PROCESSES OF CHAO AND POEY. 11 



explained under their respective articles. At what 

 period these methods were introduced does not 

 appear ; but the superiority of these modes is 

 acknowledged by the author of the Cha Pu. The 

 date of this work is not known to me. The author 

 observes, on the manufacture of tea, that, " The 

 leaves must be gathered just prior to the season 

 of Ko-yu, picked clean, and heated with steam. 

 T\Tien they change colour, spread them out, and 

 fan off the steam with a fan ; then roll and dry 

 them over a charcoal fire {poey) ; and finally fold 

 them up with the leaves of the Jo plant. It is 

 said, that tea which is steamed in the first process 

 is not so good as that which is roasted in an iron 

 vessel (chao) : and in the second process, that 

 which is sun-dried is not so good as that which 

 is dried over a charcoal fire {poey). So that 

 which is first roasted in an iron vessel, and finally 

 dried over a charcoal fire is excellent." This latter 

 method is the mode now adopted in the black tea 

 districts for the preparation of the best teas. 



Regarding the early geographical distribution 

 and discovery of the tea plant, we again select the 

 author of the Cha Pu as our guide. From this 

 work we learn, that the tea plant, though spread 

 over the " hills of note," was first discovered, or 

 first attracted attention in the Vu-ye, or Bohea 

 district (as Europeans have corrupted the name), 

 in the province of Fo-kien. And this author, 

 choosing to lend himself to fiction, partly from 



