TEA. 



105 



I shall make an extract, also, from "Williams's " Middle King- 

 dom :"— 



" The native names given to the various s jrts of tea are derived for the most 

 part from their appearance or place of growi;h ; the names of many of the best 

 kinds are not commonly known abroad. Bohea is the name of the "Wu-i hills, 

 (or Bu-i, as the people on the spot call them,) where the tea is grown, and not 

 a term for a particular soit among the Chinese, though it is applied to a very 

 poor kind of black tea at Canton. Sioiglo is likewise a general term for the 

 gi-een teas produced on the hills in Eaangsu. The names of the principal 

 vai-ieties of black tea are as follows : Fecco^ ' white hairs,' so called from the 

 whitish down on the leaves, is one of the choicest kinds, and has a peculiar 

 taste; Orange Fecco, called shang hiang^ or 'most fragTant,' differs fr'om it 

 slightly ; H'tngmxeg^ ' red plum blossoms,' has a slightly reddish tinge ; the 

 terms princess egehrows, carnation hair, lotus kernel, sjHirroiiS s tongue, fir-leaf 

 pattern, dragon 8 pdlet, and dragon's ichisJcers, are aU translations of the native 

 names of dilferent kin.ls of Souchong or Pecco. SoucJiOpg, or siau c/iung, means 

 little plant or sort, as Fou. hong, or folded sort, refers to the mode of packing- 

 it ; Carnpoi is corrupted from kanpei, i. e. carefully fired ; Chulan is the tea 

 scented with the chulan flower, and applied to some kinds of scented green tea . 

 The names of green teas are less numerous : Gunpowder, or ma cliu, i. e. hemp 

 pearl, derives its name from the form into which the leaves are rolled ; tu chu, 

 or ' great pearl,' and chu Ian, or ' pearl fluwer,' denote two kinds of Lnpcrial; 

 Hyson, or yu tsien, i. e. before the rains, origmally denoted the tendcrest leaves 

 of the plant, and is now applied to Young Hyson ; as is also another name, mei 

 or ' plum petals;' v:hi\.e hi chun, 'flourishing spring,' describes Hyson; 

 Tu ankay is the name of a stream in Chehkialig, where this sort is produced ; 

 and Hyson skin, ox pi cha, i. e. skin tea, is the poorest land, the siftings of the 

 other varieties ; Oolung, ' black dragon,' is a kind of black tea with green flavor. 

 Ankoi teas are produced in the district of Xganki, not far from Tsiuenchau fu, 

 possessing a peculiar taste, supposed to be owing to the ferruginous nature of 

 the soil. De Guignes speaks of the Pu-'rh tea, from the place in Kiaugsu 

 where it grows, and says it is ctu-ed fr'om wild plants found there ; the infusion 

 is unpleasant, and is used for medical piu-poses. The ^Mongols and othei s in 

 the west of China prepare tea by pressing it, when fiesh, into cakes like bricks, 

 and thoroughly drying it in that shape to carry in their wanderings. 



" Considering the enormous labor of preparing tea, it is surprising that even 

 the poorest kind can be afforded to the foreign purcha§er at Canton, moi e than 

 a thousand miles from t':ie place of its growth, for 9d. and Ics; a pound ; and 

 in their ability to furnish it at this rate, the Chinese have a seciu-ity of retain- 

 ing the trade in their hands, notwithstanding the efforts to grow the plant 

 elsewhere. Comparatively little adulteration is practised, if tlie amount used 

 at home and abroad be considered, though the temptation is great, as the in- 

 fusion of other plants is drunk instead of the true tea. The poorer natives 

 substitute the leaves of a species of Ehamnus or Failopia, which they dry ; 

 Camellia leaves are perhaps mixed up with it, but probacy to no great extent. 

 The refuse of packing-houses is sold to the poor at a low rate, under the name 

 of t(;a euilings and tea bonc-s ; and if a few of the rarest sorts do not go abroad, 

 neither do tiie poorest. It is a necessary of life to all classes of Chinese, and 

 that its use is not injurious is abundantly evident from its general acceptauce 

 and extending adoption ; and the prejudice againsi it among some out of China 

 may be attributed chiefly to the use of strong grc-en tea, which is no doubt pre- 

 judicial. If those who have given it up on this account will adopt a weaker 

 infusion of black tea, general experience is proof that it will do them no great 

 hai-m, and they may be sure that they will not be deceived by a colored article. 

 Is either the Chinese nor Japanese use milk or sugar in thefr tea, and the 

 peculiar taste and aroma of th ■ ' v.i • h 'K ltLi r r rivr l vrithout those 

 additions; nor can it be di v -ruui Lilt.r- 

 ness, which tiie Tiulk partly 1. ... ■. . - ; .• . till.- Ica\e5 



to a powder, and pour boiling watt-i tiuougii thfiu m a cuiiLudcr, in the ouiue 

 way that coliee is oiten made." 



