Green Teas of Commerce. 361 



Mr Seeman here distinctly states, that around Canton the 

 green tea is dyed with Prussian blue^ turmeric, and gypsum ; 

 that in the manufacture he inspected, the dyes above men- 

 tioned were added ; and he gives their proportions. That 

 there was no concealment or mysterious proceeding ; that 

 one of the great merchants conducted him over his own, and 

 also another manufactory, and that everything was conducted 

 openly, and exhibited with great civility. And yet, strange 

 to say, Mr Seeman appears to have been deceived notwith- 

 standing all this ; for on submitting these materials to the 

 _ 



Prussian blue, turmeric, and gypsum, all reduced into fine powder. The pro- 

 cess is well described by Sir J. F. Davis (' The Chinese,' iii., 244), who, however, 

 falls into the strange mistake of supposing the whole proceeding of colouring 

 to be an adulteration, and leaves his readers to infer that it is only occasionally 

 done in order to meet the emergency of the demand, while it is now very well 

 known that all the green tea of Canton has assumed that colour by artificial 

 dying. I had heard so much about tea, copper plates, picking of the leaves, 

 rolling them up with the fingers, boiling them in hot water, &c, that I became 

 anxious to see with my own eyes the process of manufacture, of which the 

 various books had given me such a confused idea. One of the great merchants 

 conducted me not only to his own but also to another establishment, where the 

 preparation of the different sorts was going forward. There was no conceal- 

 ment or mysterious proceeding, every thing was conducted openly, and exhibited 

 with the greatest civility ; indeed, from all I saw in the country, I am almost 

 inclined to conclude that either the Chinese have greatly altered, or their wish 

 to conceal and mystify everything, of which so much has been said, never ex- 

 isted. 



" The tea is brought to Canton unprepared ; after its arrival it is first sub- 

 jected to cleaning. Women and children are employed to pick out the pieces 

 of twigs, seeds, and other impurities with which it happens to be intermixed. 

 The only sorts which may be called natural are those gathered at different 

 seasons ; the rest are prepared by artificial means. 



" Without entering into a description of all these processes, it may suffice to 

 take one as an example. A quantity of Bohea Saushung was thrown into a 

 spherical iron pan kept hot by means of a fire beneath. These leaves were 

 constantly stirred about until they became thoroughly heated, when the dyes 

 above mentioned were added, viz., to about twenty pounds of tea, one spoonful 

 of gypsum, one of turmeric, and two or even three of Prussian blue. The leaves 

 instantly changed into a bluish green, and having been stirred for a few minutes, 

 were taken out. They, of course, had shrivelled and assumed different shapes 

 from the heat. The different kinds were produced by sifting. The small 

 longish leaves fell through the first sieve and formed young Hyson, while those 

 Avhich had a roundish granular 6hape fell through last, and constituted Choo- 

 cha or Gunpowder." 



