394 NING-CHOW NOW PRODUCES BLACK TEA. Chap. XX. 



from Thea hohea^ he will find a difficulty in giving 

 credit to the account 1 have to give of the manner 

 in which the Ning-chow districts have changed 

 their green teas into black. But, however diffi- 

 cult it may be to get rid of early prejudices, 

 " facts are stubborn things," and the truth of what 

 I have to state may be fully relied upon. 



Many years ago a spirited Chinese merchant 

 who, no doubt, saw well enough that black and 

 green teas could be made easily enough from the 

 same plant, had a crop of black teas made in the 

 Ning-chow district and brought to Canton for 

 sale. This tea was highly approved of by the 

 foreign merchants at that port, and was bought, 

 I believe, by the great house of Messrs. Dent and 

 Company, and sent to England. When it got 

 home it found a ready sale in the market, and 

 at once established itself as a black tea of the 

 first class. Year by year after this the demand 

 for this tea steadily increased and was as regularly 

 supplied by the Chinese. At the present time 

 the Mng-chow districts produce black teas only, 

 while in former days they produced only green. 

 If proof were wanting, this would appear sufficient 

 to show that black or green teas can be made from 

 any variety of the tea plant, and that the change 

 of colour in the manufactured article depends en- 

 tirely upon the mode of manipulation.* 



From the high character these Ning-chow teas 



* A full description of this will be found in my ' Journey to the Tea 

 Countries,' to which I beg to refer those interested in the matter. 



