FBOP Tea Explained: Orthodox FBOP and BOP vs CTC BOP

In short: FBOP is Flowery Broken Orange Pekoe: orthodox broken leaf with more tips than BOP. In Vietnam, "BOP" also names the largest CTC granule. Goo Farm's indicative FOB Hai Phong prices: orthodox FBOP/BOP USD 1.19–1.71 per kg, CTC BOP USD 0.72–1.02.

"Please quote BOP." It is one of the most common lines in the inquiries we receive, and in Vietnam it has two correct answers. BOP is the name of a broken orthodox leaf and also of the largest granule of CTC black tea, and the two teas look, taste and cost differently. FBOP tea adds a third name to the mix. This article answers the questions buyers actually send us about FBOP and BOP, with the specifications, container loads and indicative FOB prices of our own grades, so that your next request for a quotation names exactly the tea you want.

What do the letters in FBOP stand for?

Each letter adds one piece of information to the base name, Orange Pekoe (OP), the traditional term for whole-leaf black tea:

• B, Broken. The leaf was broken during rolling and sorted into smaller pieces.
• F, Flowery. The grade contains more young buds and tips, which show as lighter, silvery or golden pieces in the dry tea.
• OP, Orange Pekoe. The leaf family the pieces come from.

So FBOP is Flowery Broken Orange Pekoe and BOP is Broken Orange Pekoe. In India and Sri Lanka you will also meet longer names such as GFBOP or TGFBOP, where G stands for golden and T for tippy: more letters mean more tips. And BOPF, a name that confuses many buyers, is Broken Orange Pekoe Fannings, a fannings grade much smaller than BOP.

None of these letters is a quality score. They describe the size and the look of the leaf. Our guide to tea leaf grades lays out the whole system from whole leaf to dust.

Is FBOP better than BOP?

FBOP is the higher grade, because it carries more tips. Whether it is better for you depends on how your customers drink their tea. Our FBOP and BOP black tea are both made from young, tender buds and tips that break during rolling and are then sorted by size:

FBOP is the one to pick when the dry tea is on show, in a tin or a clear pack, and you want the tips to be visible. BOP gives a fuller cup and suits drinkers who add milk. The two grades share one product page and one indicative price range, USD 1.19–1.71 per kg FOB Hai Phong, and we can send either or both as samples.

Orthodox BOP or CTC BOP: which one did the quotation mean?

The two teas start from the same fresh leaf and part ways at the rolling stage. Orthodox tea is rolled so that the leaf twists and breaks into pieces, then sieved into grades. CTC tea is cut, torn and curled by machine into small, round granules, then sieved into grades. Both are fully oxidized black teas, and both use the letters BOP for one of their bigger sizes.

The quickest way to avoid a wrong offer is to write "orthodox BOP" or "CTC BOP" in your inquiry, or to quote the sample code you have seen in our tea grades and specifications catalogue. Our CTC BOP black tea is the largest of four CTC granules; the guide to Vietnam CTC black tea explains it next to BP, PF and PD.

How do FBOP and BOP compare with PS and BPS?

Below BOP in the orthodox sieve come two flaky broken grades that cost less and brew faster:

• PS black tea (Pekoe Souchong): neat, flaky pieces with a smooth, malty, full-bodied taste. About 18 tons per 40HC; indicative FOB Hai Phong USD 0.70–0.74 per kg. A common part of breakfast blends, often next to BOP.
• BPS black tea (Broken Pekoe Souchong): smaller than PS, with a strong, intense taste. About 22 tons per 40HC; USD 0.72–0.80 per kg. Widely used in tea bags and for extract.

If FBOP and BOP are above your target price, PS keeps a visible leaf and a malty cup at roughly half the price per kilogram. If the tea goes into a standard paper tea bag, BPS or our fannings are the better fit.

What is FBOP tea used for?

• High-quality loose tea, where the tips are part of what the customer pays for.
• Premium pyramid tea bags, which have room for broken leaf to open.
• Breakfast blends, where BOP adds body next to CTC grades such as PF.
• Earl Grey, where FBOP is one of the bases of our High Quality Earl Grey Black Tea, together with OP and Pekoe.

For standard tea bags, milk tea and extract, a smaller grade such as BPS, F1 fannings or CTC PF gives a faster, darker brew.

How much FBOP and BOP fits in a container?

Broken leaf packs more densely than whole leaf, so a container carries more of it and the freight cost per kilogram falls.

Loading figures are for standard packing and are confirmed for your packing before you order. Prices are the indicative FOB Hai Phong ranges listed in October 2026; the current ones are on our Vietnam tea prices page. Broken leaf usually travels in woven PP bags with a PE liner or in kraft paper sacks; bulk bags printed with your brand are possible, and every option is on our packing and loading page.

What should an FBOP specification say?

A specification sheet for FBOP or BOP should give the same four lines as our product pages, plus the details that separate one broken lot from another:

• Liquor, appearance, aroma and flavor for the lot on offer.
• Tip content, which is what makes an FBOP an FBOP. Compare it on the sample.
• Particle size, stated as the sieve range the grade was sorted on.
• Stalk and fiber, which should be low in a broken leaf grade.
• Moisture, kept within the specification of each grade; across our grades it is at most 6 to 7 percent.

A certificate of analysis comes with each lot. Our Yen Bai factory is ISO 22000:2018 certified by Vinacontrol (certificate No. 31905-FSV), and SGS or Dai Viet Control inspection and Eurofins laboratory tests can be arranged for each shipment.

What happens to the stalk sorted out of broken grades?

It becomes a grade of its own. When dried orthodox tea is sorted, stems are separated from the leaf. Our stalk black tea consists of yellow-brown pieces 0.5 to 1 cm long with the same malty, brisk family taste as the leaf. It loads about 16 tons per 40HC, costs USD 0.61–0.64 per kg FOB Hai Phong on our indicative list, and goes into our Cheap Earl Grey Black Tea and into low-cost blends.

Frequently asked questions

What does FBOP tea mean? Flowery Broken Orange Pekoe: a broken orthodox black tea with a higher share of young buds and tips than BOP. In our range FBOP has short, slightly wiry pieces with a few silver tips.

Is BOPF the same as BOP? No. BOPF means Broken Orange Pekoe Fannings, a fannings grade that is much smaller than BOP and used mainly in tea bags. The closest grades in our range are orthodox F1 fannings and, in CTC, PF.

Do you sell FBOP and BOP separately? Yes. They share one product page and one indicative price range, but you can order either one or both. Tell us which you need and we send samples of each.

Which is cheaper, orthodox BOP or CTC BOP? On our indicative price list, CTC BOP: USD 0.72–1.02 per kg against USD 1.19–1.71 for orthodox FBOP and BOP, FOB Hai Phong. CTC BOP also loads more per container, about 23 tons against 20.

Is FBOP good for milk tea? It is robust enough for a little milk, but BOP has the fuller body. For milk tea and bubble tea, most buyers choose CTC grades, BPS or dust, which give more color and strength.

Where are your FBOP and BOP made? In our own factories in Phu Tho and Yen Bai, northern Vietnam, which produce about 7,000 tons of tea a year. Our team brings more than 40 years of experience in tea.

Request FBOP and BOP samples

Tell us which BOP you mean, or ask for both, together with your quantity, packing and destination port, and we will reply with samples and a quotation. Contact us, or compare every grade in our orthodox black tea and CTC black tea ranges.

Sources

• ISO, ISO 3720:2011 Black tea: Definition and basic requirements, confirmed 2021.
• Tea Board of India, Jorhat Auction Rules, Annexure D: Grades of Tea (CTC, Orthodox), February 2020: FBOP and BOP in orthodox grading, BOP in CTC grading.
• Tea Exporters Association Sri Lanka, Tea grades, accessed October 2026.
• Kenya Tea Development Agency, factory pages listing primary and secondary CTC grades, for example Toror Tea Factory, accessed October 2026.
• Vinacontrol CE, certificate lookup for ISO 22000:2018 certificate No. 31905-FSV, accessed October 2026.