Glossary

Quality & Grades

Orthodox

Tea processed by traditional methods that keep the leaf whole — the opposite of CTC.

Orthodox processing produces nuanced, multi-faceted teas at the cost of speed. All specialty tea is orthodox. The term originated to distinguish Indian estate teas from the 1930s CTC innovation.

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Related terms

Words that travel together.

CTC

'Crush, Tear, Curl' — the industrial process that produces small uniform pellets for tea bags.

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