278 THE BOOK OF USEFUL PLANTS 



below make "souchong," and then "congou" teas. 

 The tip leaf, smallest of all, makes " flowery pekoe"; 

 the second leaf, "orange pekoe"; the third, just 

 "pekoe." A mixture of this size with the next 

 makes "pekoe-souchong" tea. The younger the 

 leaf and smaller, the more delicate and expensive 

 the tea. 



Green tea and black tea are differently made. 

 All tea leaves may be made into either, though 

 some varieties are more easily converted into black 

 than others. And green teas are made from leaves 

 grown in cooler climates, while black teas are the 

 more common product of the warmer regions 

 where tea is grown. Some regions make both 

 kinds. 



Green tea is made by rolling the leaves and 

 then drying them. Rolling breaks the cells that 

 contain the refreshing, stimulating principle, 

 theine, and the astringent acid, tannin, that gives 

 flavor to the beverage. Without the process, the 

 flavor would remain locked up in the leaf cells. 

 The rolling allows the oil to spread over the leaf 

 as it dries. Green tea which is laid out in the open 

 air after the rolling process until a fermenting and 

 oxidizing process takes place changes to a dark 

 color, from which it later takes the name, "black 



tea." 



