SONCHY, OR CAPER TEA. 157 



j 



Pekoe, much of which is made for the Russian 

 market, is gathered rather later, and consists of a 

 more expanded leaf. The peculiar red appearance 

 of this tea is produced by a lengthened process of 

 the operation of To-ching, that is, by tossing the 

 leaves on trays, or by whirling them round in a 

 sieve, and by covering them up with another tray, 

 to promote the withering. Eck Hing, the tea- 

 merchant who introduced the Pekoe-kio teas, in- 

 formed me that the Hong Moey teas were partly 

 dried in the sun after the first roasting (chao). 

 I am disposed to think that the peculiar flavour of 

 this tea, its redness of leaf and infusion, may be 

 derived from some such cause. A lengthened 

 process of To-ching, the leaves being collected in 

 a heap and covered with a tray, both before and 

 after each roasting, together with a slow process 

 of drying in the drying tubes, would produce the 

 effect here sought. Mr. Jacobson states that Pekoe 

 tea requires much exposure to the sun previously 

 to roasting ; it should also be placed in close 

 rooms, and not exposed to the air, but kept warm ; 

 because it is advisable to hasten and promote the 

 witheinng of the leaves. 



SONCHY, OR CAPER TEA. 



Each leaf of the superior kind of Sonchy is said to 

 be plucked separately from the shrubs ; being nipped 

 off by women, leaving no part of the stalk. The 



