article as late as i66o. In 1664 the 

 East India Company presented the 

 queen of England with two pounds of 

 tea. In fact, it was not until the begin- 

 ning of the eighteenth century and 

 later that tea began to be used in dif- 

 ferent parts of Europe. During the 

 latter part of the seventeenth century 

 and the beginning of the eighteenth 

 century tea-houses were established in 

 various cities of Europe, especially in 

 England. At the present time . tea- 

 houses, like coffee-houses, have become 

 practically extinct in civilized countries, 

 but that does not impl}- that tea-drink- 

 ing and coffee-drinking are on the 

 wane. Among the English and Slavs 

 tea-parties are all the rage, The favor- 

 ite Gesellschaft Kaffec, coffee-party, 

 of German housewives indicates that 

 they give coffee the preference. The 

 biggest tea-party on record was doubt- 

 less the so-called Boston Tea Party, at 

 which tea valued at ;^i8,000 sterling 

 was destroyed. 



In spite of the tropical origin of the 

 plant the largest quantities of tea are 

 consumed in northern countries, nota- 

 bly in Russia and Asiatic Russia. Large 

 quantities are consumed in England 

 and the United States. 



Most authorities are agreed that the 

 different kinds of tea on the market 

 are derived from the same species of 

 plant. Some admit a variety C. Tliea 

 var. viridis. The following are the 

 principal teas of the market and the 

 manner of their preparation: 



1. Green Tea. After collecting the 

 leaves are allowed to lie for about two 

 hours in warmed pans and stirred and 

 then rolled upon small bamboo tables, 

 whereupon they are further dried upon 

 hurdles and again in heated pans for 

 about one hour, accompanied by stir- 

 ring. The leaves now assume a bluish- 

 green color, which is frequently en- 

 hanced by adding Prussian blue or 

 indigo. Of these green teas the most 

 important are Gunpowder, Twankay, 

 Hyson, Young Hyson, Hyson skin, 

 Songla, Soulang, and Imperial. 



2. Black Tea. The leaves are allowed 

 to lie in heaps for a day, when they are 

 thoroughly shaken and mixed. After 

 another period of rest, two to three 

 days, they are dried and rolled much 



as green tea. In the storing process 

 theleaves undergo a fermentation which 

 develops the aroma and the dark 

 color. The following are the principal 

 varieties: Campoe, Congou, Linki-sam, 

 Padre Souchon (caravan tea), Pecoe, 

 Souchong, and Bohe. 



In some countries the teas are scented 

 with jasmine flowers or orange flowers. 

 This is, however, no longer extensively 

 practiced. The essentially Chinese 

 custom of coloring teas with Prussian 

 blue, gypsum, and indigo is dying out, 

 at least so far as the export trade is 

 concerned, because intelligent civil- 

 ized consumers are beginning to prefer 

 the uncolored teas. Competent author- 

 ities maintain that there is not enough 

 of the coloring substances added to be 

 harmful. The workmen preparing the 

 better qualities of tea are not permit- 

 ted to eat fish, as the very enduring 

 and penetrating fish-flavor would be 

 transmitted to the tea in the thorough 

 handling. It seems, however, that a 

 more or less distinct fishy flavor is per- 

 ceptible in many teas, even the better 

 qualities. 



Tea-dust consists of remnants from 

 tea-chests, dust from the working tables 

 upon which the leaves are rolled — in 

 fact, tea-refuse of all kinds. It is cer- 

 tainly not a desirable article. Besides 

 true tea there are leaves and other 

 parts of a great variety of plants which 

 have been used as tea. To enumerate 

 and describe these would be imprac- 

 ticable in this paper. The following 

 are a few of the more important: Para- 

 guay tea, or mat6, is highly esteemed 

 in South America. The Coreans pre- 

 pare tea from ginger. The poor Siberi- 

 ans use cabbage leaves. Teas are made 

 from the leaves of a great variety of 

 herbs which are supposed to have me- 

 dicinal or stimulating properties similar 

 to those of tea. Peppermint tea and 

 chamomile tea are greatly esteemed in 

 certain localities. 



Concerning the adulteration of tea 

 there seems to be considerable differ- 

 ence of opinion, some authorities 

 maintaining that adulteration is com- 

 mon, while others maintain that it is 

 very rare, indeed. There is, however, 

 little doubt that used tea is frequently 

 redried, rerolled, and resold as good 



156 



