OF VARIOUS KINDS OF TEA. 
x 3 
between his palms by moving his hands backwards and for¬ 
wards. This he does, at first, slowly and lightly, but gradually 
more firmly, and finally he does so with all his force, taking care 
not to allow the leaves to hall. This process is continued until 
the leaves have lost most of their moisture, becoming darker in 
colour and assuming somewhat the shape of twisted paper 
strings, when they are taken out of the furnace and transferred 
on to a second furnace of the same construction in quantities of 
about 750 me of fresh leaves. Then they are subjected to a 
second rolling, which must be conducted more carefully than 
the first, and for which generally a more skilful workman is 
employed, since it is chiefly during this second rolling that a 
fine aroma, a delicate colour, and a nice twist are bestowed upon 
the tea. In this process, as in the former, the leaves are rolled 
between the palms but not so strongly as in the first rolling, 
since the leaves are now very sticky and liable to twist together 
if they are strongly rolled. After a while, the leaves become no 
more sticky and lose their moisture, when they are again rolled 
very strongly but most carefully, since it is at this period that 
the leaves take their final twist. When the leaves are nearly 
dried, the rolling is interrupted and the dust is separated, since 
the latter is easily charred, and thus might impart to the tea a 
disagreeable burnt smell. The temperature of the first and 
second furnaces fluctuates between 75—85 sometimes rises to 
g^C. 1 The well twisted leaves freed from dust are now trans¬ 
ferred to a third furnace where the temperature is a little lower 
than in the second ; viz about 65—75°C. There the leaves are 
not rolled at all, but simply spread upon the paper tray and 
frequently turned over, so that they are uniformly affected by 
the heat. There they are left until completely dried, when they 
are either directly put in a large earthenware jar, or more 
generally again subjected to a further dessication. For this 
purpose, all the glowing charcoal is taken out of the furnace, 
and about 2.5 kwamme of the dried leaves are spread upon a 
i Of course the temperature of the leaves is much lower, especially at the 
first stage, but approaches that of the furnace as they become drier. 
