Grading tea is complicated and is done differently in different countries. Still, all teas fall into four broad categories: Whole Leaf, Broken Leaf, Fannings and Dust. Black tea is subject to the most extensive grading system. The first grade of a black tea is called OP or Orange Pekoe (pronounced as peek-oh.) Pekoe is derived from the Chinese word for white hair, which refers to the silvery down on new leaves and buds. One explanation for the ‘Orange’ half of the name is that the Chinese sometimes used to flavor these leaves with Orange blossoms. Another suggests that it is a remaining reference to the Netherlands House of Orange, a powerful entity in the early days of tea trading. Today, ‘Orange Pekoe’ describes leaves, specifically the best tender leaves plucked from tips of the plant’s young shoots. These prized leaves get graded as follows during the manufacturing process.