December i, 1890.] 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
425 
HOW TO INTKODUCE CEYLON TEA IN 
RUSSIA ? 
GENERAL REPORT ON M. ROGI VUE’S 
MISSION TO RUSSIA. 
The Ceylon Plnutera’ Association “ Tea Fund ” hav- 
ing, in several of their meetings, discussed the very im- 
portant question of finding the best mode, to be adopted 
for introduoing Ceylon tea in Russia in view of the se- 
curing new markets for their ever-increasing production, 
had once contemplated to send a Commissioner to China 
with the idea of his interviewing there the Russian 
buyers’ agents by way of showing them samples of pure 
Ceylon tea and persuading them to devote more atten- 
tion, when passing through Colombo, upon this inte- 
resting product, which offers so great advantages over 
the tea grown in the dominion of the Celestial Empire, 
viz. of being pure, of (jreater aroma, stronger and there- 
fore more economical and cheaper. This idea, although 
perhaps good in principle, was however soon abandoned 
for some reason or other, but chiefly on account of the 
great criticism started against the scheme by the 
Colombo press, the Ceylon Observer especially. Seeing 
this, and at the eve of my departure for a holiday trip to 
Europe,! offered the Ceylon Planters’ Association to 
take the “ bull by the hr rns ” and to go to Russia — the 
great tea-drinking country — there to advertise and 
push pure Ceylon tea, by trying to persuade her inhabi- 
tants to drink it and to appreciate it for its own merits. 
My offer was accepted and a grant of £100 cash for 
my expenditure and £30 for value of tea samples to be 
taken to Russia for distribution, was voted bytheOom- 
miLtee of the Ceylon “ Tea Fund.” 
I left Colombo on the 13th of May 1890, via Italy 
and Switzerland, and arrived in London on the 22nd 
June, where I spent about a fortnight in collecting in- 
formation about Russia, visiting merchants and brokers 
connected with the tea trade, tasting teas likely to 
suit the Russian market and making myself ready for 
the campaign, well-provided with numerous letters of 
introduction for Russia. 
Very little indeed seems to be known in London 
about Russia, her tea trade and the way of making and 
drinking tea there. I was told that the sorts most 
likely preferred to suit best the taste of the people in 
general would be teas of a Hyht mild liqioor and 
very light-coloured infusion and therefore, with the aid 
of the London brokers, selected my samples accordingly 
and, as near as possible, to represent this description, 
taking with me 4 chests and 6 half-chests of the follow- 
ing teas : — 
Labukelle 
Do 
Aberdeen 
Mahousa 
Patiagamma 
Ferndale 
Glengariffo 
Rahatungoda 
Labukelle 
Kuruwitte 
Broken Pekoe 
„Peko 0 
■ Pekoe Souchong 
In all_671 pounds nett of tea, and well-equipped as above- 
mentioned,! arrived in St. Petersburg on the 23rd July 
and lost no time in visiting the people for which 1 had 
letters of introduction. I may here mention that I 
have been very well received by all, the class of men 
to which these friends belong being indeed very civil, 
courteous and obliging, and not speaking of the dangers 
and bothers of all sorts shown to me in expectation by 
many, before leaving England, I found my way very 
easily everywhere and without the slightest trouble. 
Mr. D. Haverlands, the agent in St. Petersburg of a 
large London Export-house, to whom I was also in- 
troduced by a kind friend in London, after having 
heard me, for more than two hours, on the subject 
of Ceylon tea, told me that, previous to my visit, ho 
very often received samples of Oeylon teas, with offers 
from Firms abroad for iuducemeut of busiuess; which 
samples, on account of his being alwsys quite unable to 
interest anyone in the article, so very little known in 
Russia, he had to lay aside as an unsaleable produce, 
but, since he had heard from me more about its tjualities, 
64 
the way it is manufactured, its purity, flavour, cheap- 
uess, &o., he now believed it to bo the article of the 
future, called to supplant Chinese tea against the 
quality of which so many complaints have been raised 
lately, and he was very pleased to accept my proposal 
to act as my general agent in St. Petersburg. 
It took mo some long time — fully six days — before I 
could clear, at the Custom-house, my samples landed 
per S. S. “ Viatka,” the Custom authorities iu 
Russia being very slow in their work and great 
paper- wasters, not speaking of Government recognized 
holidays so numerous in the country and as incon- 
venient to a business man. 
Duty on tea in Russia is S2 gold roubles per pound 
of 40 Russian pounds, of which 124 equal to 112 
English pounds, or one hundredweight. 
Exchange on gold varies from 30 to 40 per cent at 
present and is regulated by the value of the “ Domi- 
Impdriale ” which at pir is worth “yfae ” silver 
roubles (100 gold roubles equal now about 136 silver 
roubles.) Exchange on English money has fluctnated 
during the last two mouths 
from roubles 8-40 kop = about 6 90 gold per demand £ 
to „ 7-90 „ = „ 6-50 „ „ 
The present mode of passing a tea invoice at a 
Russian customhouse is to produce the invoice 
which may be passed as it is, or verified by 
the Customs authorities taking about 10 cases 
out of 100 to verify the tares cf which the 
weight is accepted as the average for the whole invoice. 
Duty is paid on this average nett weight without any 
addition of 3 per cent as it was done formerly; it 
is therefore most important that the very exact weights 
are given in the invoices and that the packages, cases 
or chests, are, as much as possible, of a uniform weight 
for the tare. 
After having cleared my samples, 1 stored them in a 
local rented by me tor the purpose, got thorn 
packed as per pattern herewith, in .1 and | lb, packets, 
and, with Mr. Haverlands, began my work of excursion 
around the place, visiting all the principal wholesale 
tea-houses, such as A. W. Rothermandt & Co., 
Elissajeff Brothers, Berchard Gruening, Otto Dittboru, 
Raftal Brothers, Wm. Strauss, Schlaisser & Oo., and 
others. My samples were tasted by all and, generally 
speaking declared good, wanting however more colour 
but everyone told me that, although there was no 
doubt that these teas were of very good quality and 
pure, it would be very difficult, if not imposible, to 
introduce them in the country; their taste being quite 
different to that of Chinese teas would never be 
appreciated by the Russian public ; some pretended 
that their very peculiar “ raspberry” taste was caused 
by the sweetness of the Neva’s water (I was told that 
a well-known St. Petersbnrg tea dealer, when going 
to Moscow and/or Nijni to purchase teas always 
takes with him a supply of the Neva water in order 
to taste teas with it) ; many called Ceylon tea 
“ flower” or “ medicinal” tea and some others upheld 
the opinion that its aroma and flavour are given 
artificially. I found out that about 1000 chests of the 
best Oeylon Pekoe are yearly finding their way into 
St. Petersburg for mixing purposes with inferior 
Chinese teas wanting strength, aroma and flavour, 
quite unsaleable as they are. A Firm (Dittborn & Co.) 
has promised me an order of some importance but, 
after further consideration, for some reason or other 
expressed their regret of not being able to do so at 
present. However, for all this, I did not lose courage 
I had only heard the opinion of the wholesale trade, 
I wanted to be quite convinced about the matter 
and knowing that the small traders, retailers and 
the Russian public had never had before the oppor- 
tunity of seeing, selling, buying or drinking pure 
Ceylon tea, never offered before as suck on any Russian 
market, I decided to see them and to have their 
direct opinion regarding the genuine article. I there- 
fore, with samples and circulars about me and aoconi- 
panied by an interpreter, started on a regular expedition 
— a ernsade — visiting daily, iu almost every quarter 
and street of the town, small tea dealers, retailers, 
shops, hotels, “ Tractires” (Russian tea drinking places), 
restaurants, puhlio bars, &c. 
