7 ~~) =-— ————e = 
—r” 
TEAS—-METHODS OF MANUFACTURE. 877 
in cloudy or rainy weather. An hour’s sunning is usually sufficient. 
After withering, the leaves are rolled and twisted. Black teas are 
usually rolled in an apparatus made especially for this purpose. The 
rolled leaves are now subjected to a fermentation. This is a very im- 
portant operation since its influence on the quality of the tea 1s consid- 
erable. During this operation the leaves lose their disagreeable raw 
odor and acquire a fine flavor and the desired tint. One method of 
fermenting the leaves is to make them up into small balls, which are 
placed in shallow bamboo trays, covered with a white cloth, and set 
aside in a sunny place. A second method is to spread the leaves in a 
tray, press them together, cover and place them in a sunny place as 
above. The progress of the fermentation is determined by the appear- 
ance of the leaves, the full time required being about an hour. After 
fermentation the leaves are exposed in a thin layer to the sun. During 
this sunning the green color of the leaves gradually changes to a black. 
The next process is termed the ‘“‘firing.” The leaves are placed in a 
tray over a charcoal fire. The temperature gradually increases as the 
moisture is driven off. The leaves are constantly turned to insure uni- 
form drying. The leaves are transferred to another tray carefully 
mixed, and the drying repeated until they are dry. The final operation 
consists in passing the leaves through sieves of different meshes and 
packing. The tea is divided into three classes depending upon the size 
of the leaves, viz, Pekoe (the leaf buds), Souchong, and Bohea. 
As already stated, these manipulations are very much simplified in 
India. According to Col. Money! the operations practiced in the older 
tea countries have been reduced from twelve to five. Col. Money states 
that the brokers in India judge of the quality of the teas by the fol- 
lowing examination: 
They judge from three things, (1) the tea (i. e., the prepared leaf), (2) the liquor, 
(3) the out-turn.? 
The tea.—The color should be black, but not a dead black, rather a grayish black 
with a gloss on it. No red leaf should be mixed with it, it should be allone color. 
The tea should be regular: that is, each leaf should be about the same length, and 
should have a uniform twist, in all but ‘‘ broken teas.” (These latter are called 
“broken,” because the leaf is more orless open and broken.) The tea should also be 
regular of its kind, that is, if Pekoe all Pekoe, if Congou all Congon; for any stray 
leaves in a tea, even if of a better class, will reduce its value. In the high class of 
teas, viz, Pekoe and broken Pekoes, the more Pekoe tips that are present the higher, 
in consequence, will its price be. 
The liquor.—In taste this should be strong, rasping, and pungent, incase of Pekoes 
a “‘Pekoe flavor.” There are other words used in the trade to particularize certain 
tastes, but the words themselves would teach nothing. Tea-tasting can not be 
learned from books. If the liquor is well flavored, as a rule, the darker it is in the 
cup the better. But to judge of teas by the color of the liquor alone is impossible, 
for some high-class teas have naturally a very pale liquor. 
‘Tea cultivation, Lient Col. Edward Money. W. B. Whittingham & Co., Lon- 
don. 
?The out-turn consists of the tea leaves after infusion. 
