ADDENDA 



TO THE THIRD EDITION. 



THE following from the Indian Economist, regarding Indian 

 Teas in general and Neilgherry Teas in particular, is not 

 out of place here. At the same time I do not agree with 

 the writer, for I believe that in the strength and pungency 

 of Indian Teas consists their value : 



INDIAN TEA. 



" That the Teas of India have at length come to be fully appre- 

 ciated in England may be taken, we presume, as an admitted fact ; 

 and it is of importance that planters should direct their attention to 

 modifying their methods of manufacture so as to suit the public taste, 

 and, if possible, turn out an article free from the objections still 

 advanced against the Indian leaf as a daily beverage. There are, we 

 know, those who argue that enough has been done, and that consumers 

 will acquire a taste for the produce of our gardens in time ; but we have 

 daily evidence that in the most trivial matters there is no greater 

 tyrant than the public. It behoves those then who cater for this tyrant 

 to consult its taste and satisfy its demands, however exacting and 

 capricious they may be. The remarks we are about to make are based 

 on experiments and enquiries extending over some years in this country 

 and in England, and we leave those engaged in the enterprise to 

 estimate their value. All Teas grown in the plains of India are known 

 to the trade in London under the general name of Assam, and are 

 chiefly used for mixing, seldom reaching the consumer in a pure state. 

 When they do, the objections raised are that the leaf is too pungent 

 and rough for most palates ; and purchasers are in the habit of mixing 

 it with Chinese to tone down those astringent qualities. In other words, 

 it wants the delicacy of flavour which is the chief characteristic of the 

 Chinese leaf, meaning of course that vended by respectable houses, 

 not the abominable trash that formed part of the cargoes of the Lalla 

 Rookh and Sarpedon, containing, according to Dr Letheby's Analysis, 



