Extent and Produce of the Tea- Plantations in Assam. 137 



said to be a very fine tea, and there is not one man in a hun- 

 dred who can make it properly. The Po?vchong tea is made 

 in the same way as the Sychee, with this exception, that it is 

 not formed into balls. 



Mingehew Black Tea. — The leaves {Poivchong) are plucked 

 and dried in the sun, and are then beaten and dried in the 

 shade for half an hour ; this is done three successive times, 

 and the leaves are very much shaken byja circular motion 

 given to them in a sieve, so as to keep them rolling and tum- 

 bling about in the centre of it. This treatment continues un- 

 til they are very soft ; they are then allowed to remain for a 

 short time ; the contents of the first sieve are then placed in 

 the centre of a close-worked bamboo ba.sket, with a narrow 

 edge, and the leaves are divided into four equal parts. The 

 contents of the second sieve are placed in another bamboo 

 basket like the former, and this basket is placed on the top of 

 the first, and so on, piling one basket upon another, until all 

 is finished ; — there may be about two pounds of leaves in each 

 basket. The red-hot pan is used the same as in Sychee, only 

 now the men cast in one division of the leaves into the basket, 

 and this is tumbled and tossed about in the red-hot pan like 

 a plaything for about thirty seconds, and then swept out ; ano- 

 ther division is cast in, and so on, until all the prepared bas- 

 kets have been emptied. The contents of each basket are 

 still kept separate, by placing the leaves, when they come out 

 of the pan, in separate baskets. The whole is a brisk and 

 lively scene, and quite methodical, every one knowing his sta- 

 tion, and the part he has to perform. The baskets are then 

 arranged on shelves to air ; the contents are afterwards tatched 

 the same as our black teas, and fired in the drying baskets, 

 but with this diff"erence, that each division is placed on paper 

 and dried. When it is half dry (the same as our teas), it is 

 put away for the night, and the next morning it is picked, and 

 put into the drying baskets over gentle deadened fires, and 

 gradually dried there ; it is then packed hot. This tea is a 

 difficult sort to make. 



Shunr/ Paha Black Tea. — Pluck the young (Paho) leaf that 

 lias not yet blown or expanded, and bas the down on it, and 

 the next one that has blown, with a part of the stalk ; put it 



