1 64 TESTING, BLENDING AND PREPARING. 



stir the leaves gently with a spoon for a few minutes, 

 and smell them occasionally, also noting their odor ; by 

 which time the tea will be cool enough to taste. Before 

 doing so, however, observe the color of the liquor an 

 important factor in tea a rich straw, golden or corn- 

 yellow colored liquor, generally, if not invariably, indicat- 

 ing a tea of fine quality, except it be of the Congou, India 

 or Ceylon variety. Next, taste the tea by sipping it so as to 

 strike the palate, but do not swallow, as it kills the taste, 

 and noting its body, flavor, strength and pungency while 

 so doing, comparing it with the tea required or to be 

 " matched." 



But while a clear, bright, sparkling liquor denotes 

 a fine tea it does not always determine its body or 

 strength, as many light-liquored teas are full and round 

 in body, pungent and " snappy ;" others again, though 

 dark and heavy in liquor, are yet devoid of strength and 

 flavor, the liquor of old and inferior teas being invaria- 

 bly dark, thick or " muddy " in color, and lacking 

 in briskness and flavor. After an opinion has been 

 formed of the liquor in all its relations, next examine the 

 infused leaves with regard to their size, color, form, tex- 

 ture and condition, as all these points have an indirect 

 bearing on the age, quality, character and value of the 

 tea under examination. The infused leaves of fine, pure 

 teas range from small to medium in size, perfect or nearly 

 so in shape, regular and symmetrical in form, uniform and 

 unbroken in appearance. While the infused leaf of low- 

 grade and adulterated teas is large and dark-red or brown 

 in color, broken, irregular and different in size, form 

 and color from the true tea-leaf. The smaller, brighter 

 and more symmetrical the infused leaf, the higher the 

 grade, and consequently the greater the value of the tea, 

 that of fine Oolongs being olive-green, with slightly brown 



