t)ic. 2. 1901.] 
THE TROPICAL AGKICULTtJRIST. 
423 
THE BRITISH INDIAN TEA COURT. 
HOW THE WORK WAS DONE. 
48 Rue du Faubourg St. Honore, Paris, 
Nov. 29ili, 1900. 
I am in great hopes that this iny final report 
of work done ai the exhibition will aaiisfjictorily 
show the Committee that the piospecis of Indian 
Tea in France are brighter now, even than they 
were when I wrote on the subject in September last, 
and that the Association will feel how justified 
they were in deciding to continue a business 
which has commenced so well. 
As the sale of tea in the cup was 
chiefly intended to serve as a means to 
popularise Indian tea in France, the Asso- 
ciation will be pleased to note what proe-ress 
was made in 
THE SALE OF PACKET TEA, 
At their stall in the exhibition which was 
opened on 13th June, the sales increased, pari 
passu in a manner which I think the Committee 
will consider highly satisfactory. A tabular 
statement will be given at end of this report. 
It will show that to date over . 8,000 lb. tea 
have been sold. 
The liking for Indian tea undeniably increased 
during the run of the exliibition, but the increase 
of sales for the last few days is partly to be 
accounted for by the fact that purchasers had 
formed the idea that when tlie exhibition closed 
the price of tea would be raised. This opinion 
was held by the trade, but that such will not 
be the case is now fast becoming evident to all, 
and our hopes, therefore, are that we shall not 
lose much ground by reason of the exhibition 
now being closed. That the low price can and 
will be maintained is, of course, in consequence 
of the support we have leceived, and are to 
continue to receive, from the Association, and 
which I venture to say is of far better form 
than that of subsidising grocers, with whom, how- 
ever, we shall have to reckon later on when 
Indian tea is more generally inquired for in 
France. Up to the present we have not been 
able to do very much with the trade itself, for 
the reason that our price does not permit us to 
give a discount anything approaching the custom- 
ary one in France — viz., 25 per cent — but our 
hopes are that the present trade price may be 
modified if we can buy our tea through more 
direct channels than we do now, 
INFUSION. 
Owing, as I have already said, to their 
somewhat unexpected secluded situation, the 
"Indian Tea Courts" were not easily found by 
many chance visitors, or by those who came 
especially to visit them, but once they were found 
they became the resort of the best society, mem- 
bers of which have been known to say that the 
Indian Tea Courts were the most chic of any in 
the Exhibition. Although in such "rushes" of 
business as occurred in the Tea Courts it was 
utterly impossible to give entire satisfaction to 
every one, the complaints were very few indeed, 
and of rather a hypercritical kind. On the other 
hand I am happy and content to mention that 
unstinted and warm praise was given by the 
hahitn^s of the Court.'!, notably the Fiincess Mala- 
koif (who for nine days took her seat legularly ; t 
four o'clock), the Duchess of Mecklenburg, Barcn 
and Baroness Alphonse Rothschild, and the French 
S3 
Commissary-General. The Barou and Bareness 
were pleased lo say that the Grand Prix should 
liave been awarded the A-soeiatinn for the manner 
in which the tea was served, as well as for the 
goodness of the tea itself. 
THE PRETTY BOXKS OF SAMPLES 
were much appreciated by all visiiurs, and linppily 
by the French in particular. Aboub 20,000 sam- 
ple boxes were given away during the exhibition, 
and the balance of our st(>ck will be distributeu in 
connection with the work to be continued at the 
Rue du Faubourg St. Honore and Kue d'Alger. 
TO REVERT TO TEA. 
By a calculation of mine that on an average no one 
person ordered less than 75 centimes' woi th of tea 
in the cup, the 69,500 francs receipts represent 
96,400 pots of tea (two cups in each) ; but that 
number is considerably under-estimated because 
so many people often ordered pots of tea 
for a smaller number than their party consisted 
of, and also extra cups for the rest. Tea for two 
and cups for three, four and live, was an order 
frequently executed. As also hot Avater in addi- 
tion was served, sufl^icieno for another two cups, 
the quantity of tea drunk by each person was, 
of course, much increased. I have not taken that 
into my calculations but only the number of pots 
of tea served. Putting it, however, at a reason- 
ably low figure, I believe that not less than 
50 to 60 people were every day served 
with extra cups without having to pay 
anything except a penny for the accommodation. 
At this rate, in the 21© days of the Exhibition 
10,000 cups of tea can be added to the 96,4C0 
pots accounted for. The 
FRENCH DO NOT ALWAYS TAKE THEIR TEA AS 
THE ENGLISH DO, 
but they persevere in their attempt and evidently 
wish to like the beverage. Some, more often 
than not, dip their bread and butter and even 
cake into the cup of tea they are drinking, and 
some novices seemed to consider the tea was a 
kind of grog to be mixed with the hot water, 
which they poured into the cup first. Others 
poured the tea into the sugar basin, half the con- 
tents of which they had previously eaten and 
then into the hot water jug and from that into 
the cup. Or, for another change, they would 
partially empty the milk jug and then pour the 
tea into that. Our American visitors liked a glass 
of iced water to drink either with their tea or 
after it. I do not mention these little peculia- 
rities for the purpose of ridicule, but rather to 
show that tea-drinking in France is yet very much 
in its infancy. 
THE EXPERT 
was, of course, sometimes present in the Tea 
Courts, judging from the procedure of some of 
the vi.sitors, who, to the great wonderment of 
the foreign waitresses, would turn the leaves out 
into the saucer or plate, examine them closely 
and then turn them back into the tea pot, and, 
having added more water, drink another cup ot 
tea. [Here comes the portion we have already 
quoted specially criticising Ceylon methods to 
secure public attention, to which we have directed 
the notice of the " Thirty Committee " and Mr. 
Renton.— Ed. T. A.} 
The exhibit of Tea in the Commercial Court 
attracted much attention, more particularly so 
as the tea sales stall was close to two of the show 
