OF VARIOUS KINDS OF TEA. 
27 
phlobaphene 1 and also the decomposition of organic matters by 
the organized ferments during the fermentation of leaves, while 
in the case of green tea, though a fraction of tannin is de¬ 
composed, it will not suffer so far-reaching a change as in that 
of black tea, and the decomposition-products thus formed may 
be soluble in water. 
9) A slight decrease of albuminoid-nitrogen and the relative 
increase of amido-nitrogen, in both kinds of tea, indicate the 
decomposition of a small fraction of albuminoids into simpler 
nitrogenous bodies even during the simple process of prepara¬ 
tion. 
In short, black tea suffers more material alterations during 
preparation than green, since in the former the leaves are 
subjected to fermentation, while the manufacture of the latter 
consists entirely of mere mechanical manipulations. 
As already stated, export tea is always re-fired in the go- 
downs of the exporter. This process is resorted to in order to 
drive out the excessive moisture from the tea and to destroy the 
germs which, particularly in the presence of much moisture, 
would exercise an injurious action upon tea during a long 
voyage. Ordinary tea contains generally 10-11% of moisture, 
which is reduced to 3-4% by refiring. But as this process is 
conducted at a high temperature, there should be some altera¬ 
tion in the composition of the tea. An investigation by O. Kellner 
and Y. Mori 2 on the above subject shows that the refiring process 
does not deteriorate the quality of tea, as was supposed by 
many, but on the contrary it increases the fine aroma and 
diminishes the astringency while a slight loss of theine is of no 
practical moment. It is, however, during the process of refiring 
that the shameful practice of facing tea is performed. Both 
black and green teas are thus generally artificially coloured or 
faced. The pigmentary matters commonly employed in the 
1 I have observed in the extracted leaves of black tea a noticeable quantity 
of phlobaphene. 
2 Mittheilungen der deutschen Gesellschaft für Natur- und Voelkerkunde 
Ostasiens, Vol. IV, no. 39, 1888, p. 416. 
