541- MAXUAI. OF THE XiLAGIia r)ISI'RIC'I'. 



CH. XXIX. commencing to bring out the colour is the point to aim at. If you 

 ~ hear your half-dried leaf hissing and crackling, heave it out into a 



L cooler pan at once. 



"The tasting of green teas is conducted in the same manner as 

 that of black, but widely different results are looked for. The liquor 

 should be a pale primrose straw-colour, and the flavour full strong and 

 very pungent. The outturn of the leaf should be a bright pea-green. 

 If the liquor be at all dark, we may rest assured that some leaves 

 have been allowed to take colour either in the rolling or drying 

 processes ; and the colour of the outturn will tell the tale by showing a 

 few discoloured leaves here and there. When the di'ied sample shows 

 much yellow leaf we may be sure these latter have been burnt." 

 —tasting i^ ig as well to taste every day's make. For the following 



general directions I was indebted some years back to Messrs. 

 Moreen and Co. of Calcutta. 



" Infuse the leaf, allowing it to draw for five minutes. If the tea 

 is fine in quality, the leaf after infusion will be of a light salmony 

 colour, or in other words the colour of a bright new penny-piece, and 

 the liquor will be of a bright rich ruby colour. If under-fermented, 

 some greenish leaf will be observed after infusion, and the liquor 

 will be of a pale colour and have a sharp, pungent greenish taste. 

 If over-fermented, the infusion will come out of a dusky olive green 

 colour, and the liquor, although dark, will have a dull look and a soft 

 insipid taste, and if much over-fermented, soui-ness will ensue." 



" It often happens that the planter can get cup and bowls, but not 

 the accompanying scales and weights. Under these circumstances 

 any other scale will suit his purpose, and the weight of ^ tola or of 

 a 4-anna bit will tell him the exact amount of leaf to be infused. 

 He must be careful to measure accurately the time allowed for 

 infusion, viz., five minutes. Fresh spring water should be used : 

 water that has been previously boiled and allowed subsequently to 

 cool will not develope satisfactorily the qualities of the tea. The 

 finer the leaf from which the sample is taken the stronger and richer 

 the liquor will be. Dull dark leaves in the outturn after infusion 

 may be owing to two causes, over-fermentation or burning in the 

 trays ; generally, in the latter case, the burnt flavour will be detected 

 in the liquor. If the cement which lines the well beneath the trays 

 has cracked and allows smoke to come through, the flavour of the tea 

 will be affected, and the same thing may occur from particles of dust 

 falling into the plate." 



—sifting aud It is advisable to keep the tea in bulk in the bins until there 

 storing. -g enQugii accamulated to make up a moderate break for the 



London mai-ket. All damaged teas should be kept separate. 

 Evenness in quality in each day's make is a great desideratum. 

 Sifting is a dusty task, and one likes to have it going on in the 

 tea-house as seldom as possible. With a large outturn and 

 limited accommodation^ it is true that sifted tea occupies much 



