134 ADULTERATION AND DETECTION. 



the Chinese as a people have long been proverbial. 

 " They are a self-ended people," says an old writer, " hav- 

 ing the same reputation in Asia that the Jews have in 

 Europe." Yet there are strong reasons for stating that 

 many dealers in our own and other tea-drinking coun- 

 tries have become expert imitators of their methods, 

 especially in the minor forms of coloring, mixing, repack- 

 ing and refacing. The sophistications in our own country 

 being chiefly confined to the admixture of damaged, 

 stained and tainted teas with sound, pure or high-grade 

 goods, with the object of concealing or disguising their 

 defects, and the substitution of one variety for another 

 by repacking and relabeling. The latter form being 

 practiced to a much greater extent than most people 

 imagine, giving rise to a special branch of business in 

 nearly all of the larger cities. 



"FACED" OB COLORED TEAS. 



Of the various forms of adulteration practiced in China 

 and Japan artificial coloring or " facing " is perhaps the 

 most prevalent and glaring. The material used for the 

 purpose is usually composed of Prussian blue, gypsum, 

 indigo, tumeric, and more frequently, China clay, a whitish 

 iridescent powder, resembling mica, variously composed, 

 but generally consisting of kaolin (soapstone), and sulphate 

 of lime. While that in use in Japan is not known, its com- 

 position being a secret, known only to the manufacturers, 

 but is evidently a preparation of gypsum and kaolin, the 

 Japanese contending that it is a vegetable compound pure 

 and simple. That kaolin is used in its preparation can 

 hardly be denied, as kaolin contains sulphur, and many 

 of the lower grades of Japan teas are found on infusion to 

 possess a slightly sulphurous odor. It has been proved, 

 however, whatever its nature, to be less harmful and 



