Black tea. To create black tea (or rod tea, as it is known in China for the beautiful liquor color it produces), the leaves are plucked and then treated in a four-step process.

Green tea. Leaves intended for green tea are plucked in the same manner as black tea. They are then manufactured in three stages completed within a single day.

Oolong tea. This process, whose name in Chinese means "black dragon", is a relative newcomer in tea manufacture. Developed in Formosa only in the mid ninteenth century, it contains elements of both fermented and unfermented processes. The leaves are plucked just as they are reaching their peak and processed immediately.

Tea Grading & Terminology

Orange Pekoe (OP) . A fancy grade of  full leaf tea showing no tip but thin leaves rolled lengthwise.

Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe (TGFOP)   The absolute top grade, usually assigned only to full-leaf Indian teas from Dargeeling and Assam.  Slightly lesser teas receive fewer letters (GFOP, FOP).  Occasionally, the numeral “1” or “2” will follow the letters, signifying an even finer grading among similar leaves. 

Broken Orange Pekoe  (BOP)  A broken or smaller leaf, a step below the full leaf.  Can also be characterized “tippy”, “golden”, “flowery” or any combination of those terms.