128 



TROPICAL AGRICULTURE 



CHAP. 



Rolling 

 presses out 

 the bitter 

 juices. 



How the 

 rolling is 

 done. 



pan will be described later on. The leaves may also be 

 withered by spreading them thinly on the floors of building. 



Rolling. — This process is an important one, and by it 

 the leaves are made to have that twisted shape so well known 

 to all. The object of rolling is not, however, to twist the 

 leaves, for that is simply an accident of the process, it is to 

 press out the bitter juice and to prepare the leaves for the 

 stage of fermentation. In China the process is always done 

 by hand, but in India and Ceylon special machines are used. 

 The rolling by hand, however, answers the purpose quite 

 well ; and, until tea becomes extensively cultivated in the 

 West Indies, no other process can safely be recommended. 

 The rolling is commonly done on a smooth table, 

 covered with the Indian matting used for floors, in the 

 following manner : A ball of withered leaves is taken in the 

 hands and rolled backwards and forwards, or from side to 

 side, considerable pressure being exerted at the same time. 

 This causes the leaves to have a soapy feel, and it twists 

 them up in various ways. When juice exudes and the leaves 

 have the proper twist the operation is completed. A hard 

 working man can roll 30 lbs. of leaves per day. 



Red and FERMENTING. — The rolls may be open so as to pick out 



to^br picked ^^^ ^^"^ rips oi" coarse leaves, or they can be put into baskets 

 °"^- or heaped up on the floor until they ferment, in which case 



the bad leaves are picked out afterwards. The fermentation 

 is sometimes dispensed with, but it is an important process 

 as it develops the peculiar flavour of the tea. No particular 

 time can be mentioned as the proper period for the fermen- 

 tation process. It is entirely a matter for experiment and 

 experience. 



Firing. — This term is applied to the last stage in the 

 manufacture, because the leaf is usually dried with artificial 

 heat, in open pans or in one of the many machines, called 

 driers, used for the purpose in tea countries. But the process 



Fermenta- 

 tion deve- 

 lops the 

 flavour. 



