Edible Products. 



54 



a considerable less ''throw" to the sieve is, I have found, a decided improvement 

 in this respect. As regards the sieve through which a standard sample of B.O.P. 

 is obtained from the made tea, a No. 10 of thick wire, or a No. 12 of thin wire, mesh 

 on the machine sifter is that usually employed. The actual mesh used, however, 

 naturally varies Avith the machine, according to the slope of the sifter and the 

 length of time the leaves remain on the trays during the process of sifting. 

 Except with very light rolling, it is not advisable to take any of this grade from the 

 "large bulk," unless the latter contains a good deal of "tip." In most cases 

 the "Dool"leaf only should be utilised. In conclusion, a B.O.P. grade ought to 

 be a "tippy," more or less whole-leaf, tea, of fairly even appearance, and free 

 from dust and small tannings. No sifted out broken tea from other grades 

 should ever be added to it. 



ORANGE PEKOE. 



The standard of this grade has changed very much in the past few years, 

 and what used to be ranked as a good orange pekoe is now classed as a wiry 

 pekoe and paid for accordingly. An orange pekoe ought to be absolutely free 

 from broken leaf. It should be wiry and even, and contain no pekoe tea. In many 

 cases invoices still reach the market that are labelled O. P., but which bear no 

 l'esemblance whatsoever to this grade, consisting, as often as not, of a good deal 

 of pekoe leaf, forced through a No. 10 or 12 mesh, combined with small broken leaf 

 and large fannings. As a result the tea sells on the average at about the rates 

 for pekoe, and sometimes at a lower figure, it is in no sense an orange pekoe, 

 and marking it as such is an actual drawback to its value, while the fine O. P. 

 leaf contained in it, that would otherwise sell at a high price, is of course 

 utterly wasted. 



The value of O. P. on the Colombo market is extremely variable, and, to 

 secure attention, this grade must be finely sorted and absolutely free from 

 fannings or broken tea. Through a No. 10 thick mesh, or a No. 12 thin mesh, is 

 about the limit allowable, and with this the sorting must not be forced. 



To clean the tea, fanning with a rice "solivou" maybe employed, but this 

 process is extremely slow and expensive, or a No. 14 wire mesh hand-sieve may be 

 used. The latter requires careful handling if it is to remove only the flat leaf. 

 The method 1 am personally in favour of is to use a No. 14 bamboo sieve. A large 

 quantity of tea can be treated in half an hour, and, with proper attention, the 

 wiry leaf all remains on top of the sieve, as it does not catch on the smooth bamboo 

 surface, and the fannings, or flat leaf , fall through. "Tip," though of advantage 

 in an O. P. grade, is not a necessity. In fact, for such markets as Germany, a 

 "tippy" is not in demand. The finer and more even the sorting of this grade, 

 provided the tea be of wiry appearance, the greater the value. Very often a price 

 equal to, or even better, than that secured for the 13. O. P. may be otained if a 

 really well sorted, fine, wiry O. P. of stand out make is sent forward; 



The usual percentage of this grade varies f rom 10 to 80 per cent., but the 

 latter outturn generally means a bold tea, containing much pekoe leaf. This is 

 not an attraction, as there is more than an ample supply of such tea already on 

 the market. A more reasonable limit of percentages is from 10 to 18 per cent, and 

 at this a very fair sample can be made. Plucking has not much influence on the 

 grade, except in so far as coarse plucking means the presence of "red ends." These 

 may, however, to a certain extent be removed by picking over the tea by hand. 

 One of the finest samples of the tea I have seen Avas made from loAV-country medium 

 plucking ; the sample in question being like a mass of thin t\\ isted-up Avires. 

 Rolling, however, is the great factor on which the outturn of this grade depends. 

 Really hard rolling Avill usually produce a very attractive sample, noticeable on 

 account of the Aviry and fine, clean tAvisted character of the leaf. 



