LARGE CONSUMERS 15 



Those who are not accustomed to drink China tea will 

 find the flavour somewhat strange at first, but after 

 a short time the delicate aroma will be appreciated, and 

 a return to the stronger growths unlikely. Some think 

 that a pleasant drink is prepared from a blend of China 

 tea and Ceylon. If such a mixture is decided upon, 

 the proportion of Ceylon will be about one to three of 

 China tea. The Ceylon to select for this purpose 

 should be absolutely pure with the true Ceylon flavour, 

 and if the leaf is large, it should be milled to a size equal 

 to that of the China. 



When we examine the figures showing the amount 

 of tea annually consumed per head of the population 

 we find that although it is a British country which heads 

 the list, the tea-drinkers of Great Britain must give way 

 to their sons and daughters of Australasia, who use 

 no less than 7*1 Ibs. per person every year. In the 

 United Kingdom the amount is about a pound less, 

 viz., 6*18 Ibs. per head, and then we have Canada 

 (4 Ibs.), Holland (1-4 lb.), United States (1'30 lb.), 

 Russia (1-25 lb.), Norway (MO lb.), Denmark (0'36 lb.), 

 Germany (0*13 lb.), and France (0*06 lb.). The large 

 consumption in the British Empire is very striking, 

 though not unexpectedly so ; but to the average English- 

 man the most surprising feature of these figures is the 

 relatively small amount consumed per head of the 

 population of Russia. In this country the Russians are 

 commonly regarded as a great tea-drinking people, but 

 this is a popular ' error, for only the comparatively 

 wealthy classes in Russia can afford to buy tea, which is 

 quite beyond the reach of the poor peasants who form 

 the great bulk of the population. 



The rise in popularity of tea in England was com- 

 paratively slow up to the beginning of the nineteenth 

 century. In 1711 the consumption per head was only 



