Darjeeling Tea: The Gift of West Bengal

Step into the Darjeeling tea shops and you will be left completely amazed seeing the countless variety of teas. Yes! It is true. There are numerous sections and endless classification of tea in the Darjeeling tea shop shops. We are a regular tea connoisseurs, and being in the “champagne tea” city; it was must for us to purchase various types of tea. But after visiting the tea-shop, purchasing seemed like a task in itself. So, we thought to research first and purchase later. Here in this post we will be writing what we learnt on researching and you too should know before buying the Darjeeling tea.

Apart from the flush, comes the Qaulity Grade of the Tea leaves, segregated as:

• Whole Leaf
• Broken Leaf (B)
• Fanning’s (F)
• Dust (D)

There are over 30 grades in this with Whole leaf being the best and dust being the lowest. If you find SFTGFOP (Super fine tippy golden flowery orange pekoe) it is the highest grade, followed by FTGOP (Fine tippy golden flowery orange pekoe) and TGFOP (Tippy golden flowery orange pekoe) whereas if whole leaf is getting replaced by “B” it falls into Broken category. It is classified as FTBOP (Fine tippy broken orange pekoe) followed by TBOP (tippy broken orange pekoe) and BOP (broken orange pekoe). In fanning’s B is replaced by “F” and it is available as GFOP (Golden flowery orange fannings) and FOF (Flowery orange fannings).

Conclusion

Tea gardens in the estates of Darjeeling are like a mystic message on the earth canvas. Visit some of these estates to see the women working, smiling and plucking each leave; to feel the aroma and freshness of tea. Taste it wherever you get a chance and then buy the flavors to which your tongue says WOW!