COFFEE. 



3.93 



up the points of the fingers to prevent their 

 coming in contact with the hot pan. After one 

 hour's good rubhing, the leaves are taken out 

 and thrown into a large coarse bamboo sieve; 

 from this into a finer one, and again a still finer, 

 until three sorts of tea have been separated. 

 The first or largest sort is put into the funnel of 

 a winnowing machine, which has three divisions 

 of small traps below to let the tea out. A man 

 turns the wheel with his right hand, and with 

 the left regulates the quantity of tea that shall 

 fall through the wooden funnel above, by a wooden 

 slide at the bottom. As the tea falls through 

 gently, and in small quantities, the blast from 

 the fan blows the smaller particles to the end of 

 the machine, where they are intercepted by a cir- 

 cular movable board placed there. The dust and 

 smaller particles are blown against this board, 

 and fall out at an opening at the bottom into a 

 basket placed there as a receptacle. The next 

 highest tea is blown nearly to the end of the 

 machine, and falls through a trough on the side 

 into a basket. This tea is called yoimg hyson. 

 The next being a little heavier, is not blown 

 quite so far; it falls through the same trough, 

 which has a division in the middle near the 

 centre of the machine. A basket is placed be- 

 neath to receive the tea which is called hyson. 

 The next, which is still heavier, falls very near 

 to the end of the fan; it is in small balls, and is 

 called gunpowder tea. The heaviest falls still 

 closer to the fan, and is called big gunpowde¥. 

 It is two or three times the size of the gun- 

 powder, each ball being composed of several 

 young leaves, adhering firmly together. This 

 sort is afterwards put into a box, and cut down 

 by a sharp instrument to the size of gunpowder 

 tea, with which it is mixed. 



The different sorts are next put into fine bam- 

 boo sieves, and all bad leaves and pieces of sticks 

 are carefully picked out by women and children, 

 when it undergoes a second drying in the pans, 

 and rolling and rubbing as before. A finely 

 pounded and sifted mixture of indigo and sul- 

 phate of lime is now added, in the proportion 

 of a tea spoonful to 14 lbs. of the leaves, and in- 

 timately mingled with them in the pan, by which 

 a uniform colour is imparted to the whole. The 

 indigo imparts the colour, and the sulphate of 

 lime fixes it; but no additional flavour is hereby 

 obtained. 



Mr Bruce observes, that the leaves both for the 

 black teas and the green, are plucked from the 

 same trees; and that the difference lies in the 

 manufacture of the leaves alone. 



The green tea gatherers are accommodated with 

 a small basket each, having a strap passed round 

 the neck, so as to let the basket hang on the 

 breast. With one hand the person holds the 

 branch, and with the other plucks the leaf, one 

 at a time taking as high as tiie soucliing leaf ; a 



small piece of the lower end of the leaf is left 

 for the young leaf to shoot up close to it, and 

 not a bit of the stalk must be gathered. This 

 makes the process very tedious. The black tea 

 maker, on the contrary, plucks the leaves with 

 great rapidity with both hands, using the fore- 

 finger and thumb, and collects them in the hol- 

 lo;iv of the hand, emptying them occasionally 

 into a basket. Tliis process he accomplishes with 

 inconceivable quickness. The quality of the tea 

 depends upon the size of the leaves employed, 

 and their age, and time of plucking. 



To damaged black teas, the leaves of the olea 

 fragrans, or sweet scented olive, and another 

 aromatic plant, are added, in the proportion of a 

 pound of these leaves to a box of tea. This 

 improves the flavour without adding any thing 

 that is pernicious. 



In order to afford some idea of the labour of 

 tea manufacture, Mr Bruce gives the following 

 statement. To manufacture 80 lbs. of black tea 

 per day, 25 tea gatherers are requisite, and 10 

 driers and sorters. To produce 92 lbs of green 

 tea, 30 gatherers, and 16 driers and sorters are 

 requisite. This supposes the day to be fine and 

 sunny throughout. If rainy, one half may be 

 deducted. 



The produce of all the tea tracts in Assam, in 

 1839, is estimated at 6274 lbs.; in 1840, at 

 11,160 lbs. 



The cultivation of the tea plant has only been 

 commenced in this district lately. It might be 

 increased to a very great extent, as the ground 

 suitable for it is most ample. At present the 

 quality and quantity of the produce must be in- 

 fluenced very much by the state of the trees, 

 and by the labourers employed being as yet not 

 sufficiently trained to the manufacture. 



Mr Bruce says, that the Chinese method of 

 digging a hole and putting in a handful of seeds 

 of the tea plant, does not succeed so well in As- 

 sam as putting two or three seeds on small ridges 

 of earth, and covering them over. As the plants 

 grow very slender, he advises to put four or five 

 close together, when they will grow up and form 

 a bush. Plants raised from seed produce a small 

 crop in three years; but they do not come to 

 maturity tiU six years. It is said they live to 

 the age of forty or fifty years.* 



Coffee, (coffea Arahica.) Natural family 

 rvhiaceos. Pentandria monogynia of Linnaeus. 



In the Arabic language, quahouch is the name 

 for the liquor of coffee; in Turkish ca/mey, hence 

 the common name coffee. 



The coffee tree is of low stature, seldom ex- 

 ceeding twelve feet in height; slender, and at the 

 upper part dividing into long trailing branches. 

 The bark is almost smooth, and of a brown 

 colour. The leaves are elliptical, smooth, entire, 



• Edin. Phil. Journal, 1810, 

 3 D 



