.Jm. 1, 1902.] 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTUPJST. 
465 
THE INDIAN TEA ASSOCIATION 
AND GREEN TEA. 
The Baraoora Company are in possession of the 
latest appliances for producing teas of the true un- 
fer.nented or Ceylon type having intended for the 
Deane and Rie Gr^'en 1'ea-miking mahcins ad- 
vertised in our colnmns, some time ago. " Pacing" 
is an optional process, and we miv trust the able 
manas^ers of the Company not to adopt any coarse 
that will injure the teas produced. They are more- 
over in possession of Mr; DrummondD eane's system 
of glazing or glossing teas, which adds much to 
their appearance and which may very properly take 
the place of " facing," without the introduction of 
any of the foreign ingredients which have earned 
faced teas a bad name. It is possible of coarse that 
some of teas offered for inspection by the Company 
may be made on a different system, but from the 
fact of their possessing the steamer we infer that 
part at least will be of the saccessfal steam-made 
unfermented Japanese type, and these are certain to 
pass muster. Since the acceptance of the offer by 
the Indian Tea Association is contingent on the teas 
being ' suitable' we may be equally certain that 
whichever type of tea is found most suitable will be 
selected for the bulk of the Company's production, 
and the object of the Committee will be achieved. 
If ' faced ' teas of China type are taken and wanted 
let them be made by all means but we very much doubt 
whether they will pass muster with the American 
authorities. A sample of North- Western faced 
Indian tea, which we recently submitted to Messrs 
Moran and Co., was at once rejected with the verdict 
" would not be admitted into America." 
This important offer from Sylhet will fee followed 
with interest. The disappointment of the Committee 
that more offers than thase three have not been 
made hardly seem to us to be warranted. The 
amount of tea for which the grant is made is not 
very large and the three tenderers, all of whom 
possess Deane and Rae steamers to our know- 
ledge could very easily produce all that is required 
each recouping themselves tenfold out of the bonus 
for the purchase money of the machines. Even on 
this scale, though, there is room for more enterprise 
and we are aware of many centres where the manu- 
facture of unfermented green teas are being taken up 
on a small scale with a view to ultimately installing 
machinery, if successful in experiments. Indeed we 
have ourselves farthered these attempts by bringing 
intending green tea makers into communication with 
the inventor of the process. We expect to see the 
movement grow. 
Another point of interest in the matter of green tea 
is that the local I.T.A. Committee announce that they 
intend to approach one or two of the larger agency 
houses with a request that they should take up the 
question of manufacture and bulking. If this refers 
to a project for establishing a sort of central Hong 
in Calcutta for equalising, sorting and bulking green 
teas from various sources and placing them on the 
American market on the Chinese and Japanese system, 
we are of opinion that no better scheme could be 
formulated. Indeed it is possible with advantage to 
go even further. Green tea differs from blaui;; in ihaf, 
the manufacture may be stopped half way and the 
half cared leaf transported, without risk of spoiling to 
great distances to be finished off at a central factory. 
It would be of great advantage to establish such a 
central factory in Calcutta, where half cured teas 
could be worked up into finished homogeneous breaks. 
The teas in balk here could, in the final stages be 
turned out far better under the eye of a practised 
expert for whom we would not have far to seek, and 
the result would be more satisfactory than that pro- 
duced by many different planters making small breaks 
in the districts. It is not likely that many will take 
up the manufacture in any but a small way at present 
and to produce the best tea it is necessary that it 
should be handled in quantities and on system, To 
59 
steam and half fire is easy and could be carried ont 
without trouble everywhere. The finishing processes 
could be better managed at a central factory which 
could be placed at any distance preferably at a centre 
such as Calcutta. The proposal has everything to 
recommend it and we trust to see some enterprising 
syndicate take it up, — Indian Goi'dening and Plantinq, 
Nov. 21. 
THE NEW TEA DISCOVERY: 
MR. C. R. NEWTON ON ITS SIGNI- 
FICANCE. 
We have pleasure in directing tlie special 
attention of the Ceylon planting community 
to the interesting letter Mr. Newton is good 
enough to send us on his discovery of a 
tea "enzyme" which is more or less essential 
to the process of fermenting tea. Mr. Bani- 
ber's opinion on the discovery, has created con- 
siderable interest throughout all planting 
circles in India; and Ceylon planters may 
rest assured that all the latest and most 
informing details, both in subject-matter 
and in criticism, will appear in this 
journal from time to time. Since we gave 
Mr. Bamber's views, nothing so much to the 
point has appeared in the local press as the 
letter to which we now turn our attention. 
At the outset, we are glad to note that Mr. 
Newton entertains, as was only natural, the 
highest regard for Mr. Bamber's knowledge 
of and attainments, through original inves- 
tigation, in the chemistry of tea manufactured. 
On the heels of this we are surprised to 
read that he has had " little experience 
with plant enzymes " or he " would not 
say they increase in quantity after pluck- 
ing." Mr. Bamber's reputation is not likely 
to be shaken by such a statement, and we 
invite him to oifer a reply on the subject ; 
but meanwhile, referring to our article of 
the I3th ult., we cannot see that the matter 
clause, even, is at all well founded. What 
Mr. Baraber did say was that if the 
soluble ferment, the enzyme, in tea has any 
effect on the flavour at all, its activity was 
not apparent so much during growth as 
during the withering process. It was not a 
case of actual quantity of enzyme increased, 
but of a greater effect of the same quantity 
of enzyme in the tea leaf after plucking — 
when the withering stage was reached. Apart 
from this Mr. Newton brings out the full 
importance of the isolation of the enzyme 
in tea, if only this " soluble oxidising 
ferment " (as Mr. Bamber calls the subs- 
tance he was able to separate from the 
tea leaf) can be produced apart from the 
tea leaf, and applied to it— to increase its 
flavour and develop its general excellence, 
aroma, and strength. Mr. Newton hopes 
that such a contingency will not come 
to pass because he fears a general level- 
ling up of all kinds ! But " much water 
will flow under the bridges " before 
that day arrives, or _ at least before 
the process of fermentation with external 
aid becomes sufficiently cheap to make the 
betterment of the tea involved decidedly 
profitable to the producer. Many will 
now look forward to the results of the 
experiments which continue uninterrupted 
