138 EXPLOITATION OF PLANTS 
bricks are finally wrapped in paper and packed in hide- 
covered bales. They differ:much from the hard, black 
Russian bricks, being readily broken up into a loose 
mass of twigs and leaves. Their domestic application 
is also different ; the Russian brick is used for ordinary 
infusions, but the Tibetan article is boiled with butter, 
salt and other materials to form a soup. 
Leppet (Letpet) tea.—Probably the most interesting 
of the applications of the tea leaf is in the manu- 
facture of the leppet tea of the Shan States and neigh- 
bouring districts of Burma. The product does not 
enter into external commerce. Two methods of pre- 
paration are described. West of the Irrawaddy the leaf 
is softened in boiling water and then rolled and allowed 
to cool. It is then rammed into a length of bamboo 
retaining one of the natural diaphragms, and the end 
plugged. The bamboos are then inverted to drain 
away moisture, and finally buried in the soil for the 
leaf to mature. Eastwards of the river a different 
process is employed, though the principle remains the 
same. The softened and rolled leaf is tightly packed 
into a pit in the ground, lined with boards or matting, 
and pressure applied by piling heavy weights on a cover 
placed over the leaf. In due course the leaf assumes a 
yellow colour, when it is ready for sale. 
As in the case of Tibet brick teas, leppet is not used 
for making a beverage. The cured leaf is eaten direct 
as a vegetable, or mixed with garlic, oil and salt to form 
a kind of salad. 
It will be evident that the process of manufacture has 
little or nothing in common with that of ordinary black 
or green teas. In both methods employed one is 
