106 TEA 



not troubled to understand an article of such large 

 consumption, or have taken no steps to meet present 

 day competition, have merely existed, incurring con- 

 siderable risks without any compensating profit worth 

 mentioning. 



The recent debasement of the tea trade is known 

 only too painfully to the family grocers of the Kingdom. 

 They have seen with concern the progressive lowering 

 of the retail price as a direct consequence of lavish 

 advertisements which have diverted so large a propor- 

 tion of the consumption on to the commoner sorts of 

 tea. 



The grocers have witnessed with indignation what 

 should be a business involving knowledge, skill and fancy 

 passing into one built up on exaggeration. The public 

 were first told that the finest tea in the world could be 

 had at Is. 9d. They are now told that it can be retailed 

 at Is. 4d., and if this stream of misstatement is to go on 

 unchecked, will be informed with equal credibility that 

 it can be obtained at Is. 



So that those with discrimination will be able to see . 

 how absurd such statements are, it is absolutely neces- 

 sary that the difference between say teas at Is. 4d. and 

 2s. should be so great in flavour and aroma as to appeal 

 ^at once to the public taste ; unless this difference is 

 evident the attempt to educate and enlighten will be 

 defeated, and harm instead of good will be done. Many 

 have given up the struggle as hopeless, but this is only 

 because they have not tried to fight, or have not done 

 so in the proper way. A number of isolated attempts, 

 and some on a large scale, have been made to promote 

 the sale of fine tea, and there is every reason to know 

 that these attacks have been most successful. It is, 

 in fact, this success which has led to a more general 

 movement amongst the family grocers of the Kingdom, 



