536 MANUAL OF THE NILAGIEI DISTRICT. 



CU. XXIX. lias no direct influence on the quality of tea, whereas the saving 

 ^~ from the use of wood is very considerable. 



■ Though it may not be the planter's intention to manufacture 



green teas to any extent, it is a good plan to have two or three 

 iron tea pans in every factory. They are of great service 

 in warming broken teas previous to packing, and, if a demand 

 for green teas should occur, can be turned to their legitimate use. 

 One or two tables, say 12 feet long, 4 feet wide, and 3 feet high, 

 will be needed for rolling the leaf gathered, and a few zinc-lined 

 bins, capable of holding from 500 to 2,000 lb. of manufactured 

 tea, will be found necessary. 



I have no opportunity of providing plates to illustrate these 

 necessary items of tea-house furniture, but as the majority of 

 estates on these hills are more or less well supplied with them, an 

 intending planter has only to visit one or two gardens in order 

 to be fully acquainted with what is necessary. 



For many of the details of this subject I shall have to quote 

 a few extracts verbatim from my lengthier paper on Tea Cultiva- 

 tion in Southern India. 



A slight notice has already been ta.ken of the leaves ordinarily 

 plucked for the purpose of manufacture. Whether four leaves 

 as a, h, c, d, are all plucked and manufactured together, or a, 

 b, c, and cl, e, f, are plucked and prepared separately, matters 

 little so far as the general description of the various processes to 

 which the leaf is subjected are concerned. 



First, to note the leading points of difference between black 

 and green teas, 

 —difference 1. The leaf of the former has a portion of its moisture 

 bfack and evaporated by withering in the sun (or artificially) until quite 

 green teas, soft or flaccid. The latter is rendered sufficiently soft for manipu- 

 lation by a short but brisk panning. 



2. With black teas, the juice is retained so far as practicable 

 in the leaf, and subsequently evaporated by a slower process. 

 In the manufacture of green teas it is expressed from the outset, 

 and the leaf subsequently dried at a higher temperature. 



3. Black tea is allowed, after the rolling has been completed, 

 to stand and take colour, i.e., incipient fermentation is allowed 

 to take place, thereby converting a great portion of the tannin, 

 the bitter principle contained in tea leaf, into gallic acid, and 

 thus softening the astringency it would otherwise possess. If 

 this process is carried too far, strength is lost, and what brokers 

 term sourness results. 



After these few introductory remarks I propose to deal with 

 the treatment of the leaf from the time it is weighed in at the 

 factory. If coarse leaves are picked, they should be manufactured 

 separately from the finer leaves. 



