August i, 1885.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



73 



JAPAN GREEN TEAS : THE CULTURE AND 

 PREPAEATION OF TEA IN JAPAN. 



We have received from Mr. H. D. Deane of Kin- 

 tyre estate, Maakcliyn, Ceylou, two specimens of Japan 

 teas, the one simply fired by the Japanese themselves 

 and uncolouted, the otlier re-fired and coloured for 

 the American market by foreign merchants. The out. 

 turn of both shows a stron;; and peculiar licht-nrange 

 liquor, which may, uo doubt, be acceptable to some 

 palates, but which tastes very poorly against our fine 

 pungent Ceylon liquors. The leaf, after infnsion, 

 shows quite green in both cases, proving that | 

 it had been withered by steaming and had been 

 rolled the same day as it was plucked. The diied 

 leaf is not rounded and twisted like China and Indian 

 black tea, but looks lilse Inng chips of green wood. 

 The type oE a Japan tea-bush is the very smallest 

 Chioa variety, and these teas show in addition very 

 fine plucking. The coloured tea appears to have 

 passed through a cutting machine. The samples can 

 be seen at our olfice. 



From Mr. Deane we have received a nnmber of the 

 "Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan," con- 

 sisting entirely of an illustrated paper by Mr Henry 

 G'ihble on the preparation of Japnn tra. \Xe are 

 thus enabled to appreei\te the peculiarities whicli dis- 

 tinguish the culture and preparation of the fragrant 

 leaf in " the land of the rifiog snn." 



At the outset wo are strnck with the extreme dis- 

 parity betwe n the size of go'>d As^am hybrid leaves 

 and those of t'iie varieties of tea cultivated in Japan. 

 Tlie former produces leaves varving from five to ten 

 inches long, but the larger-leaved variety of tea cultiv- 

 ated iQ Japan, m^ c/ia, is only two inches long, while 

 the smaller variety, o <•/(«, has leaves, the largest 

 of which is little more than an inch, tlie flnah is, 

 of course, small in pr'^portion. Beside* n'ctures of the 

 two varieties of tea Iniaho, showini.' flowers, fruits 

 and leaves, natural sizi>. Mr, Cribble's paper is iWmt- 

 trated with representations of the larva and 

 larvi ca e of the miiio mmhi (Psyche sp. ?), the 

 only pest, and that not a formid.ablR one, to which 

 tea grown in Japan is liable. The insect would 

 du considerable damage if let alniie, but ii is easily 

 detected and removed, while tea bug, red spider ard 

 other plagues (if Indian plantation^ do not trouble the 

 Japan tea-grower. There may be something in climate 

 and a good deal in the svBtem of culture in detached 

 patches. 



Beaides the three illustrations referred to, there are 

 no fewer than twenty-one engraving" from ri'|iresent- 

 ations \)y native artists of the various r>rnce*3es of 

 prepa'ation, from picking to roping and finisliin'', the 

 various implement^ and api'liaoces being also dejiicted 

 up to a fori ign firing godown and its fittines. 

 T' e picking of t';e fluah seems to be done entirely bv 

 young girls (well-clothed and their heads covered by 

 wide round hats, the picture sho»s them), and. nn'esi 

 a very serious printer's error bai been allowed to 

 pass in Mr. Oribble's p^per, the average dav's gather 

 ^ug is only .S.J 11.. ! As thi.s conhl not possibly pay, 

 even where wai»ps are po low an in .Tapan. we sus- 

 prct that the e(|u!v,alent of 3.V lb. of mad.' tea most 

 have been m»ant, in which ca"e the (juanlity of green 

 leaf would be 14 lb., a fair averace, cnnsidering the 

 extreme minuteness of Jaj^an tea flush. Following 

 "picking" we have a representation of the processes 

 of " cidlecting and carrying to markit." In this case 

 two girls are pouring the green leaves out of their small 

 10 



field baskets into a large one, with a fellow of which a 

 man is walking off Hi" f-et are eUd with sandals, and 

 he carries his burden on his back, the universal pinno not 

 being in this case broucht into requisition. Then 

 comes tlie peculiar process of steaming the ereen 

 1 aves, on which, evidentiv, the main peculiarity of 

 the Japan tea depends. In thi" process which a re- 

 cent correspondent wanted Ceylon plant.er.ti to adopt, 

 onlv men seem to I.p employed. The stenming pan 

 and the oven on wliioh it is set are fully shown. 

 and there are enlarced designs of the carrying basket, 

 <?ia mnh'\ -ind the small basket used in the fields. 

 cha hil-H Both ba'ke's seem nicely finished and 

 lire more elongate! in form than those we have ob- 

 served in ns» in flevlon. Wo next get pictures of 

 the small hind. broom. m>irinhol-i in u=e. as also a 

 small hand.ba = k<'t for sorting, mi a steaminf trav 

 with wire bottom, fitting t p of oven, ftikn/shi 

 Khfiro. and a lid* for the same, f'ifn Tf the 

 steaming of t°a is reallv tried in Ceylon, a set of the 

 necessary annliancea. and snO'l drawings of the oven, 

 ought to be procured from Japan. 



"Preparatory to Firing" represents two girls on 

 their knees apparently rolling bal's of the leaves, bat 

 Mr (Jribble's piper represents the rolling spd fi''in<T 

 1 as taking place simnltaneoualy. A man is taking 

 away the slight^Iv rolled leaf on a sieve. We then 

 ffpp "The First Firin"." oyer " choolns." two girlo 

 taking up the I'^af. rolling it between their hnn'^s and 

 spreading it again over the travs "The Final Firing " 

 seems to bo done by men. Ono is pouring leaf from 

 a sieve on to the travs ; anothor is rolling and spread. 

 ing the leif on the trays Th"n wo get sopar.ate 

 npresentatiora of "the fi'ing box " " Imrn" " nanored 

 firing tray, fitting top of firing box." " xhiuU vn 

 jnfan." and " papered tray for final firing," " nhinnf. 

 no jotan " As onr rei-lers will lo.nrn when we oomo 

 to notice Mr riribble'M description oP the process of 

 firing they manufacture a paper in .TaPfln (some of 

 which might be turned to good account in Ceylon 1). 

 strong enough for a long period to resist great heat 

 and the pressure of rolling at the same time. 



" Porting" represents otdv two men with ha'^ket sieves 

 (not perforated), some ten on tt'o floor and three hoxes. 

 There are large size pictures of the " square basket, " 

 " l^nl-uhfivfi.^' and the " bnskot for sorting.'' " sihitia- 

 elii mi." Now come' " Rifting." apparently nut of 

 place (after Sorting?). There is one sieve wdth a 

 perforated brttoni hung by ropes and a second man 

 is at work with the ordinary basket oiove. Tbo large 

 perforated sieve " f^irnl " is shown enlargod sizo_ pa 

 .a^so the round basket, '* mfirif hnrfJ." ^p now rome 

 to " Hand-picking." in which four girls are represrpted 

 picking out what we take to he st.alks, red leaves 

 and foreiE^n substances from the tea, Separate pict. 

 ures follow of the " picking table," " yort tJaJ " ; 

 " trays for reiected leaves." " rlta. nvt^ hnha " : 

 " platter for yellow lesves." '* hiha irf " ; a.nd " h»if 

 for yellow leaves." " l-lha hiihirn" As we look at 

 the engravings of all these ingenious and rostly. 

 finished contrivances, we cmnot h'ln wiohipg tjjaf to 

 all the other fdiligati^ns rontrrre'^ by him op Pn^■^on 

 in connection w'tb .Tapan, Mr. D' ane w. iild. through 

 his friends at Yokohama, now o^tiin «-eto t^f al' the 

 implements and atiiiliar^ces connected "dtb t^ji eplturo 

 and tea preraratinu We feel anre the C'homber of 

 Commerce' and Planters' Association won]fl e1a,^1y 

 defray the coat The arMctes eou^^ bo firof, f^isplsvo'^ 

 at rsiombo an-l then at Koo/t^*, b'-ing iin..ll\. pl.ieed 

 in the permnnent keeping of the Do .^'ovsn Museum, n<i 

 I the big inst'tutiou can op^y receive nrticVo of Po^-lon 

 1 origin. Many useful hints might I e obtained from 

 the tea making a,pp1ianeeH used in .Japan. " Weigh- 

 ing find Packing " are well represented, men alone beinc 

 employed in these processes, and then comes a quaint 

 ' and amusing picture of Packing (Boldering and nailing 



