CULTIVATION AND PREPARATION. 65 



But, for the at one time commonly-received opinion 

 that the distinctive color of Green teas was imparted by 

 curing in copper pans, there is not the slightest founda- 

 tion in fact, since copper is never used for the purpose, 

 repeated experiments by unerring tests having failed to 

 find a single trace of that metal in any Green teas. 



Later investigations proving that the hue of Green 

 teas is due as much to their manipulation as to the 

 degree of heat at which they are fired. It has been 

 found that at equal temperatures the leaves of both will 

 turn black if allowed to lie as long before or during 

 firing, the green color being retained only by the exces- 

 sive motion, the latter tending to accelerate the power of 

 evaporation of the juices, and which is further augmented 

 by incessant fanning. 



GRADING AND PACKING. 



The final grading of Green teas also differs from that 

 of Black, there being two distinct styles or " makes" of 

 the tea rolled and twisted. They are first separated 

 and then sifted, in which operation four sieves are used, 

 two to separate the small from the large round or rolled 

 leaves, and two for the curled or twisted. After being 

 sorted or separated they are again fired into deeper pans 

 at a much higher temperature, and winnowed while hot 

 in large circular bamboo trays, to free them from any 

 remaining chaff or dust, the choicer grades being hand- 

 picked previous to being sent to the Twa-tu^tia (Tea 

 market), which is held in the nearest town or village to 

 the district of production. The inferior grades are 

 generally disposed of in an unassorted condition to the 

 native factors or foreign merchants, who afterwards sort, 

 grade and pack them fqr export. 



