92 TEA 



favourably with a leafy tea costing pence per pound 

 more money. To test this assertion, prepare a batch 

 of fine Broken Pekoes, including one or two dusts from 

 a garden which produces good quality tea. \Yhen 

 brewed, carefully drain each cup, and it necessary 

 decant the liquor into clean cups which ha\v l> n 

 warmed by rinsing out with hot water, so that any 

 grains of leaf may be eliminated. Mix all tin- 

 teas and attempt to separate the dusts from the 

 Broken Pekoes. The result may In- surprising to 

 the taster ! 



The casual buyer of tea often has difficulty in following 

 the trend of the market unless he is able to constantly 

 and regularly taste the produce of the most important 

 countries. A reliable source of information, however, 

 will I)/ found in the weekly market reports issued by 

 many of the large tea houses. Such statements ol 

 are useful, in that various grades are quoted from time 

 to time, and the intelligent student is often ab; 

 choose the psychological moment when to add to his 

 stock. Mere quotations help little. As an exam 

 such >tatements as " Assam lYkoes_sold at Is. 6|d., 

 Low Pekoe Souchon{pT~EtfT>fd., Fine Orange Pek<> 

 2s. Id. to 3s. 6d." convey little useful information. 

 Assam Pekoes may have dropped Ad. per pound during 

 the week, but the quality of the Pekoes may also have 

 fallen in the same proportion. The buyer cannot do 

 better than to seek the help of any reputable tea house 

 his and their interests are identical, and any advice will 

 be given with the commendable object of increasing 

 sales. The large operator in tea as a rule studies assidu- 

 ously another guide which is most important. The law 

 of supply and demand is universal, and it is often possible 

 by studying the Board of Trade returns dealing with the 

 Imports, Exports, Delivery and Stock of Tea, to forecast 



