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You’ve seen FTGFOP, BOP, CTC on labels of tea…

What do these codes mean?

These codes are used to classify single estate teas such as Darjeeling, Ceylon, and Assam. At the end of a tealeaf makeing process, a machine will separate the tealeaves according to their type, size, and categorize them into different grades.

Letters like P: Pekoe, O: Orange, B: Broken, etc, are connected to indicate the different grades of the black tea.

Here is a summary of the most commonly used codes:

OP: Orange Pekoe
Usually refers to relatively longer and complete tealeaf.

BOP: Broken Orange Pekoe
Refers to broken orange pekoe. They make a stronger brew than OP, so they are more suitable to make milk tea.

FOP: Flowery Orange Pekoe
Refers to tealeaves that have buds, which would create a floral fragrance in the tea.

FBOP: Flower Broken Orange Pekoe
Contains both buds and broken tea leaves. Makes a stronger tea with floral fragrance.

TGFOP: Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe
Contains young buds, which appear golden. Makes a much more fragrant and strong tea than FOP.

FTGFOP: Fine(est) Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe
Very high quality tea that went through an extra procedure of rolling, which would draw out the best flavour in tea.

SFTGFOP: S stands for Super or Special. The meaning is obvious.

CTC: Crush, Tear, Curl
These teas are compressed into small pieces by a special machine. CTC leaves make a very strong brew in short amount of time. It is ideal for consuming with milk.

Others: Fanning, Dust
Refers to very small pieces of tealeaves. Usually used in India to make Chai or milk tea.

Sometimes, there is a “1″ at the end of a tea name, such as FOP1 or FTGFOP1. It means the first grade of that particular tea: FOP1 means the first grade of that FOP.

The number of letters, however, does not necessarily mean the quality of tea. Some people prefer BOP instead of FTGFOP becuase BOP makes stronger tea, which is suitable for consuming with milk.

Tom H. is a tea lover and the founder of O-Square Tea Company. Please visit http://www.osquaretea.com for more information.

When it comes to barbequing, there are two main schools of thought for the techniques that you can use.

The first of these techniques - and the most popular method for those who grill in their back yards - is the style where the food is cooked directly over the source of heat. This way, the food is rapidly cooked on a hot grill suspended directly over the charcoals, the wood, or the gas burners. Rarely is the lid ever closed. Any foods, including the most tender cuts, hamburgers, steaks, kabobs of all kinds, chicken, and even vegetables are quickly seared and cooked to perfection using this technique. If sauces are desired, they can be added before hand, during the cooking process, or even after the food comes off the grill. These choices will all create different and enjoyable tastes and flavors.

The second barbeque cooking technique uses heat indirectly. This is more appropriate when you’re cooking much larger or whole cuts of meat, such as especially thick steaks, roasts, a whole hog, or a pork shoulder. When you’re cooking using this method, the food is cooked away from the actual source of heat. This usually requires a water pan of some kind in order to maintain the moisture level of the food. The temperatures generally sit in around 250F. During this cooking method, the lid of the barbeque remains closed most of the time, and the length of the cooking is much longer than in the first method. When you’re using an indirect barbeque cooker, there is usually an additional fire box that allows you to combine charcoal and wooden logs for burning. This allows the heat and the smoke to rise through the cooking chamber where the meat is, so that it is heated perfectly. The rule of thumb of this technique is a low temperature for a long time.

No matter which method you use, it’s important not to cook your meat too quickly. If the internal temperature of your meat rises too quickly as you cook it, the water and the fat within it will be expelled before the collagen is able to melt. This means that your cut will be dry and tough. However, you cannot cook too slowly or you will risk a bacterial contamination. Though there is a fine line for barbequing properly, it’s important to find that line and stick to it.

If you’re already dealing with a cut of meat that is tough, such as a brisket or a pork roast, consider cooking slowly as the collagen adds flavor to the meat. If you buy a less tough, more expensive cut, you can cook at a higher temperature for a shorter period of time. This is why ribs and steaks take such a short time to cook, while pork shoulders or beef brisket can run up to 20 hours.

As a final note, it’s important to have fun while you barbeque! Your pleasure will come through in your cooking as it will leave you motivated, and willing to try new and interesting things.

Richard Cussons is a prolific and diverse writer. You can find out more about the origins of barbeques at Barbeque Grills

As you may have guessed, Arabica coffee gets its name from Arabia, the land of kings. When it comes to coffee, Arabica is definitely king. As legend has it, a goat herd named Kaldi discovered coffee on the Arabian peninsula around 500-600 A.D. He observed his goats excited behavior after eating the red cherry-like berries of a coffee plant.

Hence the name Arabica, however, scientific evidence indicates that coffee first grew in Kaffa, what is now Ethiopia, in Northeastern Africa and was transported shortly afterwards across the mouth of the Red Sea to Yemen.

One could assume that the name coffee comes from the word Kaffa which would support the evidence that coffee first appeared in this region. Semantics aside, it is accepted that Arabia was the origin of commercial coffee trade so Arabica coffee is appropriately named.

Of the more than forty species of plants in the Coffea genus only two are suitable for making coffee, Coffea arabica and Coffea canephora the latter of which is more commonly known as Coffea robusta. Of the two, Arabica is definitely the premium bean.

Many factors determine the quality of the end product. Such as, where the coffee is grown, soil, climate and elevation, not to mention harvesting, processing and roasting of the mature beans. However, one fact is undisputed, the finest coffees in the world come from Arabica coffee plants.

Arabica coffee accounts for about 80% of all coffee produced in the world. It prefers higher elevations and drier climates than its cousin C. robusta.

The tropics of South America provide ideal conditions for growing Arabica coffee which grows best between 3,000 and 6,500 feet but has been grown as high as 9,000 feet. Generally, the higher the plant is grown the slower it matures. This gives it time to develop the internal elements and oils that give coffee its aromatic flavor.

Within the C. arabica species there are three main varietals; Typica, Bourbon and Caturra. Each has subtle differences that add character nuances to body, acidity, balance etc… that are detectable to the discerning palate.

More importantly, the sub-species of Arabica coffee have been bred to adapt to a specific growing region to be resistant to certain afflictions such as fungus, parasites, insects etc… that differ from region to region.

Interestingly, C. arabica, is self-pollinating as opposed to C. robusta, which is not. This might explain why Arabica coffee is more abundant throughout the world. Also why it does well at higher elevations where bees might be less active due to cooler temperatures and why Robusta prefers lower, hotter, climates where bees are more plentiful. Just a theory but food for thought.

© Copyright Randy Wilson, All Rights Reserved.

Randy has more articles on coffees and coffee beans such as Coffees Enemas. You can also sign up for the Free Coffees Newsletter at Coffees Newsletter.