TEA MAKING 135 
that of heating the leaf in metal pans over fires in simple 
furnaces ; in India and Ceylon, where a little green tea 
has been made for the Russian and American markets, 
the agent used is steam under pressure. In green teas, 
therefore, the tannin constituents remain practically 
unoxidised, and the liquor possesses less colour and 
body, but greater pungency, the latter feature being 
characteristic of this class of tea. 
Green tea is subjected to a light rolling after firing, 
not with the object of rupturing the leaf-cells, but to 
impart a “‘ twist.’’ The tea has a soft, silky feel, quite 
distinct from that of black tea. During manufacture 
it becomes sticky, especially in the case of the youngest 
leaves which adhere in small balls to form “ gun- 
powder.” 
Oolongs.—North America absorbs practically the 
whole of a remarkable tea exported from Formosa, viz.. 
the famous Formosa oolongs, which in recent years 
have made considerable but not very successful efforts 
to enter the English market. The chief characters of 
oolongs are a distinctive delicacy of flavour, and light- 
ness of body and colour suggesting green teas, but an 
absence of marked pungency. So considerable is the 
value of the American market for this class of tea that 
in 1904 a special mission on behalf of Indian and Ceylon 
planters was despatched to Formosa to investigate the 
industry with a view to the production of British-grown 
oolongs. The information gained was of much interest, 
but no practical results followed.. It was found that 
much of the character of the tea is due to a special 
feature of its manufacture, viz. a partial fermentation, 
effected during a prolonged withering, previous to roll- 
