Darjeeling Black Tea

Last month, I went to Teas Etc, a tea wholesaler located in Del Ray Beach. While there I talked to Matthew Papera, the Account Executive in charge of Tea Etc's wholesale division about how the company grades it's tea.

photo: http://www.timelessteas.com

Most in the tea industry use the orange pekoe system to grade tea. This system grades tea based on the wholeness of a particular leaf. For example, orange pekoe (OP) "consists of large, whole tea leaves." Broken orange pekoe (BOP) is a step-down from OP and is a mixture of whole and broken leaves. Then you get to Dust, which is exactly what it sounds like. Dust is created when tea leaves get ground up. It is the lowest quality of tea and usually goes into tea-bags.

There is a large number of variations in quality using the OP system, which is exactly why Papera feels that it is too convoluted, broken, and doesn't give a realistic estimate on the quality of a particular tea.

There are other ways of grading tea in the industry however. One very popular method is by using what Papera called "benchmark" teas. These teas are standardized and known industry-wide by one name. Almost every company has at least one of these teas, and they are judged not on the quality of the leaf, rather, on the quality of the brew.

One such benchmark is known as Darjeeling Black Tea. Tea Etc. gave me a handful of benchmark teas when I visited, and since my family was in town, I decided to brew up some of the Darjeeling to see what it tastes like. This particular tea brews into a beautiful amber color and has a decent of caffeine. The aroma, much like the flavor, is strong and plain. Note that plain is not the same thing as bland. Bland has no flavor, Darjeeling has a very plain, black tea flavor. But that is what makes it such a great benchmark tea.

The quality of Darjeeling is based on what makes a black tea, a black tea. Its flavor, color, aroma, and caffeine content. If you like black tea, then pick up some Darjeeling. It is a perfect example of what a black tea should be, and should be respected for that fact. Remember that old acronym KISS? Keep It Simple Stupid. Yeah, the same applies here.