I4O CULTIVATION AND MANUFACTURE OF TEA. 



is a little different. It may have the greenish, greyish blackish leaf 

 (though generally the green leaves are distinct from black ones, the 

 Tea thus being composed of greyish blackish leaves with a few 

 green ones intermixed), always has the pale liquor, generally the 

 greenish infused leaf; but sometimes it is sadly intermingled with 

 black leaves, as it is a Tea whose flavour is frequently burnt out, 

 though its weakness and green appearance are no doubt often caused 

 by deficient firing. Teas of this kind on the average sell below the 

 ordinarily-flavoured Teas of the same class of leaf. 



In Teas of ordinary flavour the following rules hold good: The 

 darker the liquor the stronger the Tea, and the nearer the approach 

 of the colour of the infused leaf to a uniform salmony brown, the 

 purer the flavour. Whenever we see any black leaves mixed with it 

 (the out-turn) the Tea has been over-fired, and we may either expect 

 to find the strength burnt out of it, or else to find it marred by 

 having a burnt or smoky flavour incorporated with it. When you 

 come across an altogether black or dirty brown out-turn, you may be 

 certain of pale liquor containing little or no strength and no flavour 

 to speak of, unless sometimes it be sour. This is a quality which I 

 shall now touch upon, and regret that I cannot with any certainty 

 give any reliable information whereby the planter may guard against 

 this greatest of faults. It may have various grades, slightly sourish, 

 sourish and sour, depreciating the value of the Tea, say from 3^. to 

 is. 6d. per Ib. The flavour of a sour Tea is hardly capable of 

 description. It is not so acid as sour milk, in fact, not acid at all, 

 rather a sweet flavour than otherwise being blended with the sourness. 

 It is extremely unpleasant in its more developed grades, and can- 

 not be easily understood except by actual tasting. To the uninitiated 

 this fault is only perceptible in the more strongly marked instances, 

 but to one of the trade the least tendency to it not only condemns 

 the parcel at once, but also causes him to suspect any other lots made at 

 the same or any other time by the same grower, and it is a curious 

 but unaccountable fact that some two or three gardens (or growers ?) 

 almost always produce Teas having this fault. I will not cite all the 

 different explanations that have been offered on this subject ; I will 

 simply quote the one which seems to have gained most ground, and 

 leave those more competent than myself to express any opinion on 

 the subject. The cause assigned to which I refer is that the 

 Tea leaf after being picked is allowed to remain too long in the 

 raw state before being fired, during which time it undergoes a 



