1 82 TESTING, BLENDING AND PREPARING. 



for the purpose of imparting a rich fragrance to any com- 

 bination a choice or " pekoed " Formosa will be found the 

 most desirable and valuable, its high character and great 

 piquancy being possessed by no other variety grown. A 

 small quantity of a really choice or even tolerably good 

 Formosa tea will penetrate and dominate a blend, making 

 itself felt and tasting through it. Its value consisting in its 

 delicate " cow-slip " aroma and great piquancy, mellow- 

 ing the liquor and giving a rich " bouquet " to the infusion. 

 It is also a tea that when once tea-drinkers become edu- 

 cated or attached to its matchless qualities are ever after 

 hard to please with any other. 



Low-grade and artificially-colored Pan-fired Japans, 

 owing to their usually " brassy " or " fishy " flavor, and 

 well-known tendency to early decay, which has a highly 

 detrimental effect on the other teas should be avoided, 

 while new, " mealy," Basket-fired Japans are especially 

 adapted for all Black tea blends, as they impart a pecu- 

 liarly rich color and tone to the liquor and a very 

 pleasing mellowness to the flavor of the combination, 

 but should never form the base of the blend. " Old," 

 " musty," " mousey," or " smoky " Congous, too " high- 

 fired" and excessively "tarry" Souchongs should also 

 be avoided altogether, as they invariably detract from or 

 destroy the flavor and aroma of the finer kinds used in 

 the blend, their deleterious effects being felt through the 

 entire combination, and all " dusty " and " stemmy " teas 

 in particular, for while some tea-drinkers will bear with a 

 small quantity of these most objectionable features in tea, 

 the vast majority will protest, as it is next to impossible 

 to prevent dust and stems from finding their way into 

 the tea-cup. 



The appended formulas are not given with the intention 

 of laying down any fixed or positive rules, but simply as 



