68 TEA. 



or triangular, of the size of a bean, and the pods contain 2 or 3 peas 

 each, with a kernel. These peas are the seeds sown. Thea bohea, or 

 Bohea tea plant and the Thc.a viridis or Green tea plant are those dis- 

 tinguished by botanists ; but there are other species and many varie- 

 ties, as the kinds we receive indicate. Some maintain that there is 

 only the latter species. 



The tree, as it is called, is a branchy evergreen shrub, from three to 

 five feet high, though one species is a tree forty feet high. The leaves 

 are gathered when they are nearly full and juicy, in April, June and 

 September, and are passed, some say, over the vapor of boiling water 

 and dried on porcelain plates, by which they curl up, as we find them. 

 But tea is rarely free from the admixture of other herbs, such as moss- 

 ferns, &c., with the olea fragrans to give it flavor. The price there is 

 usually from five to eighteen cents per pound. The Chinese know 

 nothing of the many names by which tea is distinguished in Europe 

 and this country, or of its advanced price. They have, however, dis- 

 tinctions of their own, such as voui soumlo, etc., which are used by 

 those of rank and the sick. Tea has been cultivated by them from 

 immemorial time, and sung by their poets since the time of Confucius. 

 The poor, however, often beg the steeped leaves of strangers, which 

 they say makes a better drink than that which they commonly obtain. 



The common tea of the Chinese is the green, or bing tea,'* gathered 

 in Apri}, and the bou, or bohea tea, which is gathered while in the bud 

 in March, as seen from its small leaves and deep tincture ; but others 

 attribute this to the district in which the plant is grown ; and the color 

 of the green tea to both place and time of gathering, which much affect 

 the quality and appearance. The Chinese make and drink tea as we 

 do, except that they use little or no sugar and no milk to temper its bit- 

 terness, as is done by us. The Japanese pulverize it, stirring the pow- 

 der into hot water and drinking it as we do coffee. The former re- 

 gale their friends with it and take it three times a day, or oftener ? 

 though they consume a less quantity in proportion to numbers than 

 Europeans. 



The species of tea are the camellia bohea. or bohea tea, C. viridis or 

 green tea, and C. Japonica, (Japan Rose,) which is a lofty and beau- 

 tiful tree growing in gardens in Japan ; and there are twenty garden 

 varieties. The C. viridis is undoubtedly the species chiefly cultivated 

 and which furnishes the tea of commerce ; but this is much and vari- 

 ously adulterated with the other species and poor varieties, and espe- 

 cially by the leaves of other plants, to which is added the oil of the 

 seeds of the C. oleifera to improve their quality. This latter species 

 is much cultivated in China and Japan for the oil of the seeds which, 

 when expressed, is there used for many culinary purposes, like that of 

 the hemp and poppy seeds. The seeds of all the species likewise afford 

 this oil. The Slack teas are the bohea, congo, campo, souchong, pou- 

 cfcong and pekoe. The green teas are the twankay, hyson-skin, 



