Organic Ceylon Orange Pekoe Koslanda
This popular plantation offers outstanding quality. Certified organic and biodynamic production. A superb large leaf tea with a light, delicate flavour.
Orange Pekoe, typically pronounced "pea-Koh hasn't anything to do with oranges; however a definition of leaf size. From the beautiful mountains of Sri Lanka's most pleasant tea garden comes this fine golden coloured tea, leaving you with a crisp and refreshing taste.
Orange Pekoe is a category of black tea based upon the origin of the leaf. The tea must be made up simply of the new flushes - a flush being the leaf bud plucked with two youngest leaves to be categorised as pekoe. (Any other leaves produce lower quality tea).
The term refers to a grade of black tea based upon the size of the leaf and its area on the tea plant.
What is 'orange pekoe'?
Well, pekoe is pronounced 'pek-ho' and is originated from a word for a unique sort of Chinese tea, indicating downy white hair referring to the down-like hairs on the tea leaves that are the youngest and smallest on the plant.
And what of the 'orange' part? It was most likely that the Dutch East India Company had involvement with this description. The Dutch royal family was of the House of Orange. In the 1600s, the company shipped teas to Europe, and the best of the black teas was scheduled for the royal household. When presented to the general public, it became called the 'orange' pekoe, associating it with royalty!
Therefore, a grading system with the term orange pekoe (OP) began.
