FINAL DESICCATION OF BLACK TEA. 137 



ing ; and in the act of replacing it over the 

 fire, it is necessary to give it a smart tap on the 

 side, to get rid of any dust or leaf which may be in 

 a situation to fall. 



When the leaves appear sufficiently dry, which is 

 ascertained by their crispness, they are then taken 

 from the fire and sifted ; and the old, the yellow, 

 and the chaffy leaves are winnowed off by means 

 of a large circular bamboo tray. 



The coarse leaves which remain are then, if ne- 

 cessary, picked out by hand, which is seldom, or 

 perhaps never, the case with any black teas forming 

 a part of the foreign investments. They certainly are 

 not hand-picked with the same care as green teas, 

 which is evident from the quantity of stalks they 

 contain, while none are found in either Twankay 

 or Hyson tea. The residue, which is the tea for 

 sale, is again placed over the remaining embers, 

 or over a very slow fire, but in still larger quan- 

 tities, for about two hours. In some cases they 

 remain throughout the night, the embers being 

 left to die away. In this part of the process the 

 drying-tube is completely closed with the tray. 



The tea is then packed in chests or baskets ac- 

 cording to its quality, and the practice of the planter 

 or farmer. In this state they are carried to the 

 public markets for sale, and sold from two to one 

 hundred chests at a time, according to the size 

 of the farm or plantation. These markets have 



