The range
Black tea from India's main belts, blended to your cup.
We hold more than 200 tonnes of unblended CTC and orthodox teas. The range below is where we build from. What you receive is a blend made for you.
Assam CTC
The backbone of the world's breakfast and milk-tea blends. Grown in the Brahmaputra valley, Assam CTC gives strength, malt and a bright, coppery liquor that holds up to milk and sugar.
| Liquor | bright, coppery, thick |
|---|---|
| Cup | strong, malty, brisk |
| Best used for | tea bags, breakfast blends, milk tea, masala chai bases |
Grades we supply
- BOP
- BP
- BPS
- PF
- OF
- PD
- Dust (D, RD, CD)
Dooars & Terai CTC
From the foothills of North Bengal. Good colour and briskness at a sharper price point than top Assam, which makes it the practical workhorse of cost-led blends.
| Liquor | bright, good colour |
|---|---|
| Cup | brisk, medium body |
| Best used for | value tea bags, colour and body at cost, blend extension |
Grades we supply
- BP
- BOP
- PF
- OF
- PD
- Dust
Assam Orthodox
Rolled whole and broken leaf. Fuller and rounder than CTC, with the malty depth Assam is known for and, in better lots, golden tips.
| Liquor | deep amber, clear |
|---|---|
| Cup | full-bodied, malty, smooth |
| Best used for | loose-leaf, specialty and premium bag blends, Middle East and Central Asia loose-tea markets |
Grades we supply
- FTGFOP
- TGFOP
- GFOP
- FOP
- OP
- BOP
- GBOP
- FBOP
- BOPF
- Fannings
- Dust
Nilgiri
High-grown in the Blue Mountains of South India. Bright, clean and fragrant, with a liquor that stays clear when cold.
| Liquor | bright, golden, clear when iced |
|---|---|
| Cup | clean, brisk, light fragrance |
| Best used for | iced tea, lifting brightness in a blend, cost-effective orthodox |
Grades we supply
- BOP
- BOPF
- Dust (CTC and orthodox)
Darjeeling (on request)
Darjeeling orthodox is supplied on request only, and only when the season's teas meet the standard we would put our name to. We will tell you plainly if they do not.
A note on grades
Grades describe size, not quality.
A CTC or orthodox grade tells you the particle or leaf size, which drives infusion speed and suitability for tea bags or loose tea. It does not tell you how good the tea is. That depends on the garden, the season and the lot. Tell us the cup you want and the format you pack, and we will propose the grades.
| Format | Typical grades |
|---|---|
| Tea bags (fast infusion) | PD, Dust, PF, BPS |
| Loose CTC | BP, BOP, OF |
| Loose orthodox | FOP, OP, BOP, FBOP |
| Iced tea | Nilgiri BOP, BOPF |
What you will not find here
No prices. Tea is priced lot by lot and week by week. Send us a target cost and volume and we will quote against your brief.
Send us your sample. We will match it, or tell you honestly that we can't.
Sample, target cost, volume, schedule, delivery point. We reply within two working days.