August i, 1890..I 
THE TROPlOW- At 3 TR 1 t 5 ULTUmST 
113 
CEYLON TEA IN LEAD PACKETS— 
TEA AND THE HOME DUTY— 
AEEATED TEA. 
London, June 20th. 
The following letter, which appeared in the 
Grocer for last week, shows how little the retail 
traders who deal in your teas have done to 
make themselves acquainted with the terms and 
conditions of the Merchandise Marks Act. It 
seems impossible to believe that any man, 
knowing how readily the provisions of that 
act may be transgressed and of the liabilities he 
may himself incur, should fail to carefully read 
it and guard himself in accordance with what he 
may find in it. And yet this “ country grocer ” 
seems to have got hopelessly muddled over the 
reports of the recent Sogama case, and never to 
have thought of examining the act itself to find a 
solution to his difficulty. Mr. Leake, as Secretary 
to the Association, has this week sent a letter to 
the above-mentioned paper which will doubtless 
resolve the doubts of its not very bright correspondent, 
and it will prove to that individual that, provided 
he can prove innocence as to all intentional decep- 
tion, and Iona fide belief on his own part as to 
the genuineness of the teas he sells, he will be 
held scatheless under the provisions of the act. 
The following is the text of the letter referred to : — 
Ceylon Tea in Lead Packets. 
Sifj Like many other grocers, I have undertaken 
the sale of the above, packed and labelled with high- 
sounding titles by well-known London dealers. I am 
pesteredT with appeals to take up other brands of the 
same class. These teas are variously dt scribed as 
“ pure Ceylon,” “ Ceylon blends,” “ guaranteed three- 
fourths pure Ceylon,” “ a blend of Ceylon and other 
choice growths,” &c. 
But some recent proceedings in the law courts, re- 
ported in your columns, have awakened in my mind 
and, as I happen to be aware, in the mind.s of many 
other retailers, apprehensions nhich may be exagger- 
ated or perhaps entirely unfounded. Suppose the 
Ceylon Tea Planters’ Association— always on the 
alert to protect their interests and to pounce on the 
unscrupulous, the fraudulent, the mendacious, or the 
unwary vendor of tea — should take me before the 
magistrate on a charge of selling tea bearing a false 
trade description, could I be called upon to prove 
that the incriminated packets contained pure Ceylon 
or that there was, at any rate, some Ceylon tea 
in them ? 
No doubt I should be able to get half a dozen 
experts to swear that my tea was ‘‘ pure Ceylon,” 
or “ three-fourths Ceylon,” or whatever the exigencies 
of my case demanded and it is equally without doubt 
that the Ceylon Tea Planters’ Association would be 
able to produce an equal number of duly qualified 
judges prepared to swear that my packets did not 
contain a leaf or a particle of Ceylon tea. The 
wholesale dealer from whom I bought the tea might 
then be called, and he being a man of mysteries, 
would reply that he was not prepared to divulge 
trade secrets, &o. 
The point to which I would direct your attention, 
and upon which I hope to elicit practical trade 
opinion, is thus ; — Whether misdesoripton— even if 
purchasers are not misled by it — as to quality and 
place of origin, without the assumption of the name 
or brand of any particular estate, is actionable and 
punishable ? — I am, &o., A Countey Grocer. 
June 11th. 
The leading men in the tea trade seem to 
think that there are at last some indications 
as to how the different tea-growing countries are 
likely to be affected by the late reduction by 
twopence of the tea duty. Few of us had 
thought it possible that these could be furnished 
15 
within so short a time, but it is evident that — 
whether due to the reduction or not— there has 
been a manifest ch> Dge in the relative position of 
the vaiiouB teas within the last L rtuight or so, 
and it may be that experts have been right in the 
conclusions they have drawn from it. If these are 
correct, the vi- w taken by mjself and many others, 
that the reduction wou'd prove to be favourable to 
China rather than to Ce.ilon or Indian teas, was 
a wrong one. This is what Messrs. W. J. & 
H. Thompson have written reC’ ntly on this topic; — 
“ The probable effect of 'he reduced duty on values 
has been much du-cussed. Ju gmg from the B'-tive 
demand, coincident with Jib redneti- n, and the 
adva- ce in prices, the lesult has been favou able to 
the best teas, i.e., to India and Ceylon, not to China. 
This tends to confirm the npinion held by some who 
are in close touc ■ wi'h consumers, that the public may 
take advantage of reduced retail prices to buy better 
tea; which agrees with our observation, often recorded, 
that tea-drinkers are learning to appreciate he beu< fit 
of using good qualuies.” 
We hardly think, however, that yru would do 
wisely to rely too unreservedly on thie expression of 
opinion, though it has iho imprimatur of such high 
experts as Messrs. Thompson. So m ny creum- 
stanecs may contribute towards a disinrbance for a 
time of the balance of the lea trade, that it. is rather 
optimist perhaps to found a decision without await- 
ing the result to a more lengthened experience than 
has as yet been available sincr the duty was reduced. 
The mere fact of tha' reduction alone can hardly 
be held to account for the late boom in Ceylon 
teas, which have gone up fu ly twopence the pound 
during the last fortnight or three weeks. 
My last letter made relerenoe to the new drink 
prepared from your staple production and which 
we hear isealled Aerated Tea, and not Sparkling Tea 
as previously mentioned by me. During the week 
opportunity occurred for me to taste this new 
drink, and my verdict upon it is decidedly very 
favourable. It opened as briskly as any champagne 
could do, and presented in the glass the appear- 
ance of the finest and clearest Alton ale — the 
aroma of the tea was quite perceptible to the 
nose, and equally apparent to the palate on 
drinking. It had something of the flavour of a 
raspberry sherbet, but without the cloying taste 
that beverage possesses. An old Etonian told me 
that, were his cricketing days to come over again, 
he could desire no more refreshing drink, it being 
in his opinion quite as staying, and infinitely 
more palatable, than the cold tea he always used 
to drink when playing. It is probable that it may 
be manufaotured cheaply enough to warrant its 
being retailed at twopence the bottle; and should 
this be accomplished, we really believe it will 
run other temperanoe drinks very hard as a com- 
petitor in public favour and so conduce largely to the 
wider consumption of teas. We are assured 
that to obtain the delicacy of flavour so much 
appreciated by those who have as yet tasted the 
new drink it is necessary to use teas of the higher 
grades only. The commoner sorts would impart a 
roughness which w. uld be much disliked. Mr. 
Wrightson, the patentee, gave me several particulars 
resiiecting his endeavours to produce this beverage 
which were of interest. He told me that former 
attempts made in the same direction have failed, 
as tea in solution is a very difficult article to 
guard against turbidity and requires most careful 
manipulation. He and the chemist who has been 
assisting him have been engaged on the required ex- 
periments lor some years, and they believe they have 
now achieved complete success, and that the drink 
can be kept sweet and clear for almost an un- 
limited time. They are sending samples to the 
