T II E 



THE 



are the same. Thunbcrg also distinguishes two 

 varieties from the leaves, which in one are smaller, 

 Hat, darker green, villi straight serratures, and in 

 the other larger, waved, brigl iter green, with sinu- 

 ate serratures: but they can scarcely be considered 

 as distinct species. Loureiro observed little dif- 

 ference in the Sou-chong, which he examined : 

 both these have a brown colour, but are more 

 odoriferous and precious than the common Bo- 

 hea of the province of Fo-kien, which he had 

 .not an opportunity of seeing in a living state, 

 though it is the most common and cheapest of 

 all. "lie examined the dry flowers of the Green 

 lea, from the province of Kiang-si, and observed 

 the same inconstancy, as to the number of parts 

 in the calyx and corolla, as in the Bohea. Upon 

 the whole he concludes that all the differences of 

 Chinese tea form only one botanical species, 

 owing their variation to soil, culture, and 

 method of preparation; all retaining the same 

 inconstancy in the parts of the flower, which 

 save occasion to Linnaeus to consider them as 



c 



two species.' 



It is added, " that many varieties of tea are 

 known in China, from mixture and manage- 

 ment." The distinctions chiefly regarded in 

 Europe arc the following. 



" Green Teas. — 1. Bing, Imperial or Bloom 

 Tea, with a large loose leaf, of a light green 

 colour, and a faint delicate smell. 



"2. Hy-tiann, Hikiong, Ilavssuen or Hee- 

 chun, known to us by the name of Hyson Tea : 

 the leaves are closely curled and small, of a 

 green colour verging towards blue. Another 

 Hvson Tea, with narrow short leaves, is called 

 livson-utchin. There is also a green tea named 

 Gobe, with long narrow leaves. 



" 3. Song-lo or Singlo, which name it re- 

 ceives, like several others, from the place where 

 it is cultivated." 



" Bolwa Teas. — 1. Soo-chuen, Sut-chong, 

 Sou-chong, or Su-chong, called by the Chinese 

 Saa-tvang, and Sact-chaon or Sy-tyann, is a su- 

 perior kind of Cong-fou Tea. It imparts a yel- 

 lowish green colour by infusion, and has its 

 name from a place or province in China. Padre 

 Sutchong has a liner taste and smell : the leaves 

 are large and yellowish, not rolled up, and 

 packed in papers of half a pound each. It is 

 generally conveved by caravans into Russia ; 

 without much care it will he injured at sea. It 

 is rarely to be met with in England. 



" 2. Canj-ho or Soum-lo, called after the 

 name of the place where it is gathered: a fra- 

 grant tea with a violet smell ; its infusion is pale. 



"3. Cong-fou, Congo, orBong-fo: this has 

 t^cr leaf than the following, and the inl'u- 

 is a little deeper coloured. It resembles the 

 o i anon Bohea in the colour of the leaf. 



" There is a sort called Lin-Kisam, with nar- 

 row rough leaves. It is seldom used alone, hut 

 mixed with other kinds. By adding it to Congo, 

 the Chinese sometimes make a kind of Pekoe lea. 



" 4. Pckao, Pecko, or Pekoe, by the Chinese 

 called Back-ho or Pack-ho. It is known by 

 having the appearance of small white flowers 

 intermixed with it. 



" 5. Common Bohea or Black Tea, called 

 Moji orMo-ee by the Chinese, consists of leaves 

 of one colour. The best is named Tao-kvonn. 

 An inferior kind is called Au-kai, from a place 

 of that name. In the district of Honam, near 

 Canton, the tea is very coarse, the leaves yellow 

 or brownish, and the taste the least agreeable of 

 any. By the Chinese it is named Honam te, 

 or Kuli-te. 



" Besides these, Tea both Bohea and Green 

 is sometimes imported in balls, from two ounces 

 to the size of a nutmeg and of peas. The Chi- 

 nese call it Poncul-tcha. The smallest in this 

 form is well known under the name of Gun- 

 powder Tea. 



" Sometimes the succulent leaves are twisted 

 like packthread, an inch and half or two inches 

 long; three of these are usually tied together at 

 the ends by different-coloured silk threads. Both 

 Green and Bohea are prepared in this manner. 



" The manner of gathering and preparing the 

 leaves, as practised in Japan," according to 

 Ka?mpfer, " as far as our information reaches, 

 is in a great measure conformable to the me- 

 thod used by the Chinese. 



" The leaves are gathered carefullv one by 

 one, and each person is able thus to collect from 

 four to ten or fifteen pounds in one dav. The 

 first gathering commences about the end of our 

 February, or beginning of JNIarch, when the 

 leaves are young and tender: thev are called 

 Fieki Tsjaa or powdered tea, because thev are 

 pulverised and sipped in hot water: they are 

 disposed of to princes and rich people onlv, and 

 hence this kind is called Imperial Tea. 



"A similar sort is called I'dsi Tsjaa, and 

 Tacke Sacki Tsjaa, from the places where it 

 grows. Peculiar care and nicety is observed in 

 gathering these leaves. 



" The second collection is made at the end of 

 March or beginning of April. This is called 

 Tootsjaa, or Chinese Tea, because it is infused 

 and drunk after the Chinese manner. 



" The third gathering is made in June, when 

 the leaves are full grown. This is called Ban 

 Tsjaa; it is the coarsest, and is chiefly con- 

 sumed by the lower class of people. By sorting 

 these, several other varieties are produced. 



' ; Whether the Chinese collect the tea pr< - 

 cisely at the same seasons as in Japan, we arc 

 not well informed ; but most probably the tea 



