May 1908.] 



447 



Edible Products, 



Plucking. 

 In plucking, which in Southern States 

 should begin about the first of May and 

 continue until about the middle of Octo- 

 ber, only the bud (pekoe tip) and the 

 first two or three leaves should be taken 

 as the other leaves are generally too 

 tough to make good tea. This is done 

 by pinching of the stems with the thumb 

 nail and first finger just under the last 

 leaf to be plucked. The bushes are 

 generally plucked every seven to fifteen 

 days, but this is determined by the devel- 

 opment of the tender shoots, care being 

 taken that they do not become too 

 tough before plucking, because then 

 they do not make good tea. 



Leaves that are slow in developing 

 always make a better flavoured product 

 than those that grow rapidly, so a small 

 yield is always compensated for by a 

 more highly flavoured tea. 



Curing. 



In the processes described, the use of a 

 thermometer and other technical appara- 

 tus has been entirely eliminated, and 

 their places supplied by the senses of 

 touch, smell, and sight. The importance 

 of keeping the stove and kitchen uten- 

 sils that are to be used absolutely clean 

 and void of odour of every description 

 cannot be too strongly stated, because 

 dry tea readily absorbs any odour that 

 may be present. As only a few utenfils 

 are required, it is best to obtain new 

 ones and keep them for this purpose only. 

 All that is necessary is a 4-quart double 

 boiler (a sauce pan with a hot-water 

 jacket), a large pan, preferably agate- 

 lined, a large wooden spoon or paddle, 

 and a kneading board where the use of a 

 clean kitchen table cannot be had. 



Black Tea. 



The leaves are brought in the day 

 before they are to be made into tea, and 

 are spread very thinly and evenly on a 

 clean table or floor, where they are 

 allowed to remain from twelve to 

 twenty-four hours, when they will lose 

 about one-half their weight by the eva- 

 poration of moisture, become very soft 

 and flaccid, and feel like an old kid 

 glove. In this condition they are ready 

 for rolling- When withering is near 

 completion, the leaves should be 

 watched very carefully, because if al- 

 lowed to go on too far they become 

 parched and unfit for rolling. 



About half a pound of the withered 

 leaf is rolled or kneaded from twenty- 

 five to thirty minutes on a clean table or 

 kneading board. The operation is simi- 

 lar to the kneading of dough. The rol- 

 ling should be very light for the first ten 



minutes, so as to allow the leaves to 

 begin to twist or take on the "roll"; 

 then the pressure should be gradually 

 increased until all that can be exerted is 

 applied, so as to express the juice (which 

 should be sopped up with the leaves) and 

 give the leaf a tight twist. This tight 

 rolling not only makes a strong tea, but 

 helps to preserve the flavour. Very 

 often the leaves will be a little over- 

 withered and rather brittle, in which 

 case water should be sprinkled on the 

 withered leaves until they are rendered 

 soft enough to roll. 



After rolling, the leaves are formed 

 into a " ball " and allowed to remain in 

 a cool and preferably damp place from 

 three to six hours to ferment. The end 

 of this stage in the process is indicated 

 by the ball turning a yellowish copper 

 colour, which can be seen when the ball 

 is broke open. The raw herby scent has 

 also changed to an agreeable fruity one. 

 This stage must be watched carefully, 

 because if allowed to go too far the 

 leaves become sour and unfit for tea. 



After fermenting, the ball is broken 

 up and spread about half an inch thick 

 in a large clean pan (preferably of agate 

 ware) and placed in the stove oven to 

 dry. The pau should be removed at 

 intervals, and the tea turned. This 

 should continue until the tea is very 

 brittle to the touch and a very slight 

 odour of tea is given off. The oven 

 should not be too hot during this opera- 

 tion, as too much heat prevents uniform 

 drying. The tea is now ready for use, 

 and should be placed in air-tight tin 

 boxes or cans. 



Sun-cured Black Tea. 



Sun-cured black tea is the same as the 

 ordinary black tea, except that the 

 withering is done in the sun in a much 

 shorter time, and produces a tea more 

 acceptable to the average taste. 



The freshly-picked leaves should be 

 spread very thinly and evenly on trays 

 made by tacking cloth on wooden 

 frames of any convenient size, or they 

 may simply be spread on cloths, which 

 in either case should be placed in the sun 

 until the leaves become very flaccid 

 This will require from one and one-half 

 to three hours or more, depending on the 

 intensity of the sun's heat and the humi- 

 dity of the atmosphere. During this 

 operation the leaves should be turned at 

 intervals, so as to induce uniform 

 withering. The further procedure is 

 identical with that already described 

 for the black tea from the point of 

 withering. This tea is generally made 

 during the months of July and August 

 when the heat of the sun is very intense^ 



