The name looks like a code, and in a sense it is: TGFOP stands for Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe, a grade reserved for tea made from the top bud and the first two leaves of each new shoot, with the "tippy" marking a high proportion of those golden buds. That grading matters here because Assam Behora Estate Tea TGFOP is built for a deep, malty cup, with notes of lemon, orange, honey, milk, malt and coffee running through it, the kind of black tea that suits a brisk morning cup rather than a delicate one.
The estate behind it, Behora, was established in Assam in 1908. Its story is tied up with Robert Stammers, who in 1927 answered an advertisement from the Rajmai Tea Company looking for a plantation assistant with engineering experience. He sailed for India in February 1928 aboard the SS Nankin and took up work at Behora's factory, overseeing around 100 of the estate's roughly 1,300-strong workforce. His fiancee Madeline joined him the following year and the two married there. Their years on the estate were eventful: a daughter, Janet, was born; elephants tore up the estate's water pipelines; leopards prowled the gardens; an earthquake caused damage nearby; and during the Second World War, Japanese forces came to within 28 miles of the plantation. Robert eventually rose to estate manager. The family later returned to the UK, where Janet's son Richard Smith went on to found Tea & Coffee, the company that now packs this tea fresh to order.
A cup of it carries about 45mg of caffeine per 8-oz serving, on the lower side for black tea. To brew it, steep loose leaf in a filter or infuser for around four minutes in freshly boiled water. It takes milk, sugar, honey or lemon well, or can be drunk black.
