68 TEA 



The bulk of the crude Formosan tea is refined into 

 Oolong Tea ; a small portion, however, is converted 

 into Pouchong Tea. 



Pouchong is a very favourite variety of tea with 

 the Chinese, who have made it for hundreds of 

 years. But Formosa only began to manufacture it 

 about 1879. The process of making this tea is as 

 follows : — 



" The locally prepared tea is mixed with the flowers 

 for scenting and kept in an air-tight chamber. When 

 left in this manner for a few hours, the tea absorbs 

 the fragrance of the flowers, and then the leaves are 

 heated, thereby evaporating the moisture. Then the 

 flowers used for scenting are carefully picked out. The 

 Pouchong Tea is packed in chests in the same manner 

 as the Oolong Tea." 



The production of tea in Formosa in 1910 was, — 

 19,878,822 kin. The area under tea cultivation in this 

 island is about 34,368 ku — a ko is equal to 2-45 acres. 



CHAPTER XV 



WORK AND PLAY IN THE TEA-LANDS OF JAVA 



A HIGHLY successful competitor in the tea industry 

 is the Island of Java. Tea seed was first brought hither 

 from Japan, in 1827, and experiments made in its 

 cultivation at the world-famous Botanical Gardens at 

 Buitenzorg. A little later on, seed was obtained from 

 China, and tea-growing was begun as a commercial 

 enterprise. 



The tea district of Java is in the west of the island. 

 Nearly all the labourers employed both in gardens and 



