Extent and Produce of the Tea-FUmtalioiis in Assam. 141 



size of the leaf matters nothing, in my opinion, provided it is 

 young and tender, even their diminutive leaf, if one day too 

 old, is good for nothing. 



As the green tea Chinamen have just commenced opera- 

 tions, I will try to give some account of this most interesting 

 process. All leaves up to the size of the Souchong are taken for 

 the green tea. About three pounds of the fresh leaves, imme- 

 diately they are brought in, are cast into a hot pan (sometimes 

 they are kept overnight when abundance have been brought in, 

 and we have not been able to work all up) ; they are then 

 rolled and tossed about in the pan, until they become too hot 

 for the hand. Two slips of bamboo, each about a foot long, 

 split at one end so as to form six prongs, are now used to 

 tumble and toss the leaves about, by running the sticks down 

 the sides of the pan, and turning the leaves up first with the 

 right hand, then with the left, and this as fast as possible ; 

 which keeps the leaves rolling about in the pan without being 

 burnt : this lasts about three minutes ; the leaves will then 

 admit of being rolled and pressed without breaking. They 

 are now taken from the pan and rolled in dollahs, much the 

 same as the black tea, for about three minutes, in which 

 process a great quantity of the juice is extracted, if they be 

 fresh leaves ; but if they have been kept over night, very little 

 juice can be expressed from them in the morning, on account 

 of its having evaporated. The Chinamen say, this does not 

 matter, as it makes no difference in the tea. The leaves are 

 then pressed hard between both hands, and turned round and 

 pressed again and again, imtil they have taken the shape of a 

 small pyramid. They are now placed in bamboo baskets or 

 dollahs with a narrow edge, and the dollahs or bamboo frame- 

 work (see fig. 2 of my former account of black tea) where they 

 are exposed to the sun for two or three minutes, after which 

 these pyramids of tea are gently opened, and thinly spread on 

 the dollahs to dry. When the tea has become a little dry 

 (which will be the case in five or ten minutes if the sun be 

 hot), it is again rolled, and then placed in the sun as before ; 

 this is done three successive times. But should the weather 

 be rainy, and there is no hope of its clearing, all this drying 

 is done over the fire in a small drying basket, the same as 



