848 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [June i, 1894. 
IMPROVEMENT IN TEA MAKING 
BY AN INDIAN TEA PLANTER. 
Dear Sib, — Mr, John Hughes is of the opi. 
nion (see pege 831) that ■' the eucces3(ul maou- 
facture of tea depends largely on the careful 
obaervation of ohemical prinoiple-;" and that 
" the market price of the samples examined varied 
aocorditig to the amount of soluble ash contained." 
Se recommends the services of the Chemical expert. 
Is the book by Mr. Kelway Bamber to be con- 
sidered useless 7*^ No doubt if bis research and 
teport, now in the hands of all, is of value, wo shall 
see the quality of tea generally and rapidly " im- 
proved," Consequently we ought to sec higher 
prioeBi 
It is evident that both Mr. Bamber and Mr, 
HugbfB point out the way to make, or to find out 
how to make, tea which will fetch a better " market 
price,"< 
Assam wants no teaching ; it has found out the 
tea to Euit the market, but every other district has 
failed. Why not let Assam go on its way and 
suit the market and let the other districts try and 
find out other customers than the Loudon marke'. 
Oau it be said that the tea we send (generally a 
poor atttmpt at Assam tea), suits the consume r. 
If this was really the cas>3 the price of Assam 
best tea would be double its present range and 
the rest would be much lower even than at present. 
If Assam endeavoured only to make tea for the 
consumer, it would probably still lead the way, 
and should the whole planting community also 
endeavour only to euit the consumer, very much 
more of our tea would be used. To do this we 
must find out what the consumer wants. In the 
same issue see "Tea Drinking in Wales." We 
oould supply the miners referred to with tea which 
they could drink five times a day without doing 
them any injury — how can we do this when our 
endeavour is to keep in all the tannin so as to 
make strong astringent tea ? 
I may be wrong and quote from memory, but 
I have read that the Chine :e never drink plain 
wa'er, thoy invariably drink tea (i c. boiled water 
made palatable by a weak infusion of Tbeine) and 
I hear that there is no cholera in China. 
Those miners in Wales are right, there 
is nothirg like tea. It is a bulky drink, 
has been boiled, and sustains them to a great 
extent. Have we ever made an attempt to 
make "miner's tea?" Naturally he does not want 
the delicate aroma sought alter in higher circles 
at 5 o'clock daily. The Australian used to make 
his tea in a pail~no expert wanted to find out 
-how to make that tea. Have we ever tried ? We 
make the tea that is wanted by these men in 
spite of ourselves, but only because we fail in 
making the "market" tea. I think that anyone 
can make tea which will be taken readily by the 
-bulk of tea drinkers; but in times to come the 
expert will be employed to make teas running up 
to five and eight shillings a pound. Just aa in 
wines the bulk ia made by rule of thumb ; the 
choice brands by great care and chemical know- 
ledge. If we try to make tea for drinking, we shall 
succeed, and probably (as in China) tea will 
become the universal drink, and help the tem- 
perance people. If tea is bad the Chinese ougbt 
to have been killed out by now. Are they injured ? 
Listen to complaints and follow advice, but try 
and get both from the people who drink your tea. 
Undoubtedly, as in China, some districts — and of 
these some particular plantations — are capable of 
making better tea (whether for the market or for 
* Mr. Hughes Lad not seen this book when he 
Wirote,— Ed. T.A. 
the consumer) than the other diBtriots or pUn- 
talione. The chemical expert will be able to discover 
this if it is cot alr.ady known ; but it is abEurd to 
Buppoee that the chemical expert will be able to shew 
all of us how to meike the teas which at prustrut 
hold the highest value in the market. Ail that 
sort of thing has been iLresbed out by the wine 
growers. Everyone does not try to make the best 
champagne, but still the bulk manage to make 
a product which ie appreciated by their coneumeib. 
Leaving out the £25 per pound Cejlon tea, do we 
get higher prices than China for our teas ? It wis 
do cot then it proves that China makes tea which 
is better appreciated by tbe consumer than cor 
tea. Then comes the question. Is it easiers and 
better to find cut what tbe consumer wants, or 
to force him to adopt his taste to what we are 
aocuttomed to produce? Is it easier to ohan^e 
our style of maniifactnre than tbe habit and tae e 
of the consumer ?" Let ue settle all this before you 
got a better man than Mr. Bamber. 1874. 
[Is it not the business of the blender to eait the 
taste of different cla^Ees acd districts in tbe 
old countryi?- En. TA ] 
TEA MAKING AND "DRY" V». "WET" 
FUEL : A QUERY ? 
Dehiowita, 25tb May. 
Sir,— At pages 231 and 233 in Mr. M. K. 
Bamber's book on Tea, the author advocates tbe 
U6e of dry fuel, because air heated by dry fuel is 
dri<r than if heated by wet fuel. 
Of course every one kno^s the advantdge of dry 
fuel from an economical point of view. VVbat I 
want to know is, that if, in any of cur oidmary tea 
drying machines— desiccator, sirocco, victoria, &c. 
— when the thermometer is registering say 100 dcg. 
will that 100 deg. reprcecnt a drier drying 
agent wl;en it has been created by dry fuel than 
when created by wet fuel ? To my lay mind it 
seems as if air drawn from the surroundirg nt- 
moiphere and psssei through tube?, &e. acted 
on by hfat from either dry or wa feel will 
represent tbe same drying power ; of course given 
the thermometer regitterp the same. 
I am quite aware it will take more wet fu 1 
to give tbe Fame result as dry, just as it will 
take more to heat damp air than dry. 
Will you or any of your readers kindly enlighten 
IGNORAMUS ? 
Tea in Kcssia. — The Russian Government 
may develep successfully one or two experiment 
plantations on the Caucasus where a bt{;inning 
has already been made on a smali neale ; but we 
have no faith in this being followed by private 
enterprise or that an indus ry of any importance 
can arise. With tea so cheap as it is now, the 
Russian people es well as Russian Government, 
will soon find that the truly economical as well 
as wise course, is to import. When M. Popoff 
and his staff visited Abbotsfcrd plantation some 
years ago, the veteran Eussian tea buyer was very 
inquisitive on all points touching cultivation and 
preparation, and there was no hesitation in sup- 
plying him with the fullest information. He 
got a set of our Manuals, to present to the 
Russian Government ; but i:e quite admitted then 
that with tea travelling down in price year by 
year, there was not much encouragement to 
grow tea out of India, Cejlon and Qhiuai, 
