24 TEA 



soft, pliable, and altogether devoid of their original 

 crispness. The leaves are then taken from the pans and 

 placed upon bamboo tables, around which stand several 

 persons, who take a quantity of the leaves in their hands 

 and carefully roll them on the table in a manner closely 

 resembling the working and kneading of ordinary 

 baker's dough. The object of this process, which lasts 

 about five or six minutes, is to twist the leaves and, 

 at the same time, to express the sap and moisture, 

 which escapes through the interstices of the surface of 

 the table. / In the next stage of the process the object 

 is to expel the moisture as gradually and gently as pos- 

 sible, retaining the softness and elasticity of the leaves 

 to the fullest extent. This is effected by taking the 

 rolled leaves, spreading them out thinly and evenly 

 upon a screen made of the strips of ever-useful bamboo, 

 and exposing them to the action of the atmosphere. There 

 can be no fixed time for the completion of this process, 

 which depends entirely upon the state of the weather, 

 but experience has taught the operators to avoid placing 

 the leaves in the direct rays of a powerful sun, which 

 evaporates the moisture too rapidly, leaving the leaves 

 crisp, coarse, and quite unfit for the next stage in the 

 manufacture. The soft and pliant leaves are now again 

 thrown into the drying-pans, and subjected to the action 

 of a slow, steady fire. It is of great importance that 

 the leaves should not be scorched or burned, and it is 

 the custom for one person to attend solely to the fire, 

 while others, standing in front of the pans, mix and 

 agitate the leaves with their hands so that all shall be 

 equally dried. As the temperature increases it becomes 

 impossible to mix the leaves by hand, so small bamboo 

 whisks or brushes are employed, the leaves bein^ thrown 

 up against the sloping sides of the pans and allowed to 

 roll back into the iron portion at the bottom. The 



