724 



THE SOUTHERN' PLANTER. 



From Hunt's Merchants'' Magazine. 



TEA. 



Character of the Plant — How Cultivated — 

 Times of Gathering — Varieties of Tea — 

 Progresses of Preparation — Scenting — Char- 

 acter of the Chief Varieties — Varieties of 

 Green and Black — Uses and Constitutional 

 Effects — National Use — Universal Influence 

 of Tea — Chemical Constituents — Physiologi- 

 cal Effects — Nutritive Properties — Theine — 

 Climatic Adaptation — Suited to the United 

 States — Counterfeits and Adulterations — 

 Poisons, and how to De.ect Them. 



Tea consists of the dried leaves of the 

 Then Sinensis, an evergreen shrub, belong- 

 ing to the family of Camellias, which are 

 native to China, Japan, Cochin China, and 

 the southeastern part of Asia. It is a har- 

 dy plant, and, in the uncultivated state, 

 grows to the height of fifteen or twenty 

 feet, but, as cultivated in the tea-fields, 

 rarely ever grows higher than six or eight, 

 and generallj' not more than four or five 

 feet. 



The leaves are alternate, eliptical, point- 

 ed, toothed and firm, smooth, shiney, and 

 deep green ; from one-and-a-half to {our 

 inches long, and from half an inch to an 

 inch-nnd-a-half wide. The flowers are 

 white and large, borne on short peduncles, 

 single or united in small clusters at the 

 axils of the superior leaves. 



It is generally propagated from seed, and 

 arrives at maturity in from two to three 

 years, when it is capable of yielding two 

 or three crops of leaves, and sometimes 

 four, annually. The first gathering takes 

 place in early spring, the second about the 

 1st of May, the third in June, and a fourth 

 in August. The first gathering produces 

 the finest variety of tea. It chiefly con- 

 sists of the young leaf buds and small 

 leaves, from which the best Pekoe and the 

 finest varieties of black are made. 



The later gatherings consists of the lar- 

 ger and older leaves, which, by long ex- 

 posure on the plants, have lost part of their 

 flavor, and become less valuable. Hence, 

 it is found that the finest teas usually con- 

 sist of the smallest leaves. At the first 

 gathering the leaves are slender, smooth 

 and even-edged, twisted, and downy. Se- 

 cond gathering takes place just as the 

 leaves begin to have veins, and their edges 

 delicately notched. At the third gather- 

 ing the veination is fully developed, the 

 edges coarsely notched and wavy. 



Until late years botanists designated 

 several species of the tea plant, but now 

 it is generally conceded that all the varie- 

 ties of teas are obtained from one and the 

 same plant, the differences in the tea from 

 which depending wholly upon the soil, cli- 

 mate, weather, age of the leaves and mode 

 of preparation. 



Varieties. — Black teas are mostly pro- 

 duced from plants growing on the slopes 

 of hills and mountain sides, a range of 

 which, called Bohea mountains, being the 

 origin of the variety of tea known as such. 

 On the other hand, green teas are gene- 

 rallv produced from plants grown on cul- 

 tivated and manured plains. Other quali- 

 ties depend upon the processes of prepa- 

 ration, in drying, rolling, etc. 



Bohea is usually prepared from the full- 

 grown leaves of the third gathering, and 

 is, therefore, the commonest and cheapest 

 variety. Souchong, Congou, Padre-Sou- 

 chong, Caper-Souchong and Pekoe — which 

 consists of the first gathering, and hence 

 called "flowery" — are gathered early and 

 of finest quality. 



The principle varieties of green teas are 

 Young Hyson, Hyson, Hyson-skin, Twan- 

 kay, Imperial and Gunpowder. This last, 

 in green tea, corresponds to Pekoe, in 

 black. Imperial, Hyson, and Young Hy- 

 son are of the second and third gatherings. 

 Hyson-skin chiefly consists of the refuse 

 of other varieties, or is produced by a 

 fourth gathering. 



Processes of Preparation. — Tea leaves 

 in their green state contain an acrid prin- 

 ciple, which may be dispersed by heat. — 

 This is accomplished by the process of 

 roasting, and for this purpose a large iron 

 dish, called a kuo, is used. The leaves 

 are first dipped into hot water, and after 

 drainage they are spread upon the kuo, 

 which is at first only raised to a moderate 

 degree of heat, and only has the effect of 

 rendering the leaves soft and pliable. They 

 are then removed and first submitted to 

 the first rolling. For the very finest qual- 

 ty, each leaf is rolled separately, but more 

 commonly the leaves are spread upon 

 large tables covered with straw mats, and 

 rolled by rubbing them with the hands, or 

 between the palms. 



This operation is continued until, the 

 leaves become cold, when they are again 

 submitted to the kuo, and the process re- 

 peated. The best kinds are heated on the 



