Edible^ Products. 80 [F^eb. 1907. 



Kinds of Tea.— The tea produced in Japan may be divided roughly into 

 four classes : — 



1. Hikicha or tencha — powdered tea— only used for the " cha-no-yu," 

 or tea ceremony, or on very State occasions. 



2. Green tea, (a) Gyokuro— pearly dew— costing from 7 to 10 yen or even 

 more per pound (b) Sencha, the second quality of green tea, ranging 

 in price from 30 sen to 3 yen per lb, — the tea ordinarily drunk by 

 all but the lowest classes unable to afford any but 



3. Bancha, consisting of last year's leaves, withered stalks, chopped 

 branches, etc., and costing about 10 to 15 sen per lb. 



4. Black tea and Oolongs. 



Tea Plantations.— The best ground for tea plantations is a moist, sandy 

 loam, situated on the lower slopes of hills, but the level plain is also suitable pro. 

 vided that the drainage is satisfactory ; thus the famous Uji tea gardens lie mostly 

 on the level plain, lying on both sides of the Ujikawa. Terrace-culture is some- 

 times seen, though it is infrequent, but tea bushes are never planted on the sides 

 of steep hills. 



The tea tree averages about 3 to 4 feet in height ; that which produces the 

 best sorts of Uji tea often grows, however, to full 6 feet. Sometimes other plants 

 are grown between the tea bushes, such as mulberries, plum trees, etc. In the 

 Shizuoka district pears are frequently grown on trellises above the tea plant, 

 but though ground is economised by this means, the sun is kept from the shrub, 

 which consequently suffers to a certain extent. 



Manuring.— A very important part of tea culture is the manuring. This 

 is done sometimes three or four times a year, chiefly in spring and autumn. The 

 manures generally employed are natural manures and oil cake, with the addition 

 in some places of rice bran and fish manure, the latter is not used at Uji. 



Trimming.— The shrub is trimmed after the first crop and again in winter, 

 generally in December, when the production of sap is at its lowest. 



Picking.— The ordinary life of a tea bush is about 20 to 25 years. It is first 

 picked in the third or fourth year after sowing, and is at its best from the eighth 

 to the fifteenth years. Two crops are usually obtained in the course of a year— 

 the first during the month of May, and the second in about the middle of June 

 after the rains. Sometimes a third crop is obtained, but the leaves of this third 

 crop are tougher and serve principally for bancha and the cheaper sorts of sencha ; 

 a certain amount is refired for export. In any case it is the first crop that gives 

 the best tea. 



The picking of the leaves is done by women, who receive from 25 to 30 sen 

 per diem ; a good worker will pick about 35 to 40 lb. per day. As soon as possible 

 after this the preparation of the leaves begins. 



Sencha.— Sencha is a very comprehensive term and ranges from second 

 quality Uji tea to that giown under protective mats (namely, gyokuro and hikicha), 

 costing 1 yen 20 sen upwards, down to the drink of the poorer classes at prices so 

 low as 15 sen per lb,— inferior indeed to the better sorts of bencha. As it thus forma 

 the bulk of the tea consumed in Japan, it may be convenient to deal with it first. 



Steaming.— Steaming is the first operation. This is done over a large iron 

 kettle full of boiling water, immured in a brick fire place containing a strong wood 

 or charcoal Eire. In the mouth of the kettle a brass wire sieve is fitted, in which 

 about 3/4 lb. of fresh leaves are placed. The steam is allowed to act on the leaves 

 for about four minutes, when the sieve is taken off and the leaves are shaken in. 



