The Price of a Cup, How Mass Consumption Remade Tea

“ Every housewife knows that good tea is expensive. Since the different teas are all from the same species of plant why should there be such a difference in price? The expensive teas consist of the very young leaves and terminal branches and are carefully dried and prepared under special supervision. The young leaves and branches have a more delicate flavor. To determine whether a sample of tea consists of young leaves or not soak it in water, carefully roll out the leaves, and measure them. If the majority of leaves measure an inch or more in length it is a poor quality. ”

“ It must be remembered that even fair medium qualities are mixed; that is, they consist of mature and immature leaves. The best and most expensive teas are often sold at one hundred dollars per pound. They are never exported, but consumed by high Chinese officials. Imperial tea is prepared under the direct supervision of royal government officials.
Tea owes its stimulating properties to an active constituent known as thein, which is in all respects similar to caffein, the active constituent of coffee. The flavor which is developed by the drying process is due to several constituents. ”

“ TEA Tea is used by more than one-half the human race; and, although the United States is not a tea-drinking country, one and one-half pounds are consumed per capita per annum.
All tea is grown from one species of shrub, Thea, the leaves of which constitute the tea of commerce. Climate, elevation, soil, cultivation, and care in picking and curing all go to make up the differences. First-quality tea is made from young, whole leaves. ”

“ Black tea is of the lowest kind, with the largest leaves. In gathering the choicer varieties, we are told on credible authority that "each leaf is plucked separately; the hands are gloved; the gatherer must abstain from gross food, and bathe several times a day." Many differences in the flavor and color of green and black teas are produced by art. Mr. Fortune says of green tea, that "it has naturally no bloom on the leaf, and a much more natural color. ”

“ Tea is the beverage--the masterpiece--of every meal, even if it be nothing but boiled rice. Every artisan and laborer, going to work, carries with him his rice-box of lacquered wood, a kettle, a tea-caddy, a tea-pot, a cup, and his chop-sticks. Milk and sugar are generally eschewed. The Japs and the Chinese never indulge in either of these ingredients in tea; the use of which, they claim, spoils the delicate aroma.
From the highest court circles down to the lowliest and poorest of the Emperor's subjects, it is the custom in both Japan and China to offer tea to every visitor upon his arrival. ”

“ Tea being an extremely delicate and sensitive article, it should be protected from all foul and foreign flavors, its susceptibility to the odors of other articles being a source of danger and deterioration, as it readily absorbs the smell of coffee, cocoa, spices, meats, fish and other commodities of pronounced flavor. Even when securely packed in the lead-lined chests in which it is received from the producing countries, the change from the glowing heat of Eastern skies to our atmosphere deprives it of much of its pleasing fragrance. ”

“ The more carefully the tea is dried, the more delicious its taste and scent become. But tea has also an astringent matter in it, something like the astringency of the mouth-drawing sloe-leaf;—this is not very easily dissolved from it by boiling water. It is only taken up from it after it has remained in hot water for a very long time. Tea contains too a large amount of a true flesh-making substance, of a nature very closely resembling that of the meal of beans or peas. ”

“ Tea is largely a matter of taste and brands, also prices. Very cheap tea is undesirable, being commonly adulterated with spent 133tea leaves. Tests vary as much as brands. A safe and easy one is to infuse a pinch of tea one minute in boiling water, pour off one-half, and let the other half stand, keeping at almost boiling heat for ten minutes. Pour off and compare in smell and taste with the first. Artificial color, if present, will show as dregs in the long steeping and reveal itself further in a faint metallic taste. ”

“ The workmen preparing the better qualities of tea are not permitted to eat fish, as the very enduring and penetrating fish-flavor would be transmitted to the tea in the thorough handling. It seems, however, that a more or less distinct fishy flavor is perceptible in many teas, even the better qualities.
Tea-dust consists of remnants from tea-chests, dust from the working tables upon which the leaves are rolled—in fact, tea-refuse of all kinds. It is certainly not a desirable article. Besides true tea there are leaves and other parts of a great variety of plants which have been used as tea. ”

“ After all, then, genuine green tea is, as might reasonably be conjectured, an article less artificial than black. There is, at the same time, too much foundation for the suspicion, that the green teas so much patronised in Europe and America, are not so innocently manufactured. Mr Fortune witnessed the process of colouring them in the Hung-chow green-tea country, and describes the process. The substance used is a powder consisting of four parts of gypsum and three parts of Prussian blue, which was applied to the teas during the last process of roasting. ”

“ All imported tea is black, unless colored before leaving China, and is colored by prussiate of potash—a poison so deleterious as to require labelling in drug stores as “Poison.” It makes one very nervous,—good tea does not, unless used to excess,—and acts as a slow poison on the system. By its over-action on the liver, it makes one yellow, and will spoil the fairest complexion. All teas contain tannic acid, which, combining with milk, makes excellent leather of one. Black teas are sometimes colored with gypsum and Prussian blue. ”

“ Another form of adulteration practiced principally in China is the admixture of spurious or foreign leaves obtained from other plants, such as the willow, plum, ash, and what is known in trade as Ankoi Tea. Millions of pounds of such spurious Tea leaves are annually picked, cured and colored in the same manner as Tea in some of the Chinese Tea districts, and used for the purpose of increasing the bulk and decreasing the cost of genuine Teas, this form of adulteration, however, being only trivial when compared with the former one. ”

“ As the result of the past two years’ experience in the chemical examination of tea, the prevailing adulterations were found to be of two kinds—the admixture of spent tea-leaves, and the application to the tea of a facing preparation. A natural green tea possesses a dull hue, and is but seldom met with in the trade ”

“ If tea be ‘faced’ with black-lead, or with Prussian-blue, turmeric, and China clay, there can be no question of the fraudulent and dangerous nature of such a practice; and when we read of preserved green peas being largely adulterated with sulphate of copper, and that a one-pound tin of green peas has been found to contain two and a half grains of this poisonous compound, it becomes evident that legislation directed against this worst of frauds—food-adulteration—is both necessary and highly requisite as an active feature of social law. ”

“ This dyed tea is generally much larger than the genuine specimens; it is, therefore, always advisable to buy the small leaved bohea; remembering to examine whether the ingenuity of the artist has not been at work to break or crumble it into pieces, so as to disguise the size of the leaves: for the adulterator’s wits are always at work in “the black art.” 5. The liquor drawn off, which should be smooth and balsamic to the palate, tastes rougher and harsher than the genuine tea does. 6. If milk is poured into it, it will rise of a reddish colour, instead of a dark or blackish brown. ”

“ To procure the extreme type of Black teas, a Souchong or Congou, the fermentation or oxidation, and the "cooking" process, is simply carried further, and with higher roasting, some of the volatile oils and delicate flavors are expelled, or are changed into other flavors. Judging by diminished effects upon tea drinkers, some of the volatile theine is also lost.
Both in China and Japan it is the custom to give large portions of the tea crop which are intended for export to foreign countries, only a preliminary drying or curing sufficient to preserve them temporarily. ”

“ In a modern tea plantation the only part of the process of tea making that involves handling is the plucking of the leaves, largely done by women and children. The leaves are then spread on racks and allowed to partly wither, after which they are put between rollers so as to crush the tissue, thereby allowing the more rapid escape of water. After rolling, all black teas are again spread out when oxidation of their juices changes their color, but green teas omit this second spreading out and sometimes even the first. ”

“ Again, as to how much liquor an equal quantity of the former will yield in comparison with a similar weight of the latter, is another mooted question. As far as quantity, color and body are concerned, it must be admitted that India and Ceylon teas are once and a half greater. But in flavor and aroma, the essential qualities that constitute and are most appreciated in tea, China and Japan teas far excel them. ”

“ In the modern days of machine-made black tea, produced under British supervision, both the tea-taster and the ordinary consumer have to deal with a product which, if carefully converted into a beverage and used in moderation, should be harmless to all normal human beings. There has been constant controversy as to whether China tea is better than that of other growths, but the verdict first of all of Great Britain, and subsequently of all the other large consuming countries, has relegated the produce of the Celestial Empire to a very subordinate position. ”

“ Tea machinery is destined to work great results in India. When brought to perfection (it is far on the road now) , it will so cheapen the cost of manufacture that, though labour is dearer with us than in China, we shall, thanks thereto, be able to lay down our Teas at cheaper rates than the produce of the Flowery Land. If Indian Tea ever vies in quantity with China in the Tea-consuming countries of the world, it will be due entirely to the economy effected by our machinery. ”

“ In this International Development Scheme, I suggest that a system of modern factories for the preparation of tea should be established in all the tea districts, so that the tea should be prepared by machinery instead of, as hitherto, by hand. Thus the cost of production can be greatly reduced and the quality improved. As the world's demand for tea is daily increasing and will be more so by a dry United States of America, a project to supply cheaper and better tea will surely be a profitable one. ”

“ So that the practice of blending teas, if properly understood and skillfully performed, would prove a more satisfactory and profitable one to both consumer and dealer. The object is not, as the public may imagine, to lower the quality or reduce the cost to the dealer, but simply to produce better tea and obtain a finer and more desirable flavor than that yielded by any single variety, one giving better satisfaction to the consumer at a more moderate price and at the same time allowing a larger margin of profit to the dealer. ”

“ The so-called great favor with which India and Ceylon teas are said to be regarded by British consumers being due in a great measure to the energy and persistency with which the trade has been pushed, the teas being literally forced on the public by the Government as well as by the English growers and dealers, in addition to the strong ties of relationship connecting the planters with the mother country. There is not the slightest doubt but that the check which the consumption of China teas appears to have sustained in England is entirely due to these causes. ”

“ The use of machinery in curing and firing also lessens the cost of preparation for market, together with a saving in freight and quicker sale consequent to English preferences giving a speedier return for the money invested. The advantages which India and Ceylon tea-growers have over those of China are greater command of capital, as in both India and Ceylon tea estates are generally owned by companies consisting of shareholders whose living is not dependent on the product of the plantations. ”

“ Every pound bought had to be paid for in a very short time, and this fact, coupled with the fear of a falling market, has continuously forced the pace and driven the tea into the consumer's teapot. The demand from the masses for strong tea was met by the extra strength from the British-grown varieties. This demand exists mainly from English tea drinkers of middle and lower classes, who have always insisted that all their beverages should be pungent, strong and stimulating, whether it be porter, ale, coffee or other liquor, regardless of the effect upon the nervous system. ”

“ This may be true, but it is delusive, as people seldom complain; they go elsewhere and get better value. Every community becomes accustomed to drinking a particular description of tea and is quick to discover any change in the character and flavor of any tea that may be substituted for it, thereby becoming dissatisfied notwithstanding that even a higher-priced tea, of different character, may be given them. For this reason the dealer will do well to keep as close to the grade and variety in use there and as nearly uniform as possible at all times maintaining a “standard.” ”

“ The increased demand for other than China tea is entirely due to this and not to any desire for quality or flavour, but merely for strength in the cup." That strength is kept in the leaf by the foreign method of rolling. In China the sap is expressed in the native efforts to get curl and twist in the sun-dried leaf by their mode of manipulation, and consequently much of the real strength of the tea is lost. To retain that sap without the aid of machinery is a question which may yet be solved by native genius when once properly centred upon the great advantage to be gained by the effort. ”

“ Little is known, comparatively, in this country particularly, of the art or principle of blending or “mixing” of Teas. The American dealer and consumer alike being averse to the practice as a general rule, regarding it as about on a parity with the other too numerous forms of adulteration and sophistication now in vogue, not only in the countries of consumption, but also in those of production. ”

“ Blended Teas are the rule in England, where the skillful mixing of Teas has become a science; very little, if any, Tea being sold to consumers in its original state, every dealer, both wholesale and retail, being noted for or identified with some unique or particularly flavored blend of Tea. ”

“ And here again the choicest black teas are not always exempt from suspicion and rejection, for it is a matter of common knowledge that "when the inspection law was first enacted in the United States of America the first inspector appointed to New York City thought fit to reject as unfit for consumption a small shipment of part of the very choicest Souchong produced, on the ground that the flavour was foreign to tea, and, consequently, that the tea was inadmissible under the standards of purity approved by the New York Tea Board." ”