98 CLASSIFICATION AND DESCRIPTION. 



remains unchanged in color and flavor until cold. The 

 flavor is delicate and fragrant in odor somewhat like 

 that of new-mown hay. The medium grades are corres- 

 pondingly rougher in make, darker in liquor and duller in 

 flavor, while the commoner ones are coarse and unsightly 

 in style, varying from a greenish to a mottled blue in 

 color, and possessing a " brassy" or metallic taste, due to 

 the cosmetic or artificial coloring-matter used in their 

 preparation. 



Sun-dried As the name implies, are steamed and 

 dried in the sun before firing, in order to fix their color 

 permanently. The leaf is olive-green, well fired, com- 

 pactly curled and " toasty" in the cup, owing to their 

 thorough fermentation before firing, and although not as 

 well appreciated as the Pan-fired, are much superior in 

 drinking properties, their extra fermentation destroying 

 the " grassy " flavor so characteristic of many Japans. 

 The lower grades range from a yellowish to a dull-green, 

 indifferently rolled and often " fishy" in flavor, said to 

 be contracted from the use of fish manure in the coast 

 districts. 



Basket-fired So named from being cured by the 

 " basket process," and in contradistinction to those fired 

 in pans. The finer grades are long, dark and exceedingly 

 well twisted or curled, entirely free from stems, dust and 

 other extraneous matter, clear and bright in liquor, and 

 mellow or " mealy" in flavor, the latter quality making 

 them a very valuable sort for blending purposes. The 

 commoner grades are rough, and uncouth in style, 

 brownish-black in color, thick and heavy in liquor, but 

 lacking in " grip" and flavor. 



Kumo Or " Spider-leg" Japan, is in reality only a finer 

 grade of basket-fired ; long, narrow, black, and " wirey" 

 in leaf, and elastic in texture. It is of the Pekoe order 



