Tea merchant

“ Extract of a Letter from a merchant in New York, to Wm. Kelly, of London, dated 5th Novr, 1773:
"The introduction of the East India Company's tea is violently opposed here, by a set of men who shamefully live by monopolizing tea in the smuggling way." ”

“ At tea-time they all came skipping back, bringing with them a little old man they had found, apparently lost, and moping about the common. He carried in front of him a pedlar's tray, on which were exposed for sale many little oddments, such as reels of cotton, needles, pins, ribbons, and even little toys, which he now hawked round amongst the assembled company. As many as were able bought some small thing or other out of kindness to the little merchant, and the good-natured old monarch invited him to tea. ”

“ It will thus be seen that the merchant, not only when he chooses his teas for exportation, but at the last moment before they are shipped, takes the minutest precautions against fraudulent shortcomings, either in quality or weight. It is possible, however, for a sound tea, if undercooked or imperfectly dried, to become putrid during the homeward voyage, and to reach this country in a condition quite unfit for use. ”

“ While on the other hand, if the dealer makes a small but necessary sacrifice for the sake of future gain and reputation by selling only Tea that is Tea, and content himself with a fair but legitimate profit, satisfaction will be given to his customers, his Tea trade fostered and extended, and the consumption of this most important food auxiliary increased throughout the country. ”

“ 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. ”

“ There is no article handled by the grocer which demands greater attention, engages more of his time, or has a more important bearing upon the success of his business than Tea, as it stands in many respects far ahead of all the other commodities in commanding and maintaining patronage, as well as in attracting and retaining trade for numerous other articles, and at the same time yielding a larger margin of profit to the dealer. ”

“ There is nothing in the history of commerce so marvellous as the growth and development of the trade in Tea. In 1675, the importation of this commodity rose to 4,713 lbs. But this enormous quantity manifestly overstocked the market for seven years afterwards. ”

“ So that it does not pay a dealer to make any mistake in the selection of his teas, such mistake proving fatal to drawing or holding trade. Poor teas will drive more customers away in a week than can be made in a year; it is therefore much better and more profitable in the long run to sell only good teas at a smaller margin of profit than to sell poor teas at a larger one. Many dealers make use of the argument, “I bought this tea so much cheaper and my customers do not appear to notice the difference; they do not complain.” ”

“ The Chinese, whatever may be the character of the nefarious arts to which they resort to make the best of92 a bad commodity, can and do send us supplies of good Tea. But then a fair price must needs be paid for it. Such consumers of the beverage as are willing to procure genuine Tea, and not lay out their money upon redried, rerolled, and “doctored” Tea-leaves, would do well to exercise judgment by selecting only those descriptions of Tea that have been carefully plucked in the early spring, when the leaf is small and imbued with the richness of the shrub-juices. ”

“ Of the millions of people who drink tea, very few seem to know how it is grown or manufactured.
They would hardly believe that there are just on 800,000 acres of land planted under tea in India and Ceylon, employing over one million people—all British subjects. Just imagine employing a fifth of the population of London for the production of one article! Then, again, look at the thousands of people who are employed in the tea trade at home—merchants, dealers, brokers—all dependent on this one article of consumption for their bread-and-butter! ”

“ It is only necessary to compare the prices realised at the public auctions with those at which even the most liberal of our retail firms offer to supply their customers with such Teas to see that but a very small fraction of the difference between the prime cost of the Tea and what the consumer has to pay for it goes into the pocket of the planter. ”

“ And why? simply because we will not supply it in the form the teeming crowd of natives willing, nay anxious, to buy can avail themselves of it!
Since I advocated in your paper the formation of a company to sell Tea to natives in small packets, and showed, I thought conclusively: 1—That the capital required was not large (say one and a-half lakhs) . 2—That the shareholders might expect very fair dividends. 3—That there was no assignable limit to the trade which might be developed. 4—That if such a company was started and worked well, all fear for the future of Indian Tea would be at an end. ”

“ These Teas have the character of good Ceylon growths, and are in every respect suitable Teas for general consumption, and such samples are sure to meet with ready sale in Australasia or Great Britain.”
Here again, I am told, the labour question is the doubtful point. Tea cannot be made to pay without cheap labour, and the sooner all these new Tea countries learn the lesson [193] the better for the pockets of the projectors. I may add, the better for the Indian planter’s pocket too, for any increase in the supply is hurtful. ”

“ The prices obtained by the Chinese from foreigners for teas two and three centuries ago were most exorbitant, and paid the Chinese Government and Chinese merchants an enormous profit. Quite naturally that sagacious nation saw the danger of letting the truth concerning the origin, manufacture and cost of their most precious commodity pass into the possession of other people, and they strove to prevent foreigners from penetrating to their inland tea gardens, while they plied inquisitive enquirers with fairy tales which were eagerly swallowed. ”

“ But while the question of making its production a commercial success is conceded by many authorities, some contend that while we can undoubtedly cultivate tea of fair quality in many sections of the country, we cannot supply the cheap and skilled labor necessary to prepare it for market, advancing the argument that from the time the leaves are picked until they are packed for export they are subjected to a continued series of manipulations, demanding an immense amount of such labor without which it is next to impossible to produce a merchantable article. ”

“ One needs not the expensive craft of the cha-sze to know how neatly a little skilful manipulation, and a little heat applied secundum artem, can transform these willow leaves into genuine and delicate85 tea leaves. Whether the mercantile result be intended to astonish the palates of old ladies in London or Glasgow, or to pass as genuine Souchong with skippers, who have little knowledge of Tea, we know not; but the fact remains, that the trade thrives well and pays. ”

“ Gain being the fundamental object of all business transactions, and as tea to the grocer plays such an essential part in determining this profit, we may be excused if, in considering the article from a purely practical standpoint, we urge the relation which it has to the success of the dealer, and who, as a general rule, experiences much more difficulty in the judicious selection of his Tea than in any other staple he trades in. ”

“ Is it not also more than absurd, nay a very shame to those interested in our industry, that while we have a better article than China Tea, we allow, by our supineness and lack of enterprise, more than three million pounds of an inferior article to be sold in the birth place of the better? ”

“ With the great reduction in the importation prices and the keener competition among dealers, the retail prices of Tea have been brought down to a very low figure, and as dealers generally have educated the public to the purchase of poor and trashy Teas at low prices, it is not probable that the retail prices will ever again reach any higher figures, unless war or other similar cause should lead to a duty being placed upon the commodity. ”

“ A grocer cannot manufacture spices or sugar, grow wine, distil whisky or brew beer, but he can, as generations of grocers have done before him, sell good tea out of an honest tea-chest,—or caddy—and make a respectable living, if not money, out of it for himself and not for others, while serving the public well at the same time. ”

“ It is evident from the above that merchants as a rule do not realize the immense change that has been brought about in the conditions of the trade by the enormous increase in the use of Indian Tea, which now forms about one-third of the entire home consumption, and competes mostly with the finer qualities of China congou ”

“ But while it is admitted that the greater part of the cost of tea in the producing countries is that of labor, it must be taken into account that much of the manipulation and packing of tea in these countries is for the purpose of fitting it for the ocean voyages, and to protect it during transportation the leaves must be repeatedly fired and sorted before shipping, in order to better protect them from damp and moisture in transit. ”

“ Consumed by all classes, serving not simply as an article of diet, but as a refreshing and invigorating beverage, Tea cannot be too highly estimated. The wisdom of successive financiers, and the enterprise71 of generations of merchants, have combined to deliver Tea in this country at a price which brings it within the reach of every individual, making it, perhaps, the only real luxury which is common to rich and poor alike. ”

“ The public generally are ignorant in such matters, and the legitimate dealer might look with amused surprise on the apparent demand for packet teas if it were not that an increasing number of dealers are adopting the new system. Engaged as most of the grocers are in trying to stop the plague of all sorts of proprietary goods which yield them so little profit and make them the servants only of the manufacturers and proprietors, it is astonishing, to say the least, that other dealers should be found who are adopting the same system with tea. ”

“ The gaucho of the plains will travel for weeks asking no better fare than a little dried beef, washed down with copious drafts of Maté, the Indian carriers subsisting for days together on it alone, in short, being to them what the tea of China is to its inhabitants, essential and indispensable. The Government has a monopoly of its sale, a heavy duty being imposed on its exportation, forming the principal source of its revenue. ”

“ To illustrate, a dealer may already be selling a Tea to his customers, possessing a pleasing and suitable flavor, but be lacking in body or too light in liquor, whereas by his adding to it a small proportion of one or two other varieties possessing these requisite properties the defect is easily and inexpensively remedied, and a fuller-liquied, heavier-bodied, richer-flavored infusion is produced; the drawing and drinking qualities of the Tea being improved all round without extra cost to the dealer or increase of price to the consumer. ”

“ Good, clean, pure and sweet-drawing Teas can always be purchased at a few cents per pound above the price of the dusty, musty, mousey, woody, herby, grassy, smoky, or sour and trashy Teas now flooding the market. So that by the mistaken policy of trying to save a few cents per pound extra the seed is sown for the final ruin of the dealer himself in addition to casting discredit on the use of Tea as an article of diet. ”

“ Nevertheless, there is still good and pure Tea produced in China, and merchants in London who import it in an unadulterated condition, albeit a very large per centage of the 188,000,000 lbs. annually consumed in Great Britain is spurious. One mercantile Firm in particular have gained a wide and well-deserved reputation for the purity and excellent character of their importations. ”

“ Remember the larger the quantity of Tea, of any one kind, to be sold at one auction, the higher the price it will probably fetch. Sell, if possible, twenty or thirty chests of one kind of Tea at the same time, for small quantities as a rule sell below large, both in Calcutta and London.
Equality of tares is the most important point to attend to in packing Teas. It may be difficult, but with machine-sawn boxes, nearly the same weight, any difference must be made up with extra hooping, lead, solder, or nails. ”

“ It is no secret that for some years past the losses of merchants have been serious, and that while most of the wealthy firms so long known as connected with China have either entirely ceased to import Tea, or have reduced their operations to a very small compass, the trade has been carried on by new houses possessing but little capital, who are enabled, by the competition of the banks, to do a large business by drawing bills on China, not only for the whole cost of the Teas purchased, but also for their commissions on these purchases—that is to say, for an unrivalled profit of 3 per cent. ”

“ Nearly all the India and Ceylon teas go into consumption in England and her possessions, the bulk of her China purchases being re-exported. The English merchants invariably favoring the products of their own colonies to the prejudice of those of other countries, discriminating 120against them, irrespective of merit or value, in this particular instance compelling their customers, in a measure, to use these dubious varieties of the genus tea. But for presumption and audacity in their claims of superiority the India and Ceylon tea growers and dealers are far and away ahead of all competition. ”