TESTING, BLENDING AND PREPARING. 165 



or " burnt " edges, Congous and Souchongs rich reddish- 

 brown, India and Ceylons, " salmony-red." Scented teas 

 possessing a small olive-green infused leaf. In Green teas 

 those yielding a bright, sparkling, "amber "-colored 

 liquor, with small or medium infused leaf and presenting 

 an unbroken and uniform appearance are the best; the 

 same rules that govern in the selection of Green teas 

 also applying to Japans. 



The value of tea commercially, depends principally 

 upon the character and flavor of the infusion and also 

 on the aroma imparted to it by the volatile oil, which is 

 not generally estimated by chemists owing to the imper- 

 fect methods of obtaining it and the difficulty attending 

 the operation. But commercially the value of a tea is 

 based on the amount of " extract " it yields as well as on 

 the quantity of theine and tannin contained therein. Tea- 

 testers and experts on the other hand take no account of 

 theine, which is almost tasteless, but which is at the same 

 time physiologically the most important constituent of 

 tea. And so far as total extract is concerned Congou 

 teas are inferior in quantity to Oolongs, Greens and 

 Japans, while the latter in turn yield a larger percentage 

 of theine than either India or Ceylons, notwithstanding 

 that it is claimed that they yield less. Yet it must be 

 admitted that a deeper color is imparted to the infusion 

 by India and Ceylon teas, and that they are also of greater 

 strength than China and Japan teas, in fullness (not deli- 

 cacy) of flavor, the former claim is not borne out by either 

 analysis or testing. There is also no uniform relation ex- 

 isting between the chemical composition of teas and their 

 commercial value, as the percentage of extract determined 

 by a half-hour's boiling of the leaves in 100 parts of dis- 

 tilled water bears in China and Japan teas particularly 

 a more uniform relation to the price, although the total 



