Broken Leaf
Broken leaf grades are orthodox black teas whose leaves were broken into smaller pieces during processing, steeping faster and stronger than whole leaf grades.
Definition
In orthodox processing, leaf breaks during rolling and drying, and sieving after drying separates the pieces by size. Grades made of smaller pieces than whole leaf are broken grades, marked with B: BOP (Broken Orange Pekoe), BOPF (Broken Orange Pekoe Fannings), FBOP (Flowery Broken Orange Pekoe), and GFBOP or TGFBOP when the broken leaf includes golden tips. Below the broken grades come fannings and dust. Broken leaf has more exposed surface per gram, so it extracts color, strength and astringency faster. That makes it the workhorse of many breakfast and everyday blends, especially from Sri Lanka, where BOP and BOPF are standard export grades, and from Assam and Kenya. Broken does not mean low quality. It describes particle size, the same way a whole leaf grade describes leaf length. A good BOP from a high-grown Ceylon estate can be bright and fragrant. Broken orthodox tea is also distinct from CTC tea, which is cut into uniform granules by machine rather than broken by rolling.
In Depth
Brew broken leaf tea at 95-100°C (203-212°F), 2-2.5 g per 250 ml, for 3-4 minutes. It overextracts faster than whole leaf, so long steeps turn bitter and drying. For a milk tea, add leaf rather than time.
Broken leaf goes stale faster than whole leaf because more surface is exposed to air. Store it airtight away from light and heat, and buy amounts you will finish within several months.
When comparing broken grades, look at the uniformity of the pieces and the presence of tips. Mixed sizes, lots of fiber and dust in a BOP indicate poor sorting. Liquor should be bright, not dull. Most breakfast blends combine broken grades from Assam, Ceylon and Kenya, chosen so the color and strength survive milk.
See Also
- Black Tea Grading
- Breakfast Tea Blends
- Orthodox Tea Processing