TEA OF THE CALMUCS. 61 



Camellia Japonica. 

 MRS. C. 



Yes: according to De Candolle, they all form one order, 

 Camellias,* and being so nearly allied, they possess, though 

 in different degrees, the same properties; but the peculiar 

 flavor of some of the kinds of tea is imparted to them by the 

 tea leaves being placed in alternate layers with the flowers 

 of either Camellia sesanqua or of Oleafragrans^ a plant which 

 you will see growing in my hot-house. With the preparation 

 of tea as we receive it here, you all, doubtless, are acquainted; 

 but you probably are not aware how the Calmucs prepare 

 theirs. " It is imported from China to Siberia, and consists 

 of the coarse leaves and stalks of the plant, which are formed 

 into cakes sixteen inches long, eight inches broad, and more 

 than an inch thick. A portion of this is cut off with a knife, 

 and boiled with butter and fat from the tails of their sheep; a 

 little salt is added, and sometimes milk. Before these last 

 ingredients are put into the kettle the settlement is taken out 

 with a bag and an iron hook (a good deal like a fish hook,) 

 and these leaves are added on the next occasion to the fresh 

 tea. When all is ready, the tea is ladled out of the kettle 

 with a wooden spoon, and served in the common wooden 

 bowls or cups which the Calmucs use to drink out of.:j: 



* Camellia ihea (Bohea tea,) Camellia viridis (green tea.) 

 t De Candolle. 



% Zwick and Schill's Journey to Calmuc Tartary, p. 99. 

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