I’m pregnant can I drink tea?

Are there any calories in tea?

What does OP and BOP and all that mean?

I’m pregnant can I drink tea?
Yes, in moderation.  According to Nawrot, (2003) the safe maximum daily intake of caffeine for pregnant women is 300 mg (400 mg for the rest of us).  In a typical cup of black tea (235 ml, 2 grams of dried tea) there are 40 mg of caffeine or 17 mg/100 ml FSA (2004).

Are there any calories in tea?
There are no calories in tea!  However, there are calories in the sugar and milk that you may chose to add to your tea.

What does OP and BOP and all that mean?
These are grades of tea typically associated with tea from India and Sri Lanka
The grades for whole leaf orthodox black tea (in ascending order) are:

  • OP - Orange Pekoe - Main grade in tea production. Can consist of long wiry leaf without tips.
  • OP sup - Orange Pekoe Superior - Primarily from Indonesia, tea is much the same as above.
  •  FOP - Flowery Orange Pekoe - High quality tea with a long leaf and few tips, considered second grade in Assam, Dooars and Bangladesh and first grade in China.
  • FOP1 - Flowery Orange Pekoe First Grade Leaves - As above but with only the highest quality leaves in the F.O.P classification
  • GFOP1 - Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe First Grade Leaves- Higher proportion of tip than FOP Top grade.
  • TGFOP - Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe - Tea with the highest proportion of tip; Main grade in Darjeeling and Assam.
  • TGOP1 - Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe - As above, but with only the highest quality leave in the T.G.F.O.P classification.
  • FTGFOP - Finest Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe - Highest quality tea in the world. Often hand processed and produced at only the best plantations. Roughly one quarter tips.

A joke among tea aficionados is that "FTGFOP" stands for "Far Too Good For Ordinary People".
Chah’s teas are typically FTGFOP.

If you see a ‘B’ as a grade of tea it means the leaves are broken.  ‘F’ means the leaves are fannings.  ‘D’ refers to Dust.

Does tea dehydrate you?


Although caffeine is a diuretic the net intake of water in tea out weighs the diuretic effect of the caffeine.  Therefore tea will not dehydrate you.