Understanding Primary, Secondary, and Reprocessed (RP) Tea

Many new tea business owners often feel confused about Primary, Secondary, and RP (Reprocessed) tea. To make it easy to understand, here is a simple explanation of each type.

What is Primary Tea?

When fresh green tea leaves are processed and properly sorted, the best quality tea produced is called Primary Tea.

• It is the highest quality tea from any factory
• It looks bright black in color
• It has a strong taste and good aroma

👉 Primary tea is always superior in quality and price.

If the green leaves are soft and small in size, most of the output will be primary tea.

What is Secondary Tea?

If the green leaves are larger, harder, or of lower quality, the sorting machines separate them from the primary tea. This separated tea is called Secondary Tea.

• Colour is less black or slightly brown
• Not as bright as primary tea
• Contains more fibre
• Taste is less strong and less flavorful

👉 Secondary tea is lower in quality and price compared to primary tea.

What is Reprocessed (RP) Tea?

During processing, some tea may contain:

• Too much fibre
• Larger particles
• Lower-grade material

This tea is sent again through machines and sometimes mixed with fresh leaves to improve its appearance. This is called Reprocessed (RP) Tea.

• It is processed again in CTC machines
• Made from leftover or lower-grade tea
• Quality is lowest among all types
• Price is also cheapest

👉 RP tea is often used in markets where low price is the main focus.

In the tea industry, CTC tea is divided into different grades based on the size of tea granules after processing. Understanding these grades is very important if you are planning to start a tea business.

What is CTC Tea?

CTC stands for Crush, Tear, Curl. In this process, tea leaves are cut into small granules using machines.

Unlike orthodox tea, there are no whole leaves in CTC tea. Because the leaves are broken, CTC tea is classified into:

• Broken leaf grades
• Fannings
• Dust

How Tea Grading is Done

After processing, tea comes out of the dryer in mixed sizes and shapes. It is then sorted using different mesh sizes.

👉 The number of holes per inch in the mesh determines the size of the tea grade.

• Fewer holes → Bigger leaf size
• More holes → Smaller particles

Primary CTC Tea Grades (With Mesh Size)

1. BOP L (Broken Orange Pekoe Large)

• Largest size in CTC tea
• Good aroma and colour
• Light liquor
• Mesh size: 6 holes per inch

2. BOP S

• Smaller than BOP L
• Better taste and colour than BOP L
• Mesh size: 8 holes per inch

3. BOP

• Popular and widely used grade
• Good balance of taste, colour, and aroma
• Mesh size: 10 holes per inch

4. BOP SM

• Smaller size with more flavour
• Popular among household users
• Mesh size: 12 holes per inch

5. BP (Broken Pekoe)

• Ideal size with strong liquor and good aroma
• Preferred by homes and hotels
• Mesh size: 14 holes per inch

6. BP SM

• Smaller than BP
• Stronger liquor
• Popular in hotels and households
• Mesh size: 18 holes per inch

7. OF (Orange Fannings)

• Attractive size
• Strong liquor
• Widely used in hotels, restaurants, and tea stalls
• Mesh size: 22 holes per inch

8. PD (Pekoe Dust)

• Smaller than OF
• Quick colour and strong liquor
• Popular in tea stalls
• Mesh size: 26 holes per inch

9. Dust

• Smallest grade
• Very strong colour and liquor
• Best used for blending
• Mesh size: 30 holes per inch

Premium Grades

These grades are considered premium and more expensive:

• BOP SM
• BP
• BP SM

👉 These provide a perfect balance of strength, flavour, and aroma.

Secondary Grades

Secondary grades are similar to primary grades but slightly lower in quality.

They are identified by adding “1” after the grade name:

• BP 1
• BOP SM 1
• OF 1

Difference Between Primary and Secondary Grades

• Similar size as primary grades
• Slightly brownish in colour
• Less strength (liquor)
• Less aroma and bloom

👉 In simple terms, secondary grades have lower quality compared to primary grades.

If you are new to the tea business or planning to start one, it is very important to understand tea quality. This will help you identify the difference between good, better, average, and low-quality tea when you buy from the market.

The best way to understand tea quality is through tea tasting (tea testing). However, when you visit wholesale markets, you may not always get proper testing facilities. In such cases, you can use some simple and practical methods to check tea quality. These methods are widely used by experienced retailers and tea buyers.

1. Aroma (Smell of Tea)

Good quality tea always has a pleasant, sweet, and natural aroma. The fragrance should feel fresh and unique.

• A strong and clean aroma indicates high-quality tea
• If the smell is unusual (like green leaves, vegetables, or anything artificial), it may be low quality or improperly processed tea
• Too much or very dull aroma is also not a good sign

👉 Better aroma = Better tea quality

2. Appearance (Color and Look)

The appearance of tea gives a quick idea about its quality.

• Good tea should be black or blackish-brown in color
• Very dark or artificial black tea may not be natural
• Brownish tea may indicate secondary or older leaves

👉 Important point:
Secondary tea is lower in quality compared to primary tea, but it is not always bad. If it comes from good raw material, it can still be of decent quality.

3. Grain Shape (Leaf Formation)

The shape of tea granules tells you about the processing quality.

• Good tea has round and well-formed granules
• It should be clean and free from fibre or flakes
• Flat, flaky, or uneven particles indicate poor quality tea

👉 Proper shape means the leaves were fresh, soft, and well processed.

Weight Test (Simple Hand Test)

This is one of the easiest ways to check tea quality.

How to do it:

• Take equal amounts of tea in both hands (from two different samples)
• Compare their weight

👉 The tea that feels heavier is usually of better quality

Final Thought

By using these simple techniques—aroma, appearance, grain shape, and weight—you can easily identify good quality tea even without tasting.

👉 These methods will help you:

• Buy tea confidently
• Avoid low-quality products
• Build a successful tea business

Note from Kirti Tea

At Kirti Tea, we provide tea testing facilities to help our customers choose the best quality tea.

📌 We request all customers to book an appointment before visiting our office.