454 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [January 2, 1888. 
THE BEST TEA, — THE FINEST THE 
WORLD PEODUCES, 
forms the subject of a Circular by Cooper, Cooper 
& Co. of London, from which we quote as follows : — 
It is a natural and laudable aim of every house- 
keeper to get the best of everything for her money — 
the nicest dresses and the prettiest bonnets— but for 
the male portion of her household the " Edible and 
Potable" are of primarily daily importance. The 
juiciest joint from the butcher — the milk most 
heavily laden with cream from the dairy — the ripest 
fruit from the stall, and the newest laid eggs from 
the farm — these are, one and all, desired to sustain 
the inner man and fit him for hiB duties, but of 
not less importance is the cup that aids his di- 
gestion and clears his mind from the fatigues of 
the day and recruits exhausted and worn out nature 
at eventide. 
Now, though tea is perhaps of more general con- 
sumption in every household than any other one article, 
it is a singular fact that it is bought with greater 
carelessness and want of thought than any other thing 
which we consume. 
A Poet remarks of one of his unregardful characters 
that 
" A primrose by a river's brim, 
A yellow primrose is to him." 
Simply that and nothing more. So it would seem to 
many that a cup of tea is simply a cup of tea, simply 
that and nothing more. Unfortunately a cup of tea 
is frequently a great deal less, and often something 
more. A great deal less in that it is largely composed 
of withered and spent leaves that no more represent 
tea than a sucked orange represents the fruit of the 
orange tree, and something more, in that much common 
tea is largely made up with filth and dirt " that never 
budded into vernal bloom " — to add to its weight. 
Now Cooper Cooper & Co. have devoted their lives and 
energies to put it in the power and reach of every 
householder in the United Kingdom to procure both 
good and genuine tea of the highest character — and 
at prices showing only a bare commission on the 
prices paid in India, Ceylon and China for the tea 
they sell. 
How many of us turn with loathing from the tea 
presented to us in many places of public entertain- 
ment, and even at hotels of respectability, and 
sometimes, alas ! even at the table of our friend or 
neighbour we are compelled to mutter "Faugh, it 
is abominable." 
How different when asked to partake of a dish 
of real tea made from choice Indian, Ceylon or 
China leaves, redolent with rich bouquet and spring 
freshness ! 
It is a well-known saying of epicures " The 
best is good enough for me." Now the best 
growths of tea from India, Ceylon and China 
are only just good enough for Cooper Cooper 
& Co. to sell. The best grown and sent from 
these countries Cooper Cooper & Co. do sell at 3s 
a pound. 
Cooper Cooper & Co. also sell choice teas at 2s 6d 
and at 2s a pound, and these teas are economically 
cheaper than any teas sold at lower prices. They are 
cheaper because they have got more in them, more 
real tea extract from a given quantity than can be 
got out of lower priced teas. 
In the Indian gold mines we hear that certain ores 
give so many ounces of pure gold to the ton — some, 
two or three ounces: some, especially rich, eight to 
ten ounces to the ton ; but no one would contend 
that the richer ores are dearer because they would 
fetch twice the price per ton, for it is the gold that 
is of value, the, refuse is valueless. So with tea. Ono 
pound of the fine tea sold by Cooper Cooper k Co. 
will yield more real tea extract than twice the quantity 
of inferior tea, and not only twice the quantity but 
twice the quality — refined i/old not mixed metal. 
Try it for yourselves ! Become your own analyst : 
put it into the crucible, viz., the teapot, and you will 
find the proof of the tea is in the drinking. 
Nevertheless, Cooper Cooper & Co. are simply the 
servants of the public. They have been asked thousands 
and thousands of times to supply tea at a lower price 
than they have formerly done — in fact, they have re- 
ceived a Mandate — not from a small constituency, but 
from the people of England, Ireland, Scotland, and 
" gallant little Wales," to supply tea at a lower quota- 
tion and to supply it genuine and honest, not mixed 
with rubbish or attenuated by previous infusion, and 
this Cooper Cooper & Co. have now done, and have 
added to their list, black teas at Is 8d and Is 6d and 
Is 4d a pound. These are all perfectly genuine tea«, 
pure and fit to drink, analyzed by Cooper Cooper & Co., 
and selected from the robust productions of India, Ceylon 
and China, and there is no tea sold in the United 
Kingdom of equal value. 
An additional slip states : — 
There is no tea of equal value offered for sale in 
this Kingdom, as the robust and intermingled Indian, 
Ceylon and China teas, now selling by Cooper Cooper 
& Co., at Is 4d, Is 6d and Is 8d a lb. They are 
as strong as a cart-horse. 
The teas at 2s, 2s 6d and 3s a lb. are economically 
cheaper — they have more stamina in them. 
From a pamphlet by the firm we quote as 
follows : — 
Ceylon Teas. 
The increased production of Ceylon Teas, and the 
excellence of a great portion of the Teas grown in 
that Island, have induced Cooper Cooper & Oo. to 
offer selections of the best specimens, which they are 
now selling at the following prices : — 
17 Ceylon Pekoe Souchong at 2s a lb. 
18 Ceylon Pekoe ... at 2s 6d alb. 
19 Ceylon Orange Pekoe at 3s a lb. 
Cooper Cooper k Oo. being simply dealers, and un- 
der no obligation to further the interests of any 
particular gardens, give their customers the benefit 
of their technical knowledge of the article. Being 
specialists in Tea, they select only the choicest sorts. 
Tea growing in Ceylon is quite a new industry, but 
this Island seems well adapted to the development 
of the Tea plant, and Oooper Cooper & Oo. look for- 
ward to a considerable increase in the production. 
How to Brew Tea. 
Cooper Oooper & Co. wish to state that, to brew Tea 
properly the water should be poured on the moment it 
boils, or it becomes hard, and fails to draw out either 
the colour or the strength and entirely destroys 
that fine aroma or bouquet which is so characteristic 
of choice and rare Teas ; at the same time it is most 
important that it should boil thoroughly (simmering 
won't do), or it quite spoils the Tea. 
Tea should be brewed either in China, earthenware, 
or silver pots, in no case in metal, pewter, or German 
silver ones as these impart a metallic flavour which 
detracts pence a pound from the quality even should 
they have been in use for years. Carbonate of soda 
spoils Tea — it destroys the briskness and pungency in 
which (in a great measure) consist the value and 
quality. Tea should be brewed ten minutes, and all 
the water poured on at once. 
How to Keep Tea. 
It is most important that Tea should be kept in a 
dry place, well covered up, and not stored near coffee, 
spices, oranges, or any kind of fruit. Fine Tea so 
readily absorbs any flavour with which it may come in 
contact, that the necessity of keeping it apart from 
other articles of consumption will be at oace apparent. 
♦ 
THE MEECHANDISE MARKETS ACT, 1887. 
The Produce Markets' Bcviev), after quoting the 
main provisions of this stringent Act, remarks : — 
The above extracts will show traders how import- 
ant tho new Act is in extending the scope of the 
old law dealing with adulteration, to the offence of 
misrepresentation of goods, which now, as it will be 
seen, subjects the perpetrator to most severe punish- 
ment. So drastic a law cannot fail to have widespread 
consequences, and, as it apparently is within tna 
