HEAT EMPLOYED IN THE MANIPULATION OF TEA. 247 



iron ; and in order that this may not seem, or be 

 mistaken for, exaggeration or error, it may be 

 advisable now to state, that the knowledge of this 

 fact is derived from too many independent sources 

 of information to leave any room for doubt. 



Mr. Bruce at Assam states*, that the Chinese 

 there affirm, that a red heat is employed in China 

 for the manufacture of Paochong tea. Mr. Reeves 

 possesses Chinese papers corroborative of this fact. 

 I also have several Chinese documents (See chap. vi. 

 p. 103.) procured from different persons, all conclu- 

 sive on the same point, besides having been on two 

 occasions an eye-witness of the red heat having been 

 so used by different men, both from the green and 

 black tea districts. It is necessary, however, to 

 advert to the form of the vessel in which tea is 

 roasted. It is not flat but concave ; and it must 

 be borne in mind, that it is only the extreme point 

 or pole of this concavity, which is somewhat 

 flattened, that is even permitted to attain that 

 high temperature. This heat is also a dull red 

 heat, though visible by daylight, and not extend- 

 ing more than six or eight inches in circumference 

 from the central point of the pan or vessel. 

 Further, the vessel is fitted into the stove in a 

 slanting position, having an angle of about forty- 

 five degrees. Thus the leaves which are simply 

 dashed and tossed against the heated part of the 



* Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, vol. viii. p. 504. 



r 4 



