a 
168 Bibliography. " 
still wet with dew. These were deposited in a well polished iron 
_yase, the shape being that of a very broad flat pan, and set on a brick 
furnace, where a brisk wooden fire kept the temperature nearly up to 
* that of boiling water. _A negro, after carefully washing his hands, 
kept continually stirring the tea leaves in all directions, till their ex- 
‘ternal dampness was quite evaporated, and the leaves acquired the 
softness of linen rag, and a small pinch of them, when rolled in the 
hollow of the hand, became a little ball that would not unroll. In 
ae 
wae ge he ‘* x 
. this state the mass of tea was divided into two portions, and a negro 
took each and set them on a hurdle formed of strips of bamboo, laid 
at right angles, where they shook and kneaded the leaves in all direc- 
tions for a quarter of an hour, an operation on which much of the beau- 
ty of the product depends, and which requires habit in order to be pro- 
perly performed. It is impossible to describe this process: the motion © 
of the hands is rapid and very irregular, and the degree of pressure 
requisite varies according to circumstances; generally speaking, the 
young negro women are considered more clever at this part of the work 
than older persons. As this process of rolling and twisting the leaves 
goes on, their green juice is drained off through the hurdle, and it is es- 
sential that the tea be perfectly divested of the moisture, which is acrid, 
and even corrosive, the bruising and kneading being specially designed 
to break the parenchyme of the leaf, and permit the escape of the sap. 
“When the leaves have been thus twisted and rolled, they are re- 
placed in the great iron pan, and the temperature raised till the hand 
can no longer bear the heat at the bottom. For upwards of an hour 
the negroes are then constantly employed in separating, shaking, and 
throwing the foliage up and down, in order to facilitate the desicca- 
tion, and much neatness and quickness of hand were requisite, that 
the manipulators might neither burn themselves nor allow the masses 
of leaves to adhere to the hot bottom of the pan. It is easy to see 
that, if the pan were placed within another pan filled with boiling 
water, and the leaves were stirred with an iron spatula, much trouble 
might be obviated. Still, the rolling and drying of the leaves were 
successfully performed ; they became more and more crisp, and pre 
served their. twisted shape, except some few which seemed too old and 
coriaceous to submit to be rolled up. The tea was then placed on® 
sieve, with wide apertures of regular'sizes, and formed of flat strips 
of bamboo. The best rolled leaves, produced by the tips of the bu 
and the tenderest leaves, passed through this sieve, and were subse- 
quently fanned, in order to separate any unrolled fragments whic 
might have passed through with them; this produce was called Jm- 
perial, or Uchim Tea. It was again laid in the pan, till it acquired 
the leaden gray tint, which proved its perfect dryness, and any defec- 
