2<i TEA 



leaves gradually part with their moisture, twist and 

 < ml, and alter about an hour, are taken from the pans, 

 to constitute the finished product. Tea so prepared is 

 green in colour, but it lacks the vividness of colour 

 which characterises much of the green teas exported 

 to Europe and America, and which, in former days, 

 at any rate, was produced at Canton by dyeing the 

 leaves with gypsum and Prussian blue. It is a signi- 

 ficant statement of Chinese travellers that the Chinese 

 themselves never use the artificially coloured teas ! 



When the tea finally leaves the drying-pans it is picked 

 over and sifted, and finally sorted into different grades 

 previous to packing. If the tea is intended for export, 

 this is a very important process, since the value of a 

 consignment largely depends upon the " evenness " 

 of the leaf, and considerable experience and manual 

 dexterity are necessary to ensure the tea being of the 

 same grade and quality throughout. Once satisfactorily 

 sorted, the tea is put into boxes or baskets and pressed 

 down by men treading it with their feet, which are 

 covered with clean cloth or straw shoes put on for the 

 purpose. 



Up to the end of the rolling process, the preparation 

 of black teas proceeds upon lines exactly similar to 

 those described above, but after the rolling, the leaves 

 are subjected to a much more extended drying process 

 in the open air, the period lasting for two or three days. 

 The difference in the colour and character of the teas 

 almost entirely depends upon the differences in the 

 methods of preparation at this stage, and, since the 

 matter is more fully dealt with below in connection 

 with the Ceylon and Indian industry, it will be sufficient 

 to add that the leaves intended to produce black tea, 

 during this extended exposure to the atmosphere, 

 undergo a process of fermentation which does not obtain 



