Nov.  i,  1892.] 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
347 
catalogue  can  be  specially  blended  for  members  at  a 
cost  of  about  |d.  per  lb.,"  and  forwarded  as  required 
in  one  or  more  lots.  All  contracts  for  teas  purchased 
by  the  company  are  open  to  the  inspection  of  any 
member,  which  proves  beyond  doubt  the  6 onafides  of 
the  company’s  dealisgs.  A fee  of  5s.  per  annum  is 
payable  in  advance  by  each  member  as  subscription 
to  catalogue  and  samples,  but  in  order  to  test  the  com- 
pany’s system  the  first  300  members  elected  will  be 
admitted  free  of  fee  until  March,  1893,  when  any  such 
members  can  elect  to  continue  or  resign.  We  now 
invite  those  who  wish  to  improve  their  tea  trade,  and 
are  able  to  pay  oash,  to  make  application  for  member- 
ship,in  doing  which  there  is  no  responsibility  attached.” 
— H,  and  C.  Mail,  3ept.  30. 

AN  ATTACK  ON  INDIAN  AND  CEYLON  TEA. 
After  brooding  all  this  time  over  the  matter,  and 
observing  with  long  faces  the  rapid  decay  of  the  tea 
trade  of  China,  the  champions  of  Chinese  tea  have 
dropped  into  pamphleteering.  No  doubt,  in  its  way,  the 
p&mpbl  t entitled  “ Theine  versus  Tannin,  or  China 
tea  versus  Inlian  and  Ceylon  tea,”  published  by 
Stuart  CranetoD,  Glasgow,  and  AVhittingham  & Co., 
Limited,  91,  Gracechurch  Street,  is  a well-atrauged 
and  skilfully  directed  attack  on  led  an  and  Ceylon  tea. 
Briefly,  the  argument  is  this  : — The  late  Chancellor  of 
the  Exchequer  asserted, 11  on  the  authority  of  impar- 
tial judges,  that  the  tea  now  supplied  to  the  people 
goes  farther  than  it  used  to  do  when  the  tea  came 
from  China  alone.”  Mr.  Stuart  OranstOD,  of  the 
firm  of  Stuart  Cranston  & Co.,  has,  in  the 
interests  of  the  public  heallh,  been  kind  enough 
to  make  an  enquiry  into  the  relative  values  of 
Chinese  teas  and  those  of  India  and  Ceylon.  He 
gives  the  result,  adding  also  the  report  of  an 
independent  analyst — Professor  Dittmar,  lb.  d. — and 
in  the  form  of  a report  to  the  Chancellor  of  the  Ex- 
chequer, argues  that  Indian  and  Ceylon  teas  yield  a 
little  more  theine  than  Chinese,  but  very  much  more 
tannin.  Theine  is  an  alkaloid  identical  with  caffeine, 
and  that  element  of  tea  which  imparts  its  sustaining 
and  refreshing  qualities.  Tannin  is  an  acid  very  in- 
jurious to  digestion.  The  Chinese,  by  their  system  of 
preparation  (according  to  Mr.  Cranston),  extract  the 
tannin  at  the  expense  of  a little  of  the  theine,  and 
the  Indian  and  Ceylon  growers  do  the  reverse.  After 
submitting  some  credentials,  including  one  from  Sir 
Robert  Hart,  which  “ entitle  me  to  be  heard  on  the 
subject,”  Mr.  Cranston  goes  on  as  follows: — 
THE  TANNIN  BOGEY. 
“Tannin  forms  the  basis  of  colour,  and  its  pre- 
sence in  all  tea-leaf,  when  ehemioally  acted  upon 
by  oxygen  of  the  air  in  ‘rolling,’  and  subjected 
to  great  heat  in  1 firing,’  oaures  the  public  palate 
to  mistake  bitterness  for  quality,  and  the  eye  to 
assume  that  blackness  of  liquor  indicates  strength, 
whereas  it  is  the  result  of  over-fermenting 
and  over-firing.  Those  experts  were  also  victims  to 
this  fallaoy  when  they  oaused  you  to  argue  that 
‘ Indian  and  Ceylon  teas  are  more  economical  than 
China  tea.’  They  ought  to  have  said  Indian  and 
Ceylon  yield  a little  more  theine  aud  a great 
deal  more  tannin,  and  so  deceive  both  the  palate  and 
the  eye ! 
“Why  do  we  drink  tea?  It  is  in  the  hope  of  being 
exhilarated  and  refreshed.  What  aotive  principle 
creates  this  sensation  ? It  is  theine,  and  in  this  princi- 
ple China,  Indian,  audjCeylon  are  much  nearer — than  is 
commonly  supposed — in  the  amount  they  yield  on  t n 
minutes’  infusion.  This  period  of  maceration  is  con- 
siderably less  than  is  allowed  by  nine-tenths  of  tea- 
driDkers,  but  is  a fair  and  reasonable  time  for  the 
purpose  of  comparison.  A longer  period  would  be  in 
favour  of  China,  as  the  succeeding  paragraphs  and 
analyses  will  demonstrate,  and  when  we  consider  the 
time  allowed  for  the  tea  to  draw— the  time  it  stands 
upon  the  table  between  the  first  cup  and  the  second 
— it  will  be  found  that  the  time  of  infusion  is  more 
often  fifteen  minutes  than  ten. 
“ But  when  we  come  to  the  question  of  tannin — that 
most  objectionable  and  pernicious  property  in  tea — we 
fiud  that  both  Indian  and  Ceylon  yield  more  than  double 
and  in  many  cases  nearly  treble,  the  amount  of  tan- 
nin as  compared  with  China.  The  practioe  of  house- 
wives of  pouring  a ssoond  supply  of  hot  water  upon 
the  already  opened-out  leaves  extraots  the  tannin  to  the 
very  dregs,  and  under  this  almost  universal  practice  we 
believe  that  Indian  and  Ceylon  yield  from  four  to 
five  times  more  tannin  than  China  similarly  treated. 
“What  would  be  thought  of  a distiller  who  collected 
the  ‘ foreshot  ’ and  mixed  it  with  the  whisky  in  order 
to  add  to  its  ‘bite’  on  the  palate? 
“Something  akin  to  this  is  perpetrated  by  the 
Indian  and  Ceylon  planters,  because  they  collect  and 
retain  all  the  taunin,  while  the  Cliinose  discard  tannin 
as  a waste  produo‘.  This  is  the  one  radical  differ- 
ence in  the  two  systems,  and  explains  why  the  Indian 
and  Ceylon  yield  6,  9,  and  II  per  oent  of  tannin, 
while  China  tea  yields  only  3 and  4 per  oent.  Tha 
most  remarkable  fact  is  that  all  three  yield  nearly 
the  same  amount  of  theine.  In  China — immediately 
after  ‘withering,’  and  before  ‘rolling’  ‘fermenting’ 
and  ‘ firing  ’ — the  raw  leaf  is  pieced  in  boxes  per- 
forated with  holes  and  subjected  to  great  pressure, 
which  causes  a large  quantity  of  thick  viscid  green- 
ish juice  to  exude,  carrying  with  it  the  bulk  of 
the  tannin — doubtless,  at  the  same  time,  some  of 
the  natural  colouring  matter,  Borne  of  the  gum, 
and  other  extractive  matter,  which  are  all  soluble 
ia  water,  tending  lo  rob  the  infusion  of  some  of 
its  colour  aud  juiciness,  and  also  some  of  that 
active  principle  which  by  chemists  is  called  theine. 
The  Chinese  thus  act  upon  the  hygienic  principle  of 
sacrificing  a little  of  the  ‘ good  ’ in  order  to  get  quit  of 
much  that  is  ‘ evil.’  Contrast  this  process  with 
Colonel  Money’s  reiterated  instructions  in  his  prize 
essay,  page  124— ‘ The  toil  is  ready  to  make  up  into 
a bell  when  it  is  in  a soft  mashy  state,  and  when  in  the 
act  of  rolling  it  gives  out  juice  freely.  None  of  this 
juice  must  be  lost  ; must  bo  mopped  up  iuto  tha  roll 
again  and  again  in  its  p&Bsage  up  the  table,  and  finally 
into  the  ball  when  made  up.’  ” 
A FEW  crumbs  of  comfort. 
After  doing  his  best  to  prove  that  Indian  and 
Ceylon  teas  are  very  injurious,  Mr.  Cranston  introduces 
the  following  in  praise  of  the  Indian  and  Ceylon 
planter  : — 
“ We  do  not  wish  to  place  you  (Mr.  GoscheD)  or 
ourselves  ia  the  unpatriotic  position  of  speaking 
against  the  produce  of  our  own  Colonies,  nor  in 
favour  of  that  of  the  Empire  whose  Government 
was  apparently  so  tardy  in  repressing  those  dreadful 
riots  and  massacres  of  1891  ; and  who,  ou  other 
occasions,  have  done  so  much  to  alienate  our  sympa- 
thies, and  whose  tea  hongs  turned  out  some  dread- 
fully  sophisticated  tea  in  years  gone  by  - now  happily 
a thing  of  the  past. 
“We  do  not  believe  that  one  chest  of  adulterated 
tea  has  been  imported  into  London  from  any  country 
since  the  Foods  and  Drugs  Act  came  into  operation. 
“ As  far  baok  as  1881  we  urged  Indian  planters  to 
alter  their  system  by  sending  us  teas  with  less  tannin 
and  more  of  the  softness  aud  refreshing  property  of 
China  tea  ; nor  do  we  consider  it  unpatriotio  to  re- 
peat our  advice  now,  for  it  is  quite  within  the  power 
of  both  Indian  and  Ceylon  planters  to  eliminate  the 
tannin  during  manufacture,  and  so  to  render  us  quite 
independent  of  China  for  ‘ soft,’  healthful,  and  harm- 
less teas. 
“ Such  a change  would  give  an  immense  impetus 
to  the  consumption  of  both  Indian  and  Ceylon  at 
the  expense  of  China  tea. 
“ Considering  that  the  quality  of  the  raw  leaf 
throught  India  and  Ceylon  is  so  much  finer  (than 
that  of  China),  and  as  their  planters  have  the  com- 
mand of  every  modern  appliance  (while  the  Chinese 
have  few  or  none)  they  ought  to  be  able  to  send  us 
teas  of  the  finest  flavour,  and  free  from  excess  of  tannin 
to  the  great  advantage  of  tho  public  health. 
“ If  this  remarkable  displacement  of  China  tea  con- 
tinues by  reason  of  their  ‘softness,’  the  Chinese 
will  soon  learn,  in  self-defence,  to  retain  the  tannin 
aud  send  ns  ‘hard’  teas  to  complete  with  Indian 
and  Ceylon  teas  upon  this  special  characteristic— 
