82 CLASSIFICATION AND DESCRIPTION. 



CONGOU TEAS. 



The term Congou is a corruption of the Chinese term 

 Kowng-foo, meaning "laborious" or "assiduous sort," more 

 time and labor being expended on their manipulation than 

 on the other varieties, and are commercially divided into 

 Kaisows or " Red-leaf" and Monings or " Black-leaf 

 Congou teas." 



KAISOW 



OR 



BED-LEAF CONGOUS 



include Chingwos, Seumoo, Suey-kut, Sin-chune, 

 Saryune, Cheong-soo, Cheong-lok, Cheong-syke, So-how, 

 Yung-how, Wang-hung and Yung-tong Congou teas. 



Chingwos Are the finest of all the red-leaf sorts, 

 particularly when the crop is good ; the dry leaf is well 

 curled or twisted, keeping well up to a certain point and 

 improving as it matures. The lower grades, however, 

 deteriorate very rapidly, and in proportion to the openness 

 or looseness of the leaf on arrival. Its special feature is 

 its delicate and, to a degree, fragrant flavor which it 

 imparts to other teas in combination, provided the other 

 teas are not too strong and coarse. The liquor is not, as 

 a rule, very dark, but reddish in hue, and possessing a 

 round, mellow flavor, for which it is more esteemed than 

 for its body or color in the cup. 



Seumoo Is a long, bold, somewhat rough-leaved tea, 

 dark-red in color and "coarse" in flavor. The finer 

 grades are, however, fairly thick and strong in liquor, 

 many of them although round and full are frequently 

 dull and flavorless, but combining well with strong 

 Assams. Seumoos make an excellent base when com- 

 bined with the latter, the pungency of the Assam impart- 

 ing the briskness and body which it lacks when used 

 alone. 



