144 Mr Bruce on the Manufacture of Tea, ami on the 



posed of several young leaves that adhere firmly together. 

 This sort is afterv^ards put into a box and cut \\\i\\ a sharp 

 iron instrument, then sifted and put among the Gunpowder, 

 which it now resembles. The different sorts of tea arc now 

 put into shallow bamboo baskets, and men, women, and chil- 

 dren are employed to pick out the sticks and bad leaves ; this 

 is a most tedious process, as the greatest c;ire is taken not to 

 leave the slightest particle of any thing but good tea. But to 

 assist and quicken this tii'esome process beautiful bamboo 

 sieves, very little inferior to our wire ones, and of various 

 sizes, are employed. The different teas are thrown into sieves 

 of different sizes, from large gunpowder to dust tea ; they are 

 .shaken and tossed, and thrown from one person to another in 

 quick succession, making the scene very animating ; in this 

 way a great portion of the stalks are got rid of. After the 

 tea has been well sifted and picked, it is again put into the 

 hot pans and rubbed and rolled as before, for about one hour ; 

 it is then put into shallow bamboo baskets, and once more 

 examined, to separate the different teas that may still remain 

 intermixed, and again put into the hot pan. Now a mixture 

 of sulphate of lime and indigo, very finely pulverized and sift- 

 ed tlu-ough fine muslin, in the proportion of three of the for- 

 mer to one of the latter, is added ; to a pan of tea containing 

 about seven pounds, ^about half a tea-spoonful of this mixture 

 is put and rubbed and rolled along with the tea in the pan for 

 about an hour, as before described. The tea is then taken hot 

 from the pan and packed firmly in boxes, both hands and feet 

 being used to press it down. The above mixture is not put 

 to the tea to improve its flavour, but merely to give it a uni- 

 form colour and appearance, as without it some of the tea 

 would be light and some dark. The indigo gives it the colour, 

 and the sulphate of lime fixes it. The Chinese call the former 

 Youngtin, the latter Acco. Large gunpowder tea they call 

 Tychen ; little gunpowder, Cheocheu ; hyson, Chingcha ; young 

 hyson, Uchin ; skin tea, or old leaves in small bits, Poocha ; 

 the fine dust or powder tea, Chamoot. 



The leaves of the green tea are not plucked the same as 

 the black, although the tree or plant is one and the same, 

 which has been proved beyond a shadow of dovibt ; for I am 



