276 



TEA DISTRICTS OF CHINA. Chap. XVI. 



and dry. They were afterwards sifted and sorted into 

 the various kinds known as hyson skin, hyson, young 

 hyson, imperial, and gunpowder. Some of the sorts 

 were refired several times, and portions of some of 

 them were coloured. When the operations were 

 completed, the samples were so like the teas of 

 commerce, that nineteen persons out of twenty would 

 never have suspected them to be anything else. 

 Here, then, were very fair-looking green teas made 

 from the leaves of a large tree, as unlike the tea- 

 shrub as it could well be. And an article as 

 closely resembling black tea could have been just as 

 easily made out of these leaves. 



It is not my intention to enter minutely into the 

 subject of the manipulation of black and green teas, 

 but I will point out, in as few words as possible, the 

 method of treating each kind during the process of 

 manufacture. These methods, it will be observed, 

 differ from each other in some material points, which 

 are quite sufficient to account for the difference in 

 colour. It is scarcely necessary to remark that both 

 kinds of tea are gathered from the bushes in the same 

 way, and are made from the same description of 

 leaves, namely, those which are young and lately 

 formed. 



Green tea. — When the leaves are brought in from 

 the plantations they are spread out thinly on flat 

 bamboo trays, in order to dry off any superfluous 

 moisture. They remain for a very short time exposed 

 in this manner, generally from one to two hours ; this 

 however depends much upon the state of the weather. 



