on methyl bromide use in applications like export packaging and
shipping. As of May 2011, all Ceylon Tea is entitled to bear the new ‘Ozone Friendly Pure
Ceylon Tea’ logo, certifying that it has been produced without the use of any ozone-
depleting substances. When you reach for a cup of Ceylon Tea, you’re not just refreshing
yourself; you’re also helping refresh and renew an environmental resource critically
important to all life on Earth.

Ceylon Tea History

Sri Lanka was formerly a British colony known as Ceylon, a name it kept for nearly a
quarter-century after independence. It was during the British era that tea first began to be
cultivated and manufactured here.

The story of Ceylon Tea begins with coffee. The coffee plant had already been found
growing naturally among the approaches to the central hill country. Then British Governor
Barnes threw the weight of official support behind large-scale cultivation. Land in the
central hills was sold for a few pence an acre, official funds were dedicated to research
and experiments in coffee-growing, planters and merchants were provided with
incentives and support. Most important of all, Barnes provided the infrastructure – a
network of roads, including the all-important trunk route from Kandy to Colombo – that
enabled coffee-planters to get their produce to town, and then to market in England.
In the 1870s, coffee plantations were devastated by a fungal disease called Hemileia
vastatrix or coffee rust, better known as "coffee leaf disease" or "coffee blight”. The death
of the coffee industry marked the end of an era when most of the plantations on the
island were dedicated to producing coffee beans. Planters experimented with cocoa and
cinchona as alternative crops but failed due to an infestation of Heloplice antonie, so that
in the 1870s virtually all the remaining coffee planters in Ceylon switched to the
production and cultivation of tea.

In 1824 a tea plant was brought to Ceylon by the British from China and was
planted in the Royal Botanical Garden in Peradeniya for experimental purposes. Further
experimental tea plants were brought from Assam and Calcutta in India to Peradeniya in
1839 through the East India Company and over the years that followed. In 1867, James
Taylor marked the birth of the tea industry in Ceylon by starting a tea plantation in the
Loolecondera estate in Kandy. He was only 17 when he came to Loolecondera, Sri
Lanka.

The original tea plantation was just 19 acres. In 1872 Taylor began operating a fully
equipped tea factory on the grounds of the Loolecondera estate and that year the first
sale of Loolecondera tea was made in Kandy. In 1873, the first shipment of Ceylon tea, a
consignment of some 23 lb (10 kg), arrived in London. Soon enough plantations
surrounding Loolecondera, including Hope, Rookwood and Mooloya to the east and Le
Vallon and Stellenberg to the south, began switching over to tea and were among the
first tea estates to be established on the island.

Tea production in Ceylon increased dramatically in the 1880s and by 1888 the area
under cultivation exceeded that of coffee, growing to nearly 400,000 acres in 1899. The
only Ceylonese planter to venture in to tea production at the early stage was Charles
Henry de Soysa. British figures such as Henry Randolph Trafford arrived in Ceylon and
bought coffee estates in places such as Poyston, near Kandy, in 1880, which was the
centre of the coffee culture of Ceylon at the time. Although Trafford knew little about
coffee, he had considerable knowledge of tea cultivation and is considered one of the
pioneer tea planters in Ceylon. By 1883, Trafford was the resident manager of numerous
estates in the area that were switching over to tea production. By the late 1880s, almost
all the coffee plantations in Ceylon had been converted to tea. Similarly, coffee stores
rapidly converted to tea factories in order to meet increasing demand. Tea processing
technology rapidly developed in the 1880s, following on from the manufacture of the first
"Sirocco" tea drier by Samuel Cleland Davidson in 1877 and the manufacture of the first
tea rolling machine by John Walker & Co in 1880—essential technologies that made
realizing commercial tea production a reality. This realization was confirmed in 1884 with
the construction of the Central Tea Factory on Fairyland Estate (Pedro) in Nuwara Eliya.
As tea production in Ceylon progressed, new factories were constructed and innovative
methods of mechanization introduced from England. Marshall, Sons & Co. of
Gainsborough in Lincolnshire, the Tangyes Machine Company of Birmingham, and
Davidson & Co. of Belfast supplied the new tea factories with machinery, a function they
continue to perform to the present.

The Planters Association of Ceylon was established in 1854 and in 1915 Thomas
Amarasuriya became the first Ceylonese to be appointed as Chairman of the Planters'
Association. Tea was increasingly sold at auction as its popularity grew. The first public
Colombo Auction was held on the premises of M/s Somerville and Company Limited on
30 July 1883, under the auspices of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce. One million tea
packets were sold at the Chicago World's Fair in 1893. That same year the tea netted a
record price of £36.15 per lb at the London Tea Auctions. In 1894 the Ceylon Tea
Traders Association was formed and today virtually all tea produced in Sri Lanka is sold
at the auction supervised by this association and the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce. In
1896 the Colombo Brokers' Association was formed. In 1925 the Tea Research Institute
was established in Ceylon to conduct research into maximizing yields and methods of
production. By 1927 tea production in the country exceeded 100,000 metric tons. A 1934
law prohibited the export of poor quality tea. The Ceylon Tea Propaganda Board was
formed in 1932.

In 1938 the Tea Research Institute commenced work on vegetative propagation at St.
Coombs Estate in Talawakele, and by 1940 it had developed a biological control (a
parasitic wasp, Macrosentus homonae) to suppress the Tea Tortrix caterpillar, which had
threatened the tea crop. In 1941 the first Ceylonese tea broking house, M/s Pieris &
Abeywardena, was established. On October 1, 1951, an export duty on tea was
introduced and in 1955 the first clonal tea fields began cultivation. On June 1, 1959, Ad
Valorem Tax was introduced for teas sold at the Colombo auctions.

By the 1960s, Sri Lanka's total tea production and exports exceeded 200,000 metric tons
per year and in 1965 Sri Lanka became the world's largest tea exporter for the first time.
In 1963, the production and exports of Instant Teas was introduced, and in 1966 the first
International Tea Convention was held to commemorate 100 years of the tea industry in
Sri Lanka. During the 1971–1972 periods, the government of Sri Lanka nationalized
estates owned by Sri Lankan and British companies, taking over some 502 privately held
tea, rubber and coconut estates, and in 1975 it nationalized the Rupee and Sterling
companies. Land reform in Sri Lanka meant that no cultivator was allowed to own more
than 50 acres for any purpose. In 1976, the Sri Lanka Tea Board was founded as were
such other bodies as the Janatha Estate Development Board (JEDB), Sri Lanka State
Plantation Corporation (SLSPC) and the Tea Small Holdings Development Authority
(TSHDA) to supervise the estates thus appropriated by the state.

Sri Lanka was the official supplier of tea at the 1980 Moscow Summer Olympic Games,
in 1982 at the 12th Commonwealth Games in Brisbane and again in 1987 at Expo 88 in
Australia. In 1981, the country began importing teas for blending and re-exports and in
1982 commenced the production and export of green tea. In 1983, the CTC teas method
was introduced. In 1992–1993 many of the government-owned tea estates which had
been nationalized in the early 1970s were privatized.

Tea from Ceylon gained the reputation of being the finest in the world, and tea exports
became the mainstay of the colonial economy. Housewives and restaurateurs across the
globe grew familiar with the name of the country, learning that its appearance on a tin or
packet reliably guaranteed the quality of the tea inside.

When the country changed its name to Sri Lanka in 1972, its premier industry was faced
with a knotty problem. Ceylon was not only the former name of the country; it was also
one of the world’s leading brands, familiar to consumers’ world over – a brand the
industry had been actively promoting and investing in since the early 1930s. Abandoning
it would deliver a setback from which there could be no easy recovery. And the cost of
promoting and establishing an unfamiliar new brand – ‘Sri Lanka Tea’ – would be
exorbitant.

Though opposed by some who demanded a complete break with the colonial past and a
new start for the country, industry leaders managed to persuade the socialist government
then in power to permit the continued use of the name Ceylon to refer to the country’s
most famous product. Tea from Sri Lanka would still be marketed as Ceylon Tea; a
priceless world brand had been saved.
 THE IMPORTANCE OF ORIGIN
There are three main tea growing regions in Sri Lanka. These are, Low grown teas which
are teas grown on an elevation between sea level to 600m, Mid Grown teas which are
from 600m to 1,200m and High grown teas which are grown at an elevation above
1,200m. The taste, flavour and aroma of teas from each elevation are influenced by the
conditions particular to those regions. Low grown teas, which are subjected to long
periods of sunshine, dry and somewhat warm and moist conditions, exhibit a burgundy
brown liquor and a malt, heavy note with black leaf appearance. Whereas High grown
teas grown on an elevation of around 3,000 feet would be dramatically different –
depending on the time of year, influenced by the chill winds, dry and cool conditions
these teas are likely to be extraordinarily light, with greenish, grassy tones in honey
golden liquors.

The tea-growing regions of Sri Lanka are clustered mostly among the central mountains
of the island and its southern foot hills. Like the great wine-growing regions of France, the
tea cultivation of Sri Lanka is divided up into seven defined regions or ‘districts’, each of
which is known for producing teas of a particular character. Each presents a unique
combination of climate and terrain that leaves its mark on the tea it produces, regardless
of price point or estate of origin. Of course, there is considerable variation between sub-
districts and individual estates, between successive crops taken from the same estate in
successive years and even between different hillsides on the same estate; yet despite
such differences, the regional character of the tea is always evident to the experienced
taster or connoisseur.

Quality Seasons
Sri Lanka is exposed to two Indian Ocean weather systems, known locally as the
northeast and southwest monsoons. The first brings rain between December and March,
the second between June and September. The central mountains form a windbreak and
watershed, sheltering with their mass the hillsides and the plains on either side of them;
thus southern and western parts of the island do not receive the winds and rains of the
northeast monsoon, while northern and eastern areas are sheltered from the southwest
monsoon. This results not only in a different period of rainfall on either side of the
mountains, but also an annual ‘quality seasons’, when the monsoon winds, leached of
their moisture, pass over the central watershed to bring cool, dry weather to the terrain
on the opposite side.

Up among the hills and mountains, however, the complex topography results in an
equally complex microclimatic picture, with different areas receiving varying patterns of
wind and precipitation from the two weather systems throughout the year. Thus, the
climate of each tea-growing district differs more or less from the others. Even within a
single district, the variation between small areas can often be marked. These climatic
variations are reflected in the diversity of character that is one of the principal and most
prized features of Ceylon Tea. Over the years, Sri Lankan planters have learnt how to get
the best out of local climatic variations in terms of their effect on the tea-bush and its
product. In the process, they helped establish the character for which each region and
subdivision of the tea-growing districts is known.

Seven Regional Teas

The use of the names of the tea-growing regions of Sri Lanka is strictly restricted and
controlled. Only teas that conform to a registered, legal definition of origin and
manufacture can bear the name of a given district. First, the tea must have been grown
entirely within a particular ‘agro-climatic region’ (the technical term for ‘district’). This
usually implies a particular altitude range as well; for example, tea from Uva district will
have been grown at an altitude between 1,000 and 1,600m (3,000-5,000ft.) above sea
level, while Nuwara Eliya tea will have been cultivated at a higher altitude range,
averaging 2,000m (6,000ft).

Secondly, the tea has to have been ‘manufactured’ within the district. Fresh tea-leaf does
not travel well; it has to be processed within a short period, and every large estate has its
own factory dedicated to this operation. While the regional definition permits some
latitude regarding the actual processes of manufacture, most Ceylon tea is still made
according to traditional methods, which are deemed by experts to produce an end-
product of the highest quality.

Since 1975, the award and usage of regional ‘appellations’ has been administered by the
Sri Lanka Tea Board, the central administrative and regulatory authority for the Ceylon
tea industry. The Board sets the standards and regulations with which all tea exported
from Sri Lanka must comply. Among these are minimum standards of quality and purity;
additionally, to qualify for a district appellation, the tea must conform to the specifications
and standards pertaining to that region.

The discovery of effect of the diverse climate on tea production has resulted in
manufacture of an array of fine teas which are unique to each agro climatic district in Sri
Lanka and also are not found anywhere else in the world. Teas produced in these agro
climatic regions are known world over as Nuwara Eliya, Dimbula, Uva and Uda
Pussallawa in high grown area, Kandy in the mid country, Ruhuna and Sambaragamuwa
in the low country area of Sri Lanka.

Nuwara Eliya, the best-known of Sri Lanka’s tea-growing districts, is the most
mountainous, and has the highest average elevation. Combined with low temperature,
this produces teas of exquisite bouquet. The infusion in the cup is the lightest (palest) of
all the types of Ceylon Tea, with a golden hue and a delicately fragrant flavour. The
whole-leaf Orange Pekoe (OP) and Broken Orange Pekoe (BOP) are the most sought
after tea grades from the region.

Between Nuwara Eliya and Horton Plains lies the district of Dimbula, whose teas are
defined as “high grown” as all estates exceed an altitude of 1,250m (4000 Feet). The
complex topography of the region produces a variety of microclimates, which produce
differences in flavour – sometimes jasmine mixed with cypress. All, however, share the
Dimbula character: a tea that produces a fine golden-orange hue in the cup, and which is
refreshingly mellow.
The remote Uva district is exposed to the winds of both northeast and southwest
monsoons, believed to endow the tea produced here with a special, unmistakable
character and exotically aromatic flavour. It was with tea grown on his Uva estates that
Thomas Lipton, the Victorian magnate, persuaded Americans to drink tea. The mellow,
smooth taste of Uva tea, once experienced, is easily distinguished.

The Uda Pussellawa district is situated close to Nuwara Eliya, so its tea is often
compared to that of its neighbour. But it is darker in the cup, with a pinkish hue, of greater
strength, and exquisitely tangy. Colder conditions at year end supposedly add a hint of
rose to the bouquet of a tea known for its medium body and subtle character. Heavy
rainfall, though, tends to produce tea that is even darker and stronger-flavoured.

In the Kandy district, where the industry began in 1867, the teas produced are described
as “mid-grown”as cultivation does not exceed 1,300 m. They range in flavour depending
on the altitude and whether the plantation is sheltered from monsoon winds. All are
particularly flavoursome. Kandy teas produce a bright infusion with a coppery tone, and
are strong and intensely full-bodied.

The teas of the Ruhuna district are defined as “low-grown” as they are cultivated at an
altitude not exceeding 600m comprising vast sub regions from coastal plains to Southern
edge of Sinharaja Rain Forest. The soil, combined with the low elevation of the estates,
causes the tea-bush to grow rapidly, producing a long, beautiful leaf. Full-flavoured black
tea is a distinctively unique Ruhuna specialty. Ruhuna factories produce a wide variety of
leaf styles and sizes, including prized “tips”.

Sabaragamuwa is Sri Lanka’s biggest district, the teas of which are low-grown as its
estates range in elevation from sea level to 610m. Sabaragamuwa, sandwiched between
Sinharaja in the south and Adam's Peak wilderness in the north, produces a fast-growing
bush with a long leaf. The liquor, too, is similar to that of Ruhuna teas, dark yellow-brown
with a reddish tint. The aroma, however, is noticeably different from the Ruhuna
products, with a hint of sweet caramel, not quite as strong: yet exceptionally stylish.
 Colombo Tea Auction
The first Tea Auction in Colombo was held on 30th July 1883 in the office of Somerville &
Co., down Queen Street now renamed Janadhipathi Mawatha. Prior to this, many tea
plantation people shipped Ceylon teas to the London Tea Auction or sometimes directly
to overseas buyers. The Auction itself was only modestly successful with only one lot of
Kabaragala un-assorted tea selling for cents 45 a pound whereas the other 4 lots
remained unsold due to either lack of bids or due to bids received not meeting the
Broker’s expectations.

Despite debacles, Somerville & Co. and the other brokers persisted and were able to
conduct auctions on a regular basis from 1885. In 1894 the Ceylon Chamber of
Commerce (CCC) set up the Colombo Tea Traders’ Association to formulate rules for the
conduct of the Tea Auction. They promoted the common interest of buyers and sellers in
the Colombo market.

With modest beginning, Colombo Tea Auction (CTA) grew to be the largest tea auction in
the world in terms of the number of lots sold. Mombasa in Kenya has for several years
been the largest tea auction in terms of the volume of tea traded.

CTA saw many changes over the years meeting changing circumstances. Auctions were
originally conducted in the CCC Building in Chatham Street on one day of the week on a
regular basis in one auction room. As more and more tea was being sold through the
Colombo Tea Auction and the number of lots increased the auction split over to the
second day. With the further increase in the number of lots the CCC Board Room was
converted into a second auction room.

The new CCC building at Nawam Mawatha made provision for two custom built auction
rooms, but in the course of time this too proved to be insufficient and today the Colombo
Tea Auction is conducted on two days of the week concurrently in three auction rooms.

Today with tea factories increasing the number of grades to meet buyer demand the
number of lots are correspondingly increasing placing a further strain on the system. As it
is an auction on two full days namely Tuesday and Wednesday results in a severe strain
on buyers having to taste, grade and evaluate up to 12,000 different lots of tea during the
other days of the week, so that they could be prepared to bid for teas at the next week’s
auction.

COVID19 changed the 137 year old Colombo Tea Auction from its famous outcry system
to a digital auction system. Once again, the industry showed its resilience by rising to the
occasion in digitalizing the auction in a very short period of time, which was facilitated by
the Colombo Tea Traders' Association (CTTA) and supported by the Colombo Brokers'
Association (CBA) and CICRA Holdings.

With no auctions for two weeks due to partial shutdown to prevent the spread of the
novel coronavirus in the country, the industry has been scrambling to take the online
route to ensure continuity of supply and demand and cash flow. The e-auction enabled
sellers and brokers to catalogue teas electronically and buyers to bid online.

Online auction has been spoken about in Sri Lanka many years, but the industry had
failed to reach an agreement. However, given the COVID-19 pandemic and the need to
keep the economically-important tea industry going, the trade and brokers united. E-
Auction was possible after multiple discussions between various stakeholders, mock runs
and training by electronic platform provider CICRA Solutions. According to CICRA
Solutions, over 300 buyers have registered on the online system along with eight
brokers.

The Sale No. 12 of 2020 which was scheduled as a manual auction for 24/25 March
2020 eventually commenced on 4 April 2020 as an electronic auction and was concluded
on 8 April 2020. The first auction took five days as the users had to be trained so they
could adopt the technology. With the users being trained on several occasions, today’s e-
Auction is held for two days per week.

Tea Tasting
Tea tasting, much like wine tasting, uses similar steps – visual, smell, taste and touch. A
lot about a tea can be told by examining the dry leaves. Gently press some dry leaves in
your hand – most new teas are a little springier and less likely to crumble than older teas.
Tea tasting is the process in which a trained taster determines the quality of a particular
tea. Due to climatic conditions, topography, manufacturing process, and different clones
of the Camellia sinensis plant (tea), the final product may have vastly differing flavours
and appearance. These differences can be tasted by a trained taster in order to ascertain
the quality prior to sale or possibly blending tea.

It is the taster who describes and values tea. His description of the liquor is based on
taste. In its widest sense, which includes aroma, taste is a very complex property that
has so far not been assessed chemically. A taster may deal with several hundred tea
samples in a day. In making his evaluation, he brings his knowledge and experience of
the outturn of a particular estate to bear upon his conclusions. A 3-5 minute brewing time
and boiling water is recommended for black tea and green teas are usually brewed at <
90 °C and for under 3 minutes. A tea taster uses a large spoon and noisily slurps the
liquid into his/her mouth - this ensures that both the tea and plenty of oxygen is passed
over all the taste receptors on the tongue to give an even taste profile of the tea.

While it is mainly the tongue that experiences taste, other surfaces of the mouth also play
a role here. There are four kinds of tastes - salt, sour, sweet and bitter. Sweetness is
tasted at the tip of the tongue, and bitterness at the back. Saltines too are tasted at the
tip, but also at the sides of the front of the tongue. Sourness is experienced at the back
edges. A stringency or pungency is a sensation, not a taste that is felt on the gums and
part of the cheek. When the liquor is swirled round the mouth, the thickness, body or
viscosity is felt and judged. For tasters, "infused" leaf refers to the wet leaf left over after
the liquor is drained out; "infusion" refers to the liquor. The flavour characteristics and
indeed leaf colour, size and shape are graded using a specific language created by the
tea industry to explain the overall quality.

The tasting process includes measuring a level teaspoon of each sample into the cup.
Generally, white or clear cups are used to view the truest colour. It commences by
analyzing of the infused leaves as the cups are filled. Smaller flat leaves will show more
body than larger twisted leaves, which take longer to steep. After steeping take in the
aroma of the tea and examine the infused leaves for colour and evenness. Colour does
not necessarily indicate the strength or body of the liquor.
Tea tasting is a precise skill and one that can be performed only with a good natural
palate and active olfactory nerve. Apart from tasting and describing tea, the ability to
value a tea calls for long experience and knowledge.

Tea Tasting Terminology

Terms Describing Dry Leaf -

 Black: A black appearance is desirable.

 Blackish: A satisfactory appearance.

 Bold: Particles of leaf which are too large for the particular grade.

 Brown: A brown appearance in teas that normally indicates overly harsh

treatment of the leaf.

 Clean: Leaf that is free from fiber, dust and all extraneous matter.

 Curly: The leaf appearance of whole leaf grade teas such as O.P., as distinct
from "wiry".

 Even: True to the grade, consisting of pieces of leaf of fairly even size.

 Flaky: Flat, open and often light in texture.

 Gray: Caused by too much abrasion during sorting.

 Grainy: Describes primary grades of well-made CTC teas such as Pekoe Dust.

 Leafy: A tea in which leaves tend to be on the large or long side.

 Light: A tea light in weight, of poor density. Sometimes flaky.

 Make: Well-made tea (or not), true to its grade.

 Musty: A tea affected by mildew.

 Neat: A grade having good "make" and size.

 Powdery: Fine light dust.

 Ragged: An uneven, badly manufactured and graded tea.

 Stalk & Fibre: Should be minimal in superior grades, but is generally

unavoidable in lower-grade teas.

 Tip: A sign of fine plucking, apparent in top grades of orthodox "Low Grown Type
Teas".

 Uneven & Mixed: "Uneven" pieces of leaf usually indicative of poor sorting and
not true to the particular grade.

 Well Twisted: Used for describing whole-leaf grades, often referred to as "well-
made" or "rolled".
  Wiry: Leaf appearance of a well-twisted, thin-leaf tea.

Terms Describing Infused Leaf -

 Aroma: Smell or scent denoting "inherent character," usually in tea grown at high
altitudes.

 Bright: A lively bright appearance. Usually indicates bright liquors.

 Coppery: Bright leaf that indicates a well-manufactured tea.

 Dull: Lacks brightness and usually denotes poor tea. Can be due to faulty
manufacture and firing, or a high moisture content.

 Dark: A dark or dull colour that usually indicates poorer leaf.

 Green: When referring to black tea, refers to under-fermentation or to leaves

from immature bushes (liquors often raw or light). Can also be caused by poor
rolling.

 Mixed or Uneven: Leaf of varying colour.

Terms Describing Liquors

 Bakey: over-fired liquor. Tea in which too much moisture has been driven off.

 Body: liquor having both fullness and strength, as opposed to being thin.

 Bright: Denotes a lively fresh tea with good keeping quality.

 Brisk: The most "live" characteristic. Results from good manufacture.

 Burnt: Extreme over-firing.

 Character - An attractive taste, specific to origin, describing teas grown at high

altitudes.

 Coarse: Describes harsh, undesirable liquor.

 Coloury: Indicates useful depth of colour and strength.

 Cream: A precipitate obtained after cooling.

 Dry: Indicates slight over-firing.

 Dull: Not clear, and lacking any brightness or briskness.

 Earthy: Normally caused by damp storage, but can also describe a taste that is
sometimes "climatically inherent" in teas from certain regions.

 Empty: Describes a liquor lacking fullness. No substance.

 Flat: Not fresh (usually due to age).

 Flavour: A most desirable extension of "character," caused by slow growth at
high elevations. Relatively rare.

 Fruity: Can be due to over-fermentation and/or bacterial infection before firing.

An overripe taste.

 Full: A good combination of strength and colour.

 Gone off: A flat or old tea. Often denotes a high moisture content.

 Green: An immature, "raw" character. Often due to underfermentation

(Sometimes underwithering).

 Harsh: A taste generally due to underwithered leaf. Very rough.

 Heavy: thick, strong and coloury liquor with limited briskness.

 High-Fried: Over-fired but not bakey or burnt

 Lacking: Describes neutral liquor. No body or pronounced characteristics.

 Light: Lacking strength and depth of colour.

 Malty: A full, bright tea with a taste of malt.

 Mature: Not bitter or flat.

 Metallic: A sharp Metallic taste.

 Muddy: dull liquor.

 Musty: Suspicion of mold.

 Plain: A liquor that is "clean" but lacking in desirable characteristics.

 Pungent: Astringent with a good combination of briskness, brightness and

strength.

 Quality: Refers to "cup quality" and denotes a combination of the most desirable
liquoring qualities.

 Raw: A bitter, unpleasant flavor.

 Soft: The opposite of briskness. Lacking any "live" characteristic. Caused by

inefficient fermentation and/or firing.

 Strength: Substance in cup.

 Taint: Characteristic or taste that is foreign to tea, such as oil, garlic, etc. Often
due to being stored next to other commodities with strong characteristics of their
own.

 Thick: Liquor with good colour and strength.

 Thin: insipid light liquor that lacks desirable characteristics.

Black Tea - Main Grades

 BOP
Broken Orange Pekoe - Small or broken pieces of leaves

 BOPF
Broken Orange Pekoe Fanning’s - Smaller than BOP leaves, broken leaf, slightly
larger than dust

 OP
Orange Pekoe – Same Style but small than OPA

 FBOP
Flowery Broken Orange Pekoe - Same style of BOP but slightly bigger in size
and consisting few tips

 Pekoe
Twisted and Coarse

 Pekoe1
Same style, but small in size than the Pekoe

 OPA
Orange Pekoe ‘A’ - A good quality tea, consisting of large and slightly open leaf
pieces

 OP1
Orange Pekoe One – More Wiry than OP

 BOP1
Broken Orange Pekoe one – Wiry and small than OP1

 FBOP1
Flowery Broken Orange Pekoe one - Little small than the BOP1

 FBOPF
Flowery Broken Orange Pekoe Fanning’s - Similar to the BOP leaf but firm leaf
and consisting few tips

 FBOPF1
Flowery Broken Orange Pekoe Fanning’s one – Similar to the BOPF but firm leaf
and consisting Little more tips then FBOPF

 FBOPFSP
Flowery Broken Orange Pekoe Fanning’s Special - Similar to the FBOPF1 but
firm and more black leaf with much better tips, prices are high
  FBOPFEXSP
Flowery Broken Orange Pekoe Fanning’s Extra Special – Similar to FBOP1 but
firm and more black leaf with much better leafy tips, expensive than

 D
Dust - Similar to D1 but will appear slightly brown powder leaves price must be
low

 D1
Dust 1 - The smallest of particles smaller than Fanning’s leaves

CTC Teas (cut, tear, curl)

 BPS
Broken Pekoe Special – Even curl pieces

 BP1
Broken Pekoe 1- Little smaller then BPS

 BPL
Broken Pekoe Leaf – Even leaf pieces

 PF1
Pekoe Fanning’s 1 – Similar to BP1 but small pieces

 PD
Pekoe Dust - The smallest of particles smaller than PF1 leaves

White Tea

 Silver Tips
These teas are small, unopened leaves of the tea plant. These tips are also commonly known
as "buds," although they do not form flowers and also appear silver mixed white color

 Golden Tips
Similar to silver tips color appear as gold mixed white

Off Grades

 BOP 1A
Broken Orange Pekoe one A– Weight Less Large leaves

 BM
Broken Mix – Smaller then BOP 1A’s
  FNGS
Fanning’s broken leaves, slightly larger than dust

 FNGS 1
Fanning’s broken leaves, slightly larger than FNGS

 PFNGS
Fanning’s broken leaves, slightly larger than dust

 PFNGS 1
Fanning’s broken leaves, slightly larger than PFNGS

 BP
Broken Pekoe - Broken Stems

Green Teas

 CH
Chunmee - Curl twisted pieces smaller then GP Sp

 GP1
Gun Powder 1 - Twisted and Coarse similar to Pekoe but color must be green

 GP2
Gun Powder 2 – Little opened coarse slightly bigger then GP1

 GP Sp
Gun Powder Special – Bloom Curl twisted pieces bigger then CH

 GC
Green Curl - Opened coarse more dark color leaves

 SW
Sowmee - Even and neat opened pieces

 Sencha
consists of tiny dark green needle - shaped pieces

 GTFF
Green Tea Flowery Fanning’s - Similar to the BOPF firm leaf but Green color consisting little
tips

 GTFF1
Green Tea Flowery Fanning’s 1 - Similar to the GTFF but little bigger in size

 GRP
 Green Tea Powder – Powder type tea last part of the manufacture

Main Grades- Small Leaf Tea

Broken Orange Pekoe (BOP)

A popular leaf size which helps to bring out a good balance of taste and strength.
Well made, neat leaf of medium size without excessive stalk or fiber. There should
not be any fine particles (fanning & dust) which are not true-to-grade.

Broken Orange Pekoe Fanning (BOPF)

 Particles are smaller than BOP, popular in the higher elevations. Taste stronger than BOP whilst
retaining all other characteristics.

Flowery Broken Orange Pekoe Fanning (FBOPF)

Flowery Broken Orange Pekoe Fanning’s - similar to BOP leaf but firm leaf consisting few tips.

Flowery Broken Orange Pekoe Fanning One (FBOPF1)

 A typical low country semi-leaf tippy teas, similar to BOPF but firm leaf consisting little more
tips than FBOPF.

Flowery Broken Orange Pekoe Fanning Special (FBOPFSP)

Flowery Broken Orange Pekoe Fanning’s special - similar to FBOPF1 but firm and more black
leaf with much better tips.

Flowery Broken Orange Pekoe Fanning Extra Special (FBOPFEXSP)

 A whole leaf tea with an abundance of long tips, similar to FBOP1 but firm and blacker leaf with
much better leafy tips.

Flowery Broken Orange Pekoe (FBOP)

Smaller than BOP1 with presence of tips, but larger than FBOPF1

Flowery Broken Orange Pekoe One (FBOP1)

 Long twisted wiry leaf, fairly tippy. Longer than BOP1.

Dust (D)

The smallest of particles left after sifting which is often used in tea bags to infuse rapidly and
make a brew that is strong and robust.

Dust One (DUST1)

 Less grainy than PD & clean.

Main Grades- Leafy

Broken Orange Pekoe One (Bop1)

A well twisted semi-leaf tea generally from the low country, with a mild malty taste.

Orange Pekoe One (OP1)

 Long, wiry well or partly twisted tea.

Orange Pekoe (OP)

A whole leaf, well twisted tea. A delicate brew that varies in taste according to the different
districts. Less wiry than OP1, but much more twisted than OPA.

Orange Pekoe ‘A’ (OPA)

 Long bold leaf tea with air twist consisting of large and slightly open leaf pieces.

Pekoe (PEK)

Twisted and Coarse tea.

Flowery Pekoe (PEK – 1)

 Similar to Pekoe but smaller in size.

Golden Tip (GT)

 The (white tea) leaves of our Golden Tips tea are dried naturally. Lingering in sweetness due to
hints of honey and pine, this light amber-hued liquor is also high in antioxidants.

Silver Tip (ST)

Similar to above made out of the buds but in silver colour.

C.T.C. (Cut, Tear & Curl)

Broken Pekoe One (BP1)

 A larger size leaf with bold round particles giving a full body’s bright tea. Equivalent to size of
high grown BOP, but granular.

Pekoe Fanning One (PF1)

A smaller size leaf with strong tasting tea. Equivalent in size to grainy high grown BOPF, but
granular.

Off Grades

Pekoe Fanning (PFGS)

 Fanning’s broken leaves, slightly larger than dust.

Broken Pekoe (BP)

Broken Stems, choppy, hard leaf tea.

Broken Orange Pekoe One ‘A’ (BOP1A)

 Flak leaf without stalk and fiber. (Clean tea)

Green Tea

Chunmee (CH)

Chun Mee is a popular green tea. It has a dusty appearance and is generally more acidic and less
sweet than other green teas. The tea is divided into several grades with numbers.

Gun Powder One (GP1)

 Flavor varies according to the growing location of tea used for production. Its English name
comes from its resemblance to grains of gunpowder. When buying gunpowder tea it is important to
look for shiny pellets, which indicate that the tea is relatively fresh. Pellet size is also associated with
quality. High quality gunpowder tea will have small, tightly rolled pellets.

Gun Powder Two (GP2)

Little opened coarse slightly bigger then GP1.

Gun Powder Special (GP -SP))

 Bloom Curl twisted pieces of leaf.

Young Hyson (YH)

Similar to OP but colour must be green.

Green Curl (GC)

 Opened coarse more dark colour leaves .

Sowmee (SW)

Even and neat opened pieces.

Green Tea Flowery Fanning (GTFF)

 Similar to the BOPF, firm leaf but green color consisting little tips.

Green Powder (GRP)

Powder type tea last part of the manufacture.

Health benefits of Tea

Drinking the beverage tea has been considered a health-promoting habit since ancient
times. The modern medicinal research is providing a scientific basis for this belief. The
evidence supporting the health benefits of tea drinking grows stronger with each new
study that is published in the scientific literature.

Definition
When scientists or research people talk about tea, they mean black, green, white, or
oolong teas—all of which are made from the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant. Herbal
brews, like chamomile and peppermint, are not considered tea as they are infusions of
other plants with different nutritional characteristics.

What makes the four tea types different from each other is the way the leaves are
prepared and how mature they are, which affects both flavor and nutritional content.
Black tea is made from leaves that have been withered and then fully oxidized (meaning
that chemicals in the leaves are modified through exposure to air). Green tea's leaves
are not oxidized. Oolong tea is only partially oxidized, and white tea is not oxidized at all.

Tea, though it has almost no calories, contains a surprising quantity of nutrients and
medicinal ingredients. Among the former are vitamins such as thiamin (vitamin B1),
riboflavin (vitamin B2), niacin, biotin and inositol. Vitamin E is also present in tea. Tea is
also rich in potassium although its content of sodium, a related metal associated with
vascular disease when consumed in large quantities, is very low. This makes tea ideal for
people suffering from high blood pressure. Tea also contains calcium, zinc and
manganese.

All four types of tea are high in polyphenols, a type of antioxidant that seems to protect
cells from the DNA damage that can cause cancer and other diseases. It's the
polyphenols that have made tea the star of so many studies, as researchers try to figure
out whether all that chemical potential translates into real disease-fighting punch. Most
research has focused on black tea, which is what about 75% of the world drinks, and
green tea, the most commonly consumed variety in China and Japan. Green tea contains
an especially high amount of antioxidants—in particular, a type of polyphenol called a
catechin, the most active and abundant of which is epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG).
That's why there are five times more studies on green than black tea each year.

The most promising claims about tea drinking include the following:

 Cancer prevention - Animal and in vitro studies have shown that tea
polyphenols may react directly with and neutralize chemical carcinogens,
including those causing cancers of the skin, lungs, oral cavity, oesophagus,
stomach, small intestine, colon, liver, pancreas, bladder, and prostate. In addition
to the antioxidant ‘scavenging’ activity mentioned above, tea polyphenols may
also alter enzymes involved in tumour formation, inhibit malignant cell
proliferation and act against forms of bacteria that promote gastric cancers.
According to some American studies, tea drinking may also protect against
breast and ovarian cancers.

 Tea and heart disease- Epidemiological studies have shown that regular tea
consumption is linked to decreased risk from heart disease and stroke. While the
data from different tests contains some inconsistencies, ‘meta-analyses’
comparing all the available population studies have tended to confirm the
relationship, with regular and frequent tea drinkers showing risk levels up to 20%
lower than those who do not, or rarely, consume it. Another study suggested that
drinking three cups of tea a day reduces the risk of myocardial infarction by 11%.

 Tea and oral health- Containing significant amounts of fluoride, tea can
contribute considerably to daily fluoride intake, helping reduce tooth decay. Tea
polyphenols may also inhibit the growth of bacteria which cause decay, or make
them less harmful to the teeth. Recent research indicates that tea could also
inhibit the growth of harmful micro-organisms that cause inflammation and oral
diseases, including certain oral cancers.

 Tea and digestion- It has been found that consumption of tea can reduce the
quantity of harmful microorganisms such as Enterobacteriacea found in the
digestive tract, simultaneously increasing the number of beneficial ones and
promoting digestive health.

 Brain benefits: Downing from one to four cups of black or green tea a day has
been linked with a lower risk of Parkinson's disease, according to Research
personnel.
More research needs to be done on other potential benefits. One small study suggested
that the catechins and caffeine in green tea may give dieters a small metabolic boost that
could amount to burning a few dozen extra calories per day. There's also a slim file on
how drinking tea may help ward off osteoporosis and reduce the incidence of cavities,
due to the fluoride it contains. And EGCG, that green-tea antioxidant, has been found to
increase the number of important immune-boosting cells (called regulatory T-cells)—but
only in one animal study.

The vast majority of the research conducted has been observational, meaning scientists
can't know if the medical boosts seen in tea drinkers are definitely a result of that habit,
or some other factor that makes these people healthier. And many of the studies that
have looked at specific compounds in tea have been conducted in labs or on animals, not
on people. "These chemicals act as antioxidants in a test tube, but they may not do the
same in your body," explains an associate professor in the department of nutrition and
exercise science at the School of Biological and Population Health Sciences at Oregon
State University.

That said, experts agree that a daily cuppa, or five, won't hurt you, and may well help
fight disease. (If you're trying to limit your caffeine intake, go for decaf—it has
antioxidants too, though fewer than the caffeinated kind.) "Tea is probably better than a
lot of other beverages," says Lona Sandon, RD, assistant professor in the department of
clinical nutrition at UT South-western Medical Center and a spokesperson for the
American Dietetic Association. "Just make sure you've got other healthy lifestyle habits—
you can't count on tea alone to prevent cancer."

Even if we disregard extravagant, scientifically unsupported claims, the established

health benefits of tea are numerous. Many of these benefits are preventive, suggesting
that a few cups of tea a day can help stave off heart disease, diabetes, hypertension and
many forms of cancer.