SECTION VI. 



COFFEE-LEAF TEA, &c. 



ATTENTION was some time ago drawn to the subject of 

 coffee-leaf tea, which is used in Sumatra and other parts of 

 the East, and a good deal of discussion ensued upon the 

 matter, after the leaves were shown for the purpose at the 

 International Exhibition of 1851. An infusion of roasted 

 coffee-leaves is pronounced by those who have had an oppor- 

 tunity of tasting it, as superior to Bohea, and by some en- 

 thusiastic admirers is said to rival the flavour of the most 

 delicate Pekoe. That an infusion of roasted coffee-leaves 

 should imitate the flavour of tea is not to be wondered at, as 

 the leaves of both shrubs contain in the main the same 

 leading principles, more particularly theine or caffeine. There 

 is no doubt that coffee-leaf tea would command a sale in 

 England, but the question is how much could be collected to 

 make it profitable, and it involves the necessity of apparatus 

 and skilled labour for parching the leaves. 



Coffee-leaves are not quite so thick as those of Vallam- 

 brosa, and a Malabar coolie would not in one day collect 

 enough to pay the expense of picking, drying, packing, 

 cartage, warehouse rent, freight, and other charges. 



Moreover, no planter of any experience would think of 

 stripping his trees of their breathing organs, and the quan- 

 tity that might be collected from the suckers and prunings, 

 &c., would never give more than a few bales, even on large 

 plantations. Even were the fallen leaves supposed to be 

 available, their removal would be as detrimental as the prac- 



