286 COFFEE, 



by her are Congous. America is the largest consumer of green 

 tea, she having taken, in 1875, 130,000 piculs, against 70,000 

 picnls for England and 77,000 for India, no other country taking 

 any green tea to any considerable amount. In blacks, however, 

 America* makes but a poor showing — namely, 92,000 piculs in 

 1875, against 1,100,000 for Great Britain, 106,000 for Australia, 

 88,000 for Eussia, 12,000 for the Continent of Europe, 10,000 for 

 New Zealand, 10,000 for Java, 3,800 for South Africa, 3,400 for 

 British America, 2,200 for Cochin-China, 2,000 for Singapore 

 and the Straits, 1,000 for Siam, 900 for Japan, 200 for India, and 

 a few scatterings. Of all this immense quantity of black tea, only 

 117,000 piculs are Oolong, 1,189,000 are Congou, 41,000 Souchong, 

 35,000 Pouchong, 1,900 Flowery Pekoe, 37 Orange Pekoe, 46,000 

 Scented Caper, and 1,100 mixed. Of the 91,903 piculs taken by 

 America, 16,778 are Congou, 69,586 Oolong, 3,647 Souchong, 

 1,812 Pouchong, 24 of Orange Pekoe, and 56 of mixed. 



I could go on making a further analysis and comparison of 

 figures, which might be of interest to the trade, but it is said that 

 " figures are dry " and " comparisons are odious," and I am fearful 

 of tiring the reader with too many of them. By the foregoing, 

 however, it will be seen that Great Britain is the great consumer 

 of tea ; that the United States comes next, and Kussia third, while 

 the whole Continent of Europe, aside from Kussia, takes but 

 12,360 piculs — less than one-eighth of the quantity taken by 

 Australia. London being the great tea mart of the world, it is 

 probable that some portion of the immense quantities sent to that 

 port are re-exported, but it must be remembered that, in addition 

 to all the tea which England imports from China, she receives about 

 31,000,000 pounds, or 233,000 piculs, grown in her own possessions 

 (India). This also was mostly Congou or Souchong. The United 

 States also imported about 25,000,000 pounds, or 188,000 piculs, 

 from Japan ; and, in looking over these figures, it becomes ap- 

 parent that about ninety per cent, of all the tea exported- from 

 China, Japan, and India is consumed by people speaking the 

 English language, and of this over seventy-five per cent, is taken 

 by Great Britain and her colonies. 



The production of tea has very largely increased during the 

 past ten years, probably in a greater ratio than that of any other of 



