BEVERAGES 71 



the production of tea and the exports from that country 

 amount to 190,000,000 pounds of black tea annually. The 

 total exports of tea from tea-producing countries are about 

 810,000,000 pounds per year. Tea-producing countries stand 

 in the following order from the standpoint of the amount 

 of tea produced: British India, Ceylon, China, Dutch East 

 Indies, Formosa, Japan, and Singapore. 



Tea leaves are picked from 10 to 25 times a year. In 

 Ceylon a picking occurs every 10 to 12 days. Tea, like many 

 other tropical plants, shows at intervals an unusually vigorous 

 growth in which fresh leaves are developed very rapidly. 

 These periods of unusually active growth are known as flushes. 

 For the highest grades of tea only the tip of the actively grow- 

 ing shoot and one or two of the youngest leaves are plucked. 

 A few older and coarser leaves go into the cheaper grades. 

 The tea leaves are brought from the field by pickers and at 

 once undergo a withering process in the sun, in open sheds, or 

 under the influence of low artificial heat for a period of about 

 1 8 hours. The leaves are then rolled by hand or by machine, 

 after which they are fermented in piles or in drawers for a 

 period of 2 to 10 hours. The piles of tea are covered with 

 a clean cloth wrung out in cold water. The appearance of a 

 coppery yellow color in the leaves and the characteristic aroma 

 indicate the time to stop the process of fermentation. The 

 tea then goes at once into the drying or firing machines, where 

 the leaves are completely dried by currents of hot air. The 

 process just described produces black tea. 



Fermentation of the leaves is carefully avoided in making 

 green tea. The fresh leaves on being brought in from the 

 field are at once heated in a pan or are steamed until they wilt 

 and are then put immediately into the drier. This process 

 effectively prevents fermentation and consequently prevents 

 the development of the dark color characteristic of black tea. 

 Green teas, however, are not all green in color. In fact, they 

 have no uniform color. Green teas usually show a gray or 



