1 62 TESTING, BLENDING AND PREPARING. 



By Masticating. A close and almost accurate 

 estimate of the character and value of a tea can be 

 formed by chewing a few of the leaves. With this 

 method a good tea may be recognized by the ready manner 

 in which the leaves almost dissolve in the mouth on slight 

 mastication, becoming quickly reduced to a "pasty" 

 consistency if young, tender and succulent, the " sap " 

 or juice yielded will be abundant, pungent and pleasing 

 to the taste. If of the Green or Japan variety the 

 residue will be of a bright, natural-green color on removal, 

 rich olive-green if Oolong, of a rich reddish-brown tint 

 if Congou and dark-red if India or Ceylon. But if com- 

 posed of old, inferior, spent or spurious leaves they 

 will be found difficult to masticate, being dry, " chippy," 

 sapless and tough in texture, yielding little or no juice 

 according to its age and inferiority. Whatever little is 

 expressed being " wild," " weedy," " woody," " herby," 

 " mousey," " grassy " or "metallic" and bitterly astringent 

 to the taste, the residue being dark in color, coarse or 

 granulated on removal. This test should not be resorted 

 to only on extreme occasions, as a too frequent chew- 

 ing of tea-leaves, owing to the tannin in their composition, 

 severely affects the nervous system and ultimately the 

 digestive organs. 



By Infusing or Drawing Is unquestionably the 

 most reliable and satisfactory method of testing or 

 appraising tea, being the one adopted by all brokers, 

 experts and dealers as the most conclusive and least in- 

 jurious to the system. For this purpose a number of 

 small porcelain cups, scales and half-dime weight is 

 requisite, together with a perfectly clean kettle and 

 freshly distilled or filtered water, briskly boiled. Take 

 the weight of the half-dime of leaves and mark the cups 

 to correspond with the samples under examination, then 



