OF VARIOUS KINDS OF TEA. 
2 3 
the whole is transferred carefully over a brazier with glowing 
charcoal. The temperature of the leaves is, at first, about 
65°C or even lower, but gradually it increases as the moisture 
is driven out, and rises to 75 0 or 8o°C towards the close of 
the operation. It is of vital importance to turn over the leaves 
so that they shall be well and uniformly dried. To do this, 
however, the basket with its contents is carefully removed 
from the brazier and the leaves are transferred into a similar 
bamboo tray, mixed, thinly spread and again put into the 
basket, which is then placed over the brazier. This opera¬ 
tion is again and again repeated, until the leaves become so 
brittle that they can be easily broken when lightly pressed 
between the fingers. We must strictly guard against touch¬ 
ing the leaves while they are upon the brazier, since dust or 
broken leaves would fall through into the fire, and the smoke 
thus engendered would spoil the aroma of the tea, giving 
the latter an unpleasant flavour called “ smoky burnt ” by 
tea-brokers. Hence it is advisable to paste paper upon the 
tray. The manufacture is now completed, and the tea thus 
prepared is then freed from all red leaves, and afterwards 
subjected to sifting, for which a set or sieves of different 
meshes is used. The tea is generally arranged into three 
classes, namely, pekoe, souchong, and bohea, according to the 
size ot the leaves. Previous to preserving, it is again fired 
for a few minutes at about 75 0 C. 
Besides these, we have several other kinds of tea, such as 
sun-dried (partly dried in the sun to save fuel) basket-dried, (dried 
in the cylindrical basket above mentioned instead of the proper 
furnace), and solong (prepared according to the method practis¬ 
ed in Formosa). But these kinds are manufactured to a very 
limited extent, and only in very rare cases, so that their methods 
of preparation are not worthy of mention. 
Having described, at some length, the methods of preparing 
the principal Japanese teas, I shall proceed to communicate 
the results 01 my investigation which was conducted in the 
following way. A large quantity of young tea leaves was 
