78 TEA 



Mills, one of the busiest hives of industry in the capital 

 of Ceylon. 



In a spacious yard, fronting a large building, stand 

 a number of bullock-waggons. Loading and unloading 

 operations are being actively pursued ; some men are 

 bringing out packing-cases and taking them over 

 towards a row of empty waggons on one side of the 

 yard, whilst others are transferring cases indoors 

 from a row of heavily laden waggons on the opposite 

 side. 



On the threshold of the main entrance we are met by 

 the manager, who makes us very welcome, and proceeds 

 to show us round. The very first scene that meets our 

 eyes seems a familiar one to us ; men are turnmg over 

 a big mound of tea with shovels, and we jump to the 

 conclusion that they are bulking. We learn from our 

 guide, however, that these men are not mixing together 

 batches of tea which are all supposed to be of the same 

 quality ; they are " blending " batches of ready- 

 bulked teas, that is to say mixing together teas of 

 different quaHties with the object of forming a com- 

 pound that is uniform in appearance and quality. 

 Teas are blended up to a standard of quaUty that is 

 fix:ed by the importer ; and in fixing this standard the 

 importer has to take into consideration — 



1. The price at which the mixture is to be sold. 

 Different quality teas can be mixed in any proportion, 

 always provided that the average cost price of a pound 

 of the mixture does not exceed a certain fixed sum. 



2. The particular taste of certain customers. Blend- 

 ing affects flavour ; by a solution of the proportion 

 problem a blend of a certain popular flavour is pro- 

 duced within a fixed_^ price hmit. 



