2S 
ORCHID TEA. 
establish the conviction that the differences were attributable to the age of the tree, or 
the nature of the soil on which it grew. According to Dr. Daniel, the Sierra Leone 
copal comes, in part, from a tree described by Mr. Bennett as Guihourtia copalifera, and 
which Mr. Bentham has since named Copaifera guihourtiana; though he also states that 
a considerable portion of it is washed to the surface of the earth, and is therefore of a 
fossilized character. The author concluded a lengthy review of the supposed sources of 
copal by observing, “ that West African copal, and probably all gum resins exported 
under this name from tropical Africa, may be looked upon as a fossil resin, produced by 
trees which in long past periods adorned the forests of that continent, but which at 
present are either totally extinct, or exist only in a dwarfed posterity.” This, he re¬ 
marked, would be all the less surprising if the consideration were taken into account that 
“ tropical Africa, the home of this copal, is at the present moment the least explored 
continent; and if it were further borne in mind that after another analogous resin, the 
amber, became known and brought into practical use, more than 500 years elapsed 
before the learned Dr. Goeppert, whilst pointing to its fossil nature, succeeded, with some 
degree of probability, in tracing its origin to coniferous trees.”— Gardeners’ Chronicle. 
OKCHID TEA. 
BY JOHN E. JACKSON. 
To have to look to the Orchid family for any large staple articles of trade other than 
Vanilla, would be not only to look to a new field, but also to a very interesting one. 
The application of the leaves of one of these plants as a substitute for tea has lately 
come under my notice. The product has been heard of before in its native country, but 
never, so far as I know, in fashionable or civilized society. It has, however, now made 
its appearance in Paris as a regular article of trade, and is highly recommended as a most 
agreeable beverage. 
The plant yielding this new description of tea is the Angrcecum fragrans of Thouars, 
an epiphytal orchid of the island of Bourbon, where it is known and used under the 
name of “ Paham,” This word, once an obscure native name, is now, if we are to believe 
the enterprising French firm who has just introduced it, destined to become a “house¬ 
hold word,” for “Faham” is the name under which it is now sold in Paris, and the 
word appears in large letters upon the boxes in which it is packed, as well as upon the 
circulars accompanying them. The headings of these circulars run as follows :—“ Fa- 
ham, from the Isle of Keunion, imported from and manufactured at Keunion.” There is 
also a rough, but not at all a bad cut of the plant producing it. The circular itself be¬ 
gins by saying that tea proper has never been well received in France, owing to the 
wakefulness resulting from its use, which has caused many persons to reject it altogether, 
while many of those who do use it drink it in default of a better substitute. The cir¬ 
cular then goes on to state that it is for the purpose of remedying this state of things that 
the new infusion is intended ; not to replace tea, which has indisputable advantages, but 
to afford an opportunity of choosing between two beverages, equally beneficial and 
useful. “ Faham is not a new production. From time immemorial the natives of 
the islands of Keunion and Mauritius, though situated as it were at the very gates 
of China, have preferred it to tea ; every traveller has partaken of their preference ; 
one of our most illustrious writers, George Sand, eulogizes it in the midst of the fine 
description which she gives of the Isle of Bourbon, a eulogy which cannot be suspected 
of puffery, inasmuch as it was written thirty years before the introduction of Faham into 
France was thought of. Every work on botany of any importance similarly places it in 
the foremost rank of the beneficial productions of this favoured clime. The difficulties 
experienced in the gathering and manufacture of Faham on a large scale, and conse¬ 
quently the almost impossibility of procuring a sufficient quantity to recompense the 
labour of obtaining it for consumption, and also its very high price, have alone prevented 
until now this valuable article of diet from being imported into France. After many 
fruitless attempts, these obstacles have been overcome. 
“Faham belongs to the family of Orchids; it grows upon the high slopes of the 
island of Reunion, in the midst of almost inaccessible forests. It possesses a taste differ¬ 
ing greatly from that of tea, and is preferred by the majority of persons who have tasted 
