m 
fllE TROPICAL AGRICULTURI&t. [Jan. l', 1903. 
are as absolutely pure and unadulterated as it is 
possible tor leaf tea to be. But I think a little 
consideration will show, that by a process, in 
which the leaf, or the fibre or woody pirt is wholly 
eliruinated, and no insoluble matter can possibly 
remain, the absolute purity of the extract must 
be still fui-tlier assured. It is trus also that thete 
are leas and teas, and that some, it has been 
darkly hinted even of British-grown teas, are not 
— well, rot quite so nectar like asotiisrs ; and there 
have been more than hints of some mysterious 
and terribly baneful stuff called taunin being 
present in an injurious excess in some of the 
commoner or lower priced teas. Tannin was an 
easy word to pronounce, and yet liad a learned 
sort of fl ivour about it which made it quickly 
caicb on with the public ; so poor tannin Vv-as 
blamed for all the bitterness and any ba^i flivour 
found in tea, and for any bad etTects on digestive 
orgins caused by excess in tea-drinking. 
Here the writer would beg iiis readers to 
re ncmher, that he does not wi«h to, nor has lie 
thesligbte=t claim to pose as a Scieniist or (Jliemi- 
ca exi ei t in the smallest degree, and he ailmits 
tliat tlie views given in these notes are solely his 
ovvn unsnpp rted iheorics and based on his own 
personal but unlearned obseivation. He regrets 
that the undoubted and acknowledged aulhoriiy 
of his co-patentee is not available at this juncture, 
when thi^se notes on our invention have been 
called for. Years ago, th.e writer made a special 
study of the tea leaf at home, in connection with 
another matter allog^tber, h iving the advantage 
of a considerable quantity of green tea leaves 
from small plants growing in pots at the time in 
a nursery near Londou. it is an old story now, 
but niay be repeated, that a pound of tea was 
made from leaf plucked from these plants, probably 
the 
FIRST AND ONLY POUND OF TBA 
evei made from leaf grown in England, and probably 
also the most valuable, as foniething over three 
guineas an ounce was refused for it, tlie London 
tea packet firm to whom i; belonged preferiing 
to present it to Htr la!e Majesty, who was 
graciously pleased to accept it, the iiim no doubt 
thus making a very paying advertisement out of 
it. The writer at that time came to the 
conclusion that the extreme bitterness some- 
times complained of in tea, is not altogether due to 
the much al>used tannin, but in great measure to 
what Mr Kehvay Bamber calls in his book on the 
" Chemi'?try of Tea" bitter or fatty acids, and 
that these arc simply the juices contained in 
certain parts of the leaf which have not been 
reached in the several |u-ocesses of manufactnie, 
such as lolling, fermenting and drying. The juices 
in such portions of the leaf would naturally be- 
come rancid and bitter in the extreme, and 
would take longer to extract in infusion than the 
tannin in the properly prepared parts of the leaf. 
No one complains of excessive bitterness until the 
tea has intused a long time, and, I think, 
it is an admitted fact that the great bulk of 
the tannin, extracted by ordinary infusion in a 
tea pot, conies out in from live to seven minutes. 
The complaints about tannin are of coiupara- 
tively lecent date', and the writer believes the 
presence of green, or raw, or uncured parts of 
the leaf, containing these bitter rancid acids, 
might be traced back to the same period, and 
for thiB reason. In the early pioneer days, in Ceylon 
Sbt leost, aud before the introduction of ail the ela- 
borate machinery now in use, 80 rnach' more time 
was spent, esi.'ecially in firing or drying the 
leaf over chnlahs, or in machines without any 
artificial draught apparatu--, and so much more 
care taken in plucking and in manufacture, that 
it was praciically impossible that any leaves or 
parts of leaves cou'd escape being perfectly cured. 
I do not mean to insinuate th>it the present day 
Tea-maker does not take as much care aud 
personal interest in his work as his predecessor 
of twenty or more years ago. It would be untrue 
and absurd in the extreme to say anything of 
the kind in reference to either Tea-makers or 
Superintendents, but in those early da.y, 
THE TEA-MAKER 
had only a very small quantity of leaf to deal 
with, and that small lot, he liad more thoroughly 
under hi^ own control. With the (iresent enormous 
qurntities being made, and, in many cases at 
least, the larger leaf being plucked, and the 
remarkable develojimenis in tea machinery, it is 
a very dili'erent story now. , It appears to me that 
the attention of inventor's in Tea m ichinery has 
been directed almost solely to the cheapening 
of manufacture, by inventing machines to turn 
out the gr eatest possible quantity in the shortest 
possible time, ar.d that more attention ought to 
iiave been paid to retaining the fine flavour and 
arouia, and generally to keeping up the fine 
quality of the tea. For example, I do not think 
tiiat the use of the powerful fans in drying or 
tiring tea iias been an unmixed blessing, but that 
this powerful drawing off of the steam or moisture 
from the wet rolled leaf, immediately a strong 
heat has bceii applied to it, must draw off much of 
the delicate aroma contained in llie very volatile 
essential oils. Some years ago, on a former visit 
to Ceylop, the writer ventured to express these 
views, which he has never yet seen coiitradicied 
or (uoved to be erroneous. In any case I think 
those of ns, who remember the small quantity 
of teas made twenty years ago, will agree 
that they were of much finer quality than 
the enormously greater quantity of teas now 
being put on the market. (By the way 
they fetched a trifle of something like a shilling 
more than the present average.) Tlie young ex- 
pert in tea of the present day will not admit 
this, but then it is probable that about the time 
I refer to, he spent more of bis valuable time 
in absorbing milk without tea, than in tasting 
teas without milk, I hope, I shall not get into 
trouble over tliese remarks if they ever do see 
the light. 
What I wish to claim in regard to "Soluble" 
tea is, that no such injurious results as may arise, 
or are said to arise from drinking an imperfectly 
or too hurriedly manufactured leaf tea can possibly 
obtain in the use of " Soluble " tea from which 
all the insoluble part of the leaf or insoluble 
matter of any kind has been eliminated. As to 
the much abused tannin, I sujipose most people 
know now that without taunin, tea would not 
be drinkable. In "Soluble" tea, though there 
is undoubtedly weight for weight, more tannin 
than there is in leaf tea, yet it may be taken 
for granted that owing to the smallnefs of tlia 
quantity required for a cup, eacu cup of " Soluble " 
tea nuist contain 
LESS TANNISr 
than a cup of ordinary leaf tea, bub from what 
I have said, it may be gatheved, tlijit for my 
