orange pekoe

American  

noun

1. a black tea composed of the smallest top leaves and grown in India and Ceylon.

2. any India or Ceylon tea of good quality.

---

orange pekoe British  

noun

1. a superior grade of black tea made from the small leaves at the tips of the plant stems and growing in India and Sri Lanka

---

Etymology

Origin of orange pekoe

First recorded in 1875–80

Example Sentences

The chain’s sweet tea is said to be a "refreshing blend of orange pekoe and pekoe cut black tea," which can range between 90 and 220 calories.

From Fox News • Oct. 20, 2021

Sit for 90 minutes, have a cup of orange pekoe and feel satisfied.

From New York Times • Jul. 5, 2013

There is leaf size to consider too: the term orange pekoe, for instance, has nothing to do with oranges but denotes whether the leaf is a bud or the tip of a bud.

From Time Magazine Archive

Father bolted again, and whispered to Mother, who stood where he had left her, “Lettuce sandwiches and tea, and for Heaven’s sake make the tea taste as much like orange pekoe as you can.”

From The Innocents A Story for Lovers by Lewis, Sinclair

In order of quality the Ceylon grades are: orange pekoe, pekoe, pekoe-souchong, souchong, congou, and dust.

From East of Suez Ceylon, India, China and Japan by Penfield, Frederic Courtland