80 



Sometimes a drop of ammonia would stain a teacup blue, shew- 

 ing that the " gi'een tea " was really old tea leaves dried with 

 copper. Against such adulterations the best safeguard was to 

 buy of respectable merchants, and to be content to pay accord- 



In China tea Avas made in the cuj), and drunk without milk 

 or sugar, but in England we corrected the astringency by milk 

 and sugar. The idea of substituting cream was, in the lecturer's 

 opinion, absurd. The object was to flavor the tea, not to drink 

 insoluble curds. 



It must be remembered that milk could be adulterated even 

 in the feeding of the cow, and an undue su^jply of water, Avith 

 diminished food, might profit the dairyman, but was 

 decidedly bad for the cow and for the cup of tea. The sugar 

 should be crystalline, not necessarily loaf sugar, which dissolves 

 slowly, but certainly not a coarse brown sugar containing un- 

 crystalhzed molasses. The lecturer then explained the process of 

 preparing sugar, and showed how water could be made to boil at 

 a very Ioav temperature by creating a vacuum. Thus, he explained, 

 sugar was alloAved to boil without being heated to an extent that 

 would destroy the crystals, and these crystals when formed were 

 separated by centifrugal force from the uncrystalhzed portions. 

 After making a rough imitation of the mode of preparing candy, 

 he jiroceeded to detail the jji-ecautions necessary to prevent the 

 tea from being made Aveak hy AA^ant of heat or bitter by too much 

 heat. The water should boil but not gallop. The tea should be 

 di'awn in the usual manner Avith a small quantity of boihng 

 Avater, and no tea should ever be warmed up after standing on 

 the leaves. Moreover, the palate should not be spoilt by SAveets 

 or any aromatic taste before drinking tea. 



A cup of tea, drunk warm but not hot, was a safe stimulant 

 to mind and body, often causing food to assimilate, and thus 

 being indirectly food itself. Much of the evil laid at the door of 

 this beverage was caused by the foolish habit of drinking very 



