No. 149.] 3bl 



By repeating this process they are made to assume the appear- 

 ance which they present. There is no truth in the report, that 

 green tea owes its color to being dried on copper plates, for it is 

 in fact dried upon iron plates. This tea has l)een carefully analyzed, 

 and chemical tests do not detect any copper. It has been stated 

 that vegetable dyes are used by the Chinese, for the green ; and 

 it is asserted that they can make either black or green lea from 

 the same leaves ; but however this may be, those two kinds of 

 tea are mostly produced from different plants and in different 

 districts. 



Bohea tea is so called from the Wo-ee-hills in Fokien, the 

 country where black tea is cJiieHy grown. 



Congou black tea is the variety usually sold in England, where 

 tlie consumption of it is very great ; it has a particularly agree- 

 able flavor and is there a general favorite. 



Pekoe or (pe-kow) '' white leaf bud," is the finest of all tlie 

 black teas. It consists of the early buds of the best tea plants, 

 and is usually put up as presents, intermixed with flowers, gen- 

 erally those of the fragrant olive Its infusion is light, inclining 

 to green, has a violet scent, and agreeable flavor. It is more 

 common in Russia than in England. 



Twankey is the coarsest of the green teas, and is stldom im- 

 ported. 



Hyson teas are the most favorite teas ij^ported into the United 

 States, together with the hyson skin, which consists of the inferi- 

 or leaves separated when manufactured. 



Gunpowder teals the best of the hyson, or green teas, and is so 

 named from the minuteness of the grain. It consists of the first 

 leaves of the green tea plant, and is sometimes mixed with flowers 

 to make it more fragrant. Several plants are cultivated by the 

 Chinese for this purpose, among which may be named the Olea 

 fragrans. Camellia, Sassanqua, Polygaia thuraus, Khanmus 

 thuraus, &c. 



Different tea farms in China p<roduce teas of various qualities, 

 according to the skill of the manufacturer, difference in the soil, 

 etc. 



