Pekoe

Description

Orange Pekoe does suggest that the tea is orange but this is not actually the case. OP as the tea is generally referred to is actually black tea. It is actually a system of grading Kenyan black teas according to the size and quality of the leaves. A grade of Orange Pekoe or OP would refer to almost any loose leaf black tea.

It is not a particular flavour or style, but rather refers to the terminal bud leaf pluck, typically along with the top two leaves. When used outside the context of black-tea grading, the term “pekoe” refers to the end terminal bud of the tea plant, not yet unfurled and often covered in white down.