Full text of "Tea"
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or ILLINOIS
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UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS LIBRARY AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN
NAR1
MAY eM
FEB 1 2 1975
EB 1 1 1975
Idec 4 m
TEA
BY
LLEWELYN WILLIAMS
Curator of Economic Botany
THE LIBRARY OF THE
Botany
-EP 11 1937
Leaflet 21
UNIVERSITY OF 1' ' "'^^
FIELD
MUSEUM OF NATURAL
CHICAGO
1937
HISTORY
The Botanical Leaflets of Field Museum are designed to give
brief, non-technical accounts of various features of plant life, especially
with reference to the botanical exhibits in Field Museum, and of the
local flora of the Chicago region.
LIST OF BOTANICAL LEAFLETS ISSUED TO DATE
No. 1. Figs $ .10
No. 2. The Coco Palm 10
No. 3. Wheat 10
No. 4. Cacao 10
No. 5. A Fossil Flower 10
No. 6. The Cannon-ball Tree 10
No. 7. Spring Wild Flowers 25
No. 8. Spring and Early Summer Wild Flowers . . .25
No. 9. Summer Wild Flowers 25
No. 10. Autumn Flowers and Fruits 25
No. 11. Common Trees (second edition) 25
No. 12. Poison Ivy 15
No. 13. Sugar and Sugar-making .25
No. 14. Indian Corn 25
No. 15. Spices and Condiments (second edition) ... .25
No. 16. Fifty Common Plant Galls of the Chicago Area .25
No. 17. Common Weeds 25
No. 18. Common Mushrooms 50
No. 19. Old-Fashioned Garden Flowers 25
No. 20. House Plants 35
No. 21. Tea 25
CLIFFORD C. GREGG, Dikectok
FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY
CHICAGO, U. S. A.
TliZ LIBRARY
OF THt
UNIVERSITY OF ilUNOiS
FLOWERING AND FRUITING BRANCH OF A TEA-BUSH
From an exhibit in Field Museum
THE LI3RARY OF THE
SEP 11 1937
^£>^' UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
Field Museum of Natural History
DEPARTMENT OF BOTANY
Chicago, 1937
Leaflet Number 21
^ Copyright 1937 by Field Museum of Natural History
v^
-i TEA
Tea is prepared from the young leaves of an evergreen
shrub or small tree, native to the uplands of southeastern
Asia's monsoon regions. In 1753, Linnaeus described the
plant as a single species, Thea sinensis. Later, however,
he recognized two species, Thea Bohea and Thea viridis,
as cultivated in China, and it was long thought that these
were the origin of black and green tea respectively. Most
botanists now agree that there is only one species and
that the various forms are varieties of it.
When left to its natural habit of growth and not sub-
jected to the repeated pruning necessary for the produc-
tion of a size and shape convenient for plucking, the tea
plant may attain the dimensions of a tree, 20 or 30 feet
in height. Its leaves are elliptical-oblong or lanceolate-
pointed, toothed along the margin except at the base,
smooth on both sides, green, shining, and supported on
short stalks. Oil glands present in the substance of the
leaf contain an essential or volatile oil. The flowers,
resembling those of the mock orange, are slightly fragrant,
white or cream-colored, and appear solitary or in clusters
of two or three in the axils of the leaves. The fruit is a
3-celled capsule, usually with one large spherical seed in
each rounded compartment.
The tea plant thrives best in humid tropical or sub-
tropical regions with high temperatures, a long growing
season, and a heavy, well-distributed rainfall to ensure a
continuous, rapid growth of new and tender shoots. It
favors rocky, undulating tracts where water flows freely,
yet without washing away the light, friable soil.
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4 Field Museum of Natural History
HISTORICAL ASPECTS
Much controversy has arisen as to the original home
of the tea plant, the point in question being whether it
originated in China or in the neighboring Indian pro-
vince of Assam. Some maintain that plants had been
transported from India into China for cultivation; others
believe that the tea plant was carried from China to India
despite the fact that the shrub was discovered in 1823
growing wild in northeastern India. The modern view
is that the plant is indigenous to the hill-lands and moun-
tains of southwestern China, northern Siam, upper Indo-
China, eastern Burma, and Assam.
Tea as a beverage had its genesis in China untold
centuries ago, but its early history is lost in the obscurity
of China's antiquity and for the most part is traditional.
Probably it will never be known when tea was first used,
nor how it was discovered that tea leaves could be treated
to make a palatable beverage. The legendary origin of
tea, according to Chinese sources, dates back to approxi-
mately 2700 B.C. The earliest credible reference is con-
tained in a Chinese dictionary of about A.D. 350. By the
fifth century tea had become an article of trade in China
and late in the sixth century the Chinese generally began
to regard the beverage as something more than a medicinal
drink. Contemporary Chinese records indicate that tea
cultivation began in the interior province of Szechuan
about A.D. 350, gradually extending down the Yangtze
Valley to the seaboard provinces.
After the cultivation had spread through the provinces,
it came to the attention of travelers from other shores,
and China became the fountain-head whence tea culture
spread to other countries. The first of these was Japan.
Knowledge of tea was probably introduced into that
country, along with Chinese civilization and Buddhism,
late in the sixth century.
Tea-drinking is one of the customs that the West
shares with the East, yet it was many centuries after tea
A TEA-BUSH FROM SOUTHERN CHINA
Exhibit in Hall of Food Plants, Field Museum of Natural History
6 Field Museum of Natural History
had come into common use in the Orient that Europeans
became familiar with it. The earliest known mention of
tea (under the name Chai Catai, Tea of China) in
European literature was made by Giambattista Ramusio
(1485-1557), a Venetian author who published a collec-
tion of narratives of voyages and discoveries. In 1595-
96, a Dutch navigator, Jan Hugo van Linschooten,
published an account of Japanese manners and customs,
and their mode of drinking tea. The Dutch were the
first to bring tea to Europe, in 1610. By 1640 the aris-
tocracy of the Netherlands had begun to drink it and soon
afterwards its use became general in that country.
The earliest known reference to tea by an Englishman is
found in a letter, dated June 27, 1615, from R. L. Wickham,
agent for the East India Company at Firando (now
Kyoto), Japan, to another agent of the company at
Macao, China, requesting the latter to forward "a pot of
the best sort of chaw," chaw being Chinese for tea.
Samuel Pepys, the English diarist to whom we are indebted
for many intimate glimpses of the customs of his time,
wrote in 1660: "I did send for a cup of tee, a China drink
of which I had never drunk before." Seventeenth-
century records agree that the real introduction of tea
into England began in the London coffee-houses and that
about the middle of that century tea-drinking became
known in England. As the eighteenth century progressed,
its use spread rapidly and attempts were begun to establish
plantations in northeastern India. The Dutch were rather
earlier than the English in attempting tea plantations in
the Far East, though without much success until the
middle of the nineteenth century.
The use of tea as a beverage was known to the American
colonists who settled along the Atlantic seaboard. Al-
though there are no records of its earliest use in America,
it is probable that the custom was brought from the
Netherlands about the middle of the seventeenth century.
A few years after the close of the Seven Years' War (1756-
Tea 7
63), the British Parliament passed an act whereby duty
was imposed on tea, as well as on other commodities
imported into the American colonies. The colonists
resented the imposition of such duties, showing their
resentment by staging the famous Boston Tea Party in
1773. This was followed by similar occurrences at other
places, incidents in the chain of events culminating in the
Declaration of Independence and the subsequent Revo-
lutionary War.
CLASSES OF TEA
Although there are several grades of tea, the product
placed on the market is derived from two main varieties:
namely, the small-leaved Chinese shrub and the large-
leaved Assam type. The Chinese variety is a small,
hardy bush, capable of thriving under more severe climatic
conditions than the more prolific Assam type, and is the
variety commonly cultivated in China and Japan. The
Assam type is larger, attaining tree dimensions if un-
pruned, and with leaves from four to six inches or more
in length. It is tender and requires a hot, moist, equable
climate. It is the one most widely cultivated in India,
Ceylon, and the Dutch East Indies.
The quality of the prepared leaf is dependent upon
the elevation at which it is grown, and the care taken in
cultivation. The flavor is due to the essential or volatile
oil in the leaf and is affected by the method of curing,
but the stimulating quality is due to theine, which it
contains. Theine is an alkaloid similar to that found in
coffee, cocoa, and the cola-nut. Two main classes of
processed tea are recognized: namely, black and green
tea, the former being almost exclusively the product of
India, Ceylon, the Dutch East Indies, and, to a less extent,
China, while green tea is obtained mostly from China and
Japan.
In the manufacture of black tea the leaf is plucked
and is allowed to wither and ferment for a definite period
before it is rolled and dried, while in the processing of
8 Field Museum of Natural History
green tea the raw leaf is subjected to a period of great
heat immediately after being harvested, to prevent fermen-
tation. In this last method, the treated leaf retains the
original color and flavor. The so-called oolong tea of
Formosa is semi-fermented, the period of withering being
considerably less than is required in the manufacture of
black tea.
PRINCIPAL TEA-PRODUCING COUNTRIES
CHINA
For hundreds of years tea has been cultivated mostly
in China where the larger part of the annual crop is used
for domestic consumption. Because of its immense
home market, China is a leader in tea acreage and
production, although the exports have declined from
first to fourth position. As in other branches of agricul-
ture, the Chinese tea industry is a family affair and the
gardens are mostly small patches, four or five acres in
area, preferably on the south side of hill-slopes. The
cultivation of tea is concentrated in those southwestern
provinces bordering the Yangtze and from that river
southward. The more severe climate of North China,
its short growing season, and relatively low rainfall make
that region unsatisfactory for the cultivation of tea.
China produces both green and black tea, the former
usually predominating in export trade in the ratio of
about two to one. Green tea for shipment abroad origi-
nates mostly in the provinces of Chekiang, Anhwei,
Fukien, and Kiangsi, while black tea for export is grown
principally in the provinces of Hunan and Hupeh.
Hankow, on the Yangtze River and surrounded by a
vast tea-growing area, is the largest tea market in China.
JAPAN
Like China, Japan grows its tea mostly on small
patches, one-quarter to one acre in area, in mountain
foothills and terraced uplands. The crop is confined to
central and southern Japan, and is especially concentrated
Photograph courlety oj Underwood & Underwood
UNLOADING TEA IN HANKOW, CHINA
9
10 Field Museum of Natural History
on the Pacific Ocean side of the country, where there is
more summer rainfall and more sunshine, where the grow-
ing season is longer, and the winter temperatures are less
severe than on the Japan Sea side. One of the most famous
tea-producing areas is Shizuoka, southwest of Tokyo, and
Shizuoka City is the principal center for the manufac-
turing and exporting of tea in Japan.
All the tea produced in Japan is of the green variety.
It is estimated that there are approximately 120,000 acres
under cultivation, and it is claimed that the tea from each
district possesses individual character both as to the
formation of the leaf and the quality of the brew.
Unlike cultivation of tea in India or Ceylon, where
plants grown from seeds are transplanted into rows, in
Japan the seeds are allowed to grow into dense, rounded,
hedge-like rows of bushes in the original soil in which they
were placed. It takes about five years for the bushes to
attain maturity, ready for plucking. The young leaves
are picked in the early spring. This is known as the first
crop and is regarded as possessing the best quality. The
second crop is harvested about the middle of June until
August, and the third crop from the middle of August
to the end of September.
FORMOSA
The tea gardens of Formosa are concentrated on the
terraced mountain slopes in the northern part of the
island. Small tea gardens are the rule, although efforts
have begun recently to establish large estates. Oolong
tea, a semi-fermented product exported mostly to the
United States, constitutes nearly two-thirds of the entire
tea crop, and pouchong, a scented variety sold mostly
in the markets of the Far East, forms the remaining
one-third.
INDIA
The first practical suggestion for the establishment of
tea plantations in India was made in 1788 by Sir Joseph
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12 Field Museum of Natural History
Banks to the East India Company, but was not acted
upon until 1833, when experimental stations were laid
out in the Himalayan region, using seeds and plants im-
ported from China. Soon after the experiments were
initiated, attention was drawn to the fact that a tea
plant had been found growing wild in Assam, northeastern
India, and that this variety was probably more suited for
cultivation than the Chinese. Although the plant assured
an abundance of yield, it was regarded at that time as
inferior to the Chinese variety. In 1837 and subsequent
years extensive tracts were cleared in Assam for tea-
growing, and the first consignment of the commodity was
exported in 1838.
In India there are two large, distinct, and widely
separated tea regions, the larger of the two being in the
province of Assam and in the Darjeeling area, province
of Bengal, while the smaller region is in extreme south-
western India. Besides these two regions, there are smaller
areas in the northern hill country of Bihar and Orissa and
others in the Himalayan foothills of the United Provinces
and Punjab. The total area planted to tea in India is
estimated to be approximately 707,700 acres and the
crop is exclusively of the black variety.
Tea-growing in India is done on large estates, measur-
ing up to two thousand acres or more in area, and located
on the plains as well as on hill-slopes. Each estate is a
self-sufficient community, with its native village, where
the laborers dwell, its hospital, school, tea factory, and
homes for the white managerial staff.
CEYLON
After India, Ceylon is the greatest exporter of tea,
and it also specializes almost entirely in black tea. The
story of the development of the tea industry in Ceylon
is one of the most interesting in the history of planting.
Up to the middle of the nineteenth century coffee-growing
formed one of the principal industries of the island, but
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in the 1860's a serious fungoid disease attacked the coffee
bushes and in a few years it became evident that the in-
dustry was doomed. The planters turned their attention
to cacao, spices, and other crops, and it was subsequently
found that the warm, damp climate of the island was
eminently suited for the cultivation of tea.
Ceylon's more tropical climate, with no distinct cool
season and with abundant rainfall throughout the year,
permits the tea bush to produce leaves throughout the
entire year, in contrast to climatic conditions in north-
eastern India, which allow plucking only from April to
October or November.
The tea gardens are equal in size to those in India and
are concentrated mostly in the mountain and broken hill-
country of south central Ceylon. The tea plant grows
from almost sea level up to 7,000 feet, though most of
the estates are situated at an altitude of 3,000 feet. As
in India, there is a contrast in quality and quantity of
the product at various elevations. Trees grown in the
plains furnish a larger yield, but the leaves have no dis-
tinctive flavor. The teas produced in the hill regions,
where the growth of leaf is slower, are noted for their
quality.
DUTCH EAST INDIES
These islands are third in rank among the tea-exporting
countries, their trade being mostly in black tea.
In Java, tea is grown mostly in the volcanic mountain
range of the western part of the island, where there is a
heavy and well-distributed rainfall. Java is not so famous
as Ceylon or India for its fine quality teas. This is due in
part to the large amount of tea produced on small patches
by the natives, although there are many large, scienti-
fically managed estates. These small gardens are usually
poorly cultivated and the leaves are not carefully picked.
Sumatra is still in its infancy as a tea-producing coun-
try, although plenty of suitable land is available for the
cultivation of tea.
Photograph eourtegy of Underwood & Underwood
PICKING TEA LEAVES IN CEYLON
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16 Field Museum of Natural History
OTHER REGIONS
It is believed that the tea plant was first introduced
into South Africa about 1850, but tea-growing on a large
scale was not undertaken until about 1875. The most
productive gardens are situated at an elevation of about
1,000 feet on undulating, well-watered land. Recent
developments in Nyasaland have proved that this part
of South Africa is well suited for cultivation of tea.
For several years prior to the World War, efforts
were made by the Russian government and private
individuals to establish a tea industry in the Caucasus,
chiefly in Georgia. Small plantations, mostly in the
experimental stage, exist also in the Fiji Islands, State
of Johore in the Straits Settlements, Andamans, Burma,
and Jamaica. Tea can be grown in some parts of the
United States, such as South Carolina, but development
of the industry here is prevented by the low cost of labor
in Asia.
CULTIVATION
When selecting a site for a plantation, the first con-
sideration is the general lie of the land. The soil must
be sufficiently drained, but not too steep for planting.
Exposure to the prevailing winds must also be taken into
account, as the crop makes very poor growth in a windy
situation.
While tea is grown on a wide variety of soils, it thrives
best in light friable loam, rich in organic matter, with
porous subsoil to allow healthy development of the plant's
taproot and to permit free percolation of water, for the
tea plant is intolerant of stagnant water in the soil or
subsoil. Undulating, well-watered tracts, where the water
flows freely without serious soil erosion, represent the
ideal conditions for the growing of tea.
NURSERY
In establishing a large tea garden, as in India or in
Ceylon, the first step is to clear the jungle growth of
Tea 17
bamboo, tall trees, and undergrowth. The virgin soil is
then hoed thoroughly until it becomes well pulverized,
and this forms the nursery for raising young plants to
fill the garden and to replace old or diseased shrubs. The
nursery is divided into a number of beds, each 4 or 5
feet wide and separated by paths 13^ to 2 feet in width.
Before planting, the seeds are placed in water to separate
those that float from those that sink. The floaters usually
do not germinate well nor do they produce vigorous seed-
lings. The seeds are then planted from 4 to 8 inches apart
and about 13^ inches below the surface of the soil, and
are covered with thatch to prevent scorching of the plants
by the sun.
Meanwhile, the clearing of the future garden has been
proceeding. The soil is hoed several times and marked
out with stakes, about 4 feet apart, indicating the rows
which are to receive the young plants. The saplings are
removed from the nursery when about 12 inches high,
and are planted in holes 18 to 20 inches deep. Normally,
about 3,500 saplings are planted out to the acre. Old or
unhealthy shrubs are weeded out every year and sup-
planted by young, healthy plants. The soil around the
base of the bush is hoed continuously to keep down the
weeds, and at the same time food materials taken from
the soil are returned by the decomposition of the weeds
hoed into the soil.
As the land is being cleared, it is necessary to cut
drains, roads, and pathways. If the garden is situated
on hillsides, terraces have to be built to prevent the
washing away of the soil by heavy rains. The soil is
analyzed and the necessary fertilizers are added. The
bushes are sprayed at frequent intervals to keep them free
from insect and fungoid diseases. Except at the higher
elevations, it is the usual practice to grow tea under shade.
The trees commonly used for this purpose are members
of the bean family (Leguminosae), which are planted
between the rows of tea bushes.
18 Field Museum of Natural History
PRUNING
In northern India, from one-third to one-half of the
total number of bushes are pruned every year during the
dry or cold season. The bushes are thus kept down to a
convenient height and a broad surface is produced, giving
the largest possible area for plucking. If allowed to attain
too great a height, the bushes grow more slowly and
consequently produce less leaf suitable for harvesting.
Also, old bushes have to be pruned to remove snags and
old wood.
PLUCKING
A period of four or five years must elapse before a
bush is sufficiently mature to harvest the leaves. Once
this maturity has been reached, a healthy bush will con-
tinue to grow and yield indefinitely. The plucking or
harvesting of the crop consists of removing the young
shoots by breaking them off with the thumb and fore-
finger. Picking is done mostly by women and children,
the men being employed in tilling the land, digging and
cleaning ditches, and building roadways. Each person
carries a basket suspended on the back, so that the two
hands are free for gathering leaves. On a normal day
each person will pluck from fifty to eighty pounds of leaf.
The work follows a definite cycle. If a very delicate
quality of tea is required, only the bud and the two young-
est leaves are picked, while another crop of new shoots
will appear in eight or nine days ready for plucking.
In Assam the bushes are first tipped or plucked in
late March or early April, but the first real "flush" occurs
in May and the second in June. This continues until
November, but in Ceylon, southern India, and the Dutch
East Indies, picking is continued throughout the year.
The leaf collected is weighed two or three times a day,
at a convenient place in the field or at the factory. After
weighing, the leaf is spread out on bamboo mats for
examination, and is then placed in large baskets or sheets
Tea 19
for transport to the factory, care being taken to prevent
the leaves from heating in transit.
In China the first picking occurs in April before the
beginning of the spring rains, and this crop produces the
best tea. The second crop is harvested in May and at
this time the leaves are thicker and tougher so that the
liquor brewed from them is stronger. Third and fourth
pickings, harvested in August and September, furnish
low-grade teas for domestic consumption.
In Japan there are, as a rule, two crops each year,
one in May and the second in the middle of June, after
the rains; a third crop is sometimes obtained, but the
quality of the leaf is poor. The bushes are pruned after
the first crop, and again during the winter.
MANUFACTURE OF TEA
BLACK TEA
On arrival at the factory the leaf is examined to elimi-
nate stalks, coarse leaf, and foreign matter. The bulk is
then weighed and taken into the withering-shed.
Withering. — The initial, and a very important step
in the manufacture of tea is withering, which is done in
large lofts. These are long rooms, running the entire
length of the upper floors of the building. They contain
a series of racks, each with a large number of shelves
made of jute cloth stretched over wires. These racks are
set 4 or 5 inches apart to allow free passage of air between
them.
On arrival at the lofts the leaves are spread evenly and
thinly on the racks, which are exposed to the outside air.
The necessity for withering lies in the fact that the leaf
must be in a flaccid or soft state, so that the alkaloid
present may be released during the subsequent process
of rolling. To make this possible, the water content in
the leaf, which may run as high as 55 per cent, must be
evaporated. Under normal conditions, 24 hours is suffi-
cient for proper withering.
20 Field Museum of Natural History
Rolling. — After the withering is completed, the dried
leaf is sent through chutes into the rolling room. The
object of rolling is to crush and twist the leaves, thereby
breaking up the cells in the leaf and releasing the juices
which contain theine. The machine used for this purpose
resembles an old-fashioned grinding mill.
Rolling usually occupies about 3 hours, divided into
5 or 6 periods of 30 minutes each. During the first two
rolls no pressure is put on the leaf, but in the succeeding
rolls the pressure is gradually increased. After each roll
the leaf is put into a "roll-breaker" machine, which moves
in an oscillating manner. The object of this is to disperse
the lumps of leaves which have formed during the process
of rolling.
Fermenting. — ^After the final roll, the leaf is removed
to the fermenting room, where the temperature is always
kept many degrees lower than in other parts of the factory.
This room is usually roofed with galvanized iron sheets,
over which water is run continuously; inside are hung
jute curtains through which water is allowed to percolate
in order to ensure sufficient moisture in the air, and the
windows are covered so that no direct rays can enter.
The leaf is spread to a depth of about 3^ inch on the
floor, on glass or concrete tables, or on shelves. When
the leaf is first spread the color is greenish brown, but
as fermentation or oxidation proceeds it gradually be-
comes darker, owing to chemical changes. When complete
fermentation has taken place the leaf is a rich golden
brown and has a pleasing aroma. As in the case of
withering, the period of fermentation varies, but, depend-
ing on weather conditions, from 4 to 43^ hours is usually
sufficient.
Firing. — ^After fermentation has been completed, the
leaf is taken to the drying room and placed in firing
machines or driers, resembling large ovens. The principle
involved is to pass hot air through or over the fermented
leaf. Cold air from the outside is drawn through the back of
21
22 Field Museum of Natural History
the drier and passes through pipes to the bottom part
containing the trays, below which is the furnace. The
leaf is spread thinly on a chain of trays and conveyed
through the hot air chambers, in which the temperature
is increased gradually to 220° F. The average time
necessary for firing is about 25 minutes.
After this period of drying, the treated tea leaf is deep
black and the moisture content has been reduced to about
S per cent, but after standing for some time in bins
awaiting packing, moisture accumulates from the air and
may increase to 6 per cent.
Tasting. — At different intervals during the process of
firing, samples of tea are taken from the drying machine.
A series of pots and cups is laid out on a counter. A tiny
quantity of each grade of tea is selected for examination
and placed in separate pots, to which is added water that
has just been brought to the boiling point. The infusions
are then allowed to brew for 5 or 6 minutes and the liquors
are strained into cups. The infused leaf resting on the
inverted lid is placed immediately in front of the cup
containing the brew or liquor. The method of tasting
involves examination of the dry or unused leaf, flavor of
the liquor, and inspection of the infused leaf, which should
be bright red if properly prepared.
Grading. — After removal from the firing machine, the
manufactured tea is stacked in heaps on the floor of the
grading and packing room, for the removal of stalks and
coarse or improperly treated leaves.
The tea is then sifted into grades by a machine con-
sisting of a series of moving sieves of different sizes of
mesh. The resulting sif tings are known as "unbroken
teas," Flowery Orange Pekoe, Orange Pekoe, and Pekoe
No. 1. The first-mentioned is regarded as the finest
quality. The coarser tea which does not pass through
the meshes is transferred to a "breaking machine" to be
broken up and again sifted, the products being known as
Broken Orange Pekoe, Pekoe No. 2, etc. The tea dust
Tea 23
which accumulates during these processes is kept separate
from the better qualities, and shipped as "Dust" and
"Fannings."
Packing. — ^After the tea has been sorted, the different
grades are stored in separate air-tight bins, where they
remain until a sufficient quantity of the required size
has accumulated. The whole of each grade is carefully
mixed to ensure that the quality is uniform throughout,
and is then packed in lead-lined chests, each containing
about 100 pounds. The packed chests are marked with the
name of the estate and grade of the contents, and loaded
in bullock carts, on trucks, or on the backs of elephants
for transit to the railway to be sent to the nearest
port, such as Calcutta in India or Colombo in Ceylon.
GREEN TEA
In China the manufacture of green tea is mostly by
hand. When mature, the leaves are picked, usually by
women and girls, and the quantity collected is taken to
the factory, which is centrally located. As the leaves
are brought in from the gardens, each parcel is placed in
pans over fire to seal the pores in the leaves and thus
prevent fermentation. The leaves are stirred to ensure
that the moisture present is evaporated. Stalks and
impurities are then removed and the leaves are again
placed in the heated pans and stirred in a circular fashion.
The leaves are then spread out on tables and rolled by
hand lengthwise or into balls. After further firing, the
tea is ready to be sorted out in various grades, by winnow-
ing or sifting, and is then packed in air-tight chests to be
transported down river to the nearest port.
There are two main grades of Chinese green tea, de-
pending upon the appearance of the leaf. Those rolled
between the palms of the hands into small rounded balls
are known as "Gun-powder" and "Imperials"; and leaves
rolled lengthwise furnish what is known as "Young Hyson"
and "Hyson" tea.
24 Field Museum of Natural History
The tea manufactured in Japan is mostly green or
unfermented. As soon as the leaves are brought into the
factory, they are steamed or heated to dry up the natural
sap and prevent oxidation or fermentation. After this
treatment, the leaf is still soft and pliable, and is then
rolled either by hand or by machinery.
The tea is still in the raw leaf or crude stage and must
be subjected to further firing. There are two ways of
final curing. The first is by heating the tea in long rows
of pans operated by machinery, in which are wire brushes
that continually turn over the leaves in the pans.
There are two rows of these pans, one above the other,
the top ones heated, and the lower ones the cooling pans.
Tea dried in this manner is known as "pan-fired." The
other method is to place the tea in a wicker basket, divided
in the center with a board upon which the tea rests. The
basket is then set over charcoal fire. The tea is stirred
by hand and rolled lengthwise. Thus is produced what
is known as "basket-fired" tea. Probably because of the
fumes from the charcoal fire, the tea is darkened until it
becomes almost black. There is a third type called
"natural leaf," in which all the grades are kept together
so that the finished product is a mixture of large and small
leaf. This may be finally cured either by pan- or basket-
firing.
The dried tea is now passed through sieves and sorted
into the various grades of broken leaf, fannings, siftings,
and nibs. Each of these grades, pan-fired, basket-fired,
and natural leaf, is grown in distinct districts, each pro-
ducing its own variety of tea. The tea is packed in zinc- or
aluminum-lined chests or made into small packages for
export.
OOLONG TEA
Tea produced in Formosa, to which the name oolong,
meaning "black dragon," is given, is semi-fermented. The
shrubs are ready to bear leaf, suitable for plucking, when
they are about three years old, the plants having been
25
26 Field Museum of Natural History
pruned to limit the height and the circumference to about
3 feet. The harvest season lasts from April until Novem-
ber, and the successive pluckings are known as spring,
summer, autumn, and winter crops.
The preliminary step in the preparation of oolong
tea is to spread the leaves out on bamboo trays. These
are placed in the sun for partial drying, and, at the same
time, to allow a certain amount of fermentation to take
place. In this manner the leaf changes its color from dark
green to a reddish or dark brown. During this time the
leaves are rolled and crushed gently to eliminate moisture
and to keep them pliable. By repeating the process of
rolling and drying, the leaf is brought to the proper state
of fermentation. When this is completed, the semi-moist
and still crude leaf is transported to the manufacturing
plant.
This consists of a room with a series of circular wells,
about 2 feet in diameter, in the floor. In these, burning
charcoal is placed, and over it stand bamboo baskets
about 3 feet high, divided in the middle by a board. The
tea is placed on this board and worked by hand until
completely dried. It is then removed to another room
where it is thoroughly mixed and packed in lead-lined
chests for export.
BRICK TEA
An interesting variety of tea is that used in Tibet and
in some parts of Russia under the name of "brick tea."
The product may be described as cheap coarse tea made
by compressing small twigs and coarse leaves. The
chief center of production is in western China.
There is no preliminary withering or fermenting, but
the leaves and twigs are heated for a few minutes in iron
pans, and then tied in bundles or placed in sacks for
transport to the factory, where the material is placed in
heaps and allowed to ferment. The leaf is then dried
in the sun, sorted into grades, steamed, and finally placed
for 3 or 4 days in brick-shaped molds to be pressed. When
.-^■■•i^ jiLi>a»>j t »»t >
Pr.
' / Geographic Society
TRANSPORTING TEA IN TIBET
27
28 Field Museum of Natural History
sufficiently dry, the bricks are stamped with the maker's
name and are then ready to be packed in loads to be
carried on the backs of porters or horses.
Another form made in China and sold in the Russian
market is "tablet tea," which is made either from tea
dust obtained in the manufacture of better quality tea
or by pulverizing tea leaves. The dust is steamed for a
few minutes, after which it is cast into bricks by placing
it in molds. The bricks are allowed to dry and harden in
these molds for 2 or 3 weeks, after which they are packed
in bamboo baskets for transport, mostly to Russia.
JASMINE TEA
Also called Jasmine Oolong, this is semi-fermented
tea produced in the province of Foochow, China. When
sufficiently dried to stop fermentation, the tea is spread
out on the ground and a layer of jasmine blossoms is
spread over it. Another layer of tea is added and more
blossoms, until several layers have been formed. The
mixture is then left to stand for several hours. The tea
and blossoms are gathered together and finally heated,
during which process the jasmine flowers are taken out;
but their aroma remains.
There are many grades of tea sold in the market under
different names, but the following brief descriptions serve
to characterize the principal varieties.
FULLY FERMENTED OR BLACK TEA
Teas from India, Ceylon, Java, and Sumatra are similar
in growth and manufacture. The tea leaf is reddish or dark
brown to black, and the brew or liquor varies from light
to dark brown. The grades, listed in the order of their
quality, are:
Leaf Grades
Orange Pekoe. — Well-defined and closely twisted leaf.
Pekoe No. 1. — Small tightly rolled leaf to more open leaf and
similar to Orange Pekoe.
Souchong. — The largest or coarsest leaf picked.
Tea 29
Broken Grades
Broken Orange Pekoe. — Smallest parts of leaf, well made.
Broken Pekoe or Pekoe No. 2. — Next largest parts of leaf to the
Broken Orange Pekoe, more open.
Broken Pekoe Souchong. — Still larger leaf than Broken Pekoe,
but similar.
China black tea is usually classified according to the
region in which it is produced. The best quality is that
from the Keemun district. This tea has a small, well-made
grayish black leaf. The brew is a deep amber color and
has a distinctive flavor. Other grades are Ichang, Ning-
chow, and Hankow, of which seventeen different kinds
are recognized locally.
UNFERMENTED OR GREEN TEA
Chinese green teas produce a liquor of a light to dark
yellow shade. The principal grades are Gunpowder,
Hysons, and Young Hysons, and Imperials, according
to whether they are rolled into small round balls or rolled
lengthwise.
Japanese green teas produce the same general character
of liquor, which is light green to pale yellow in color.
Grades
Pan-fired. — Small tightly twisted leaf, greenish in color.
Basket-fired. — Long leaf, cured in such a way as to produce length.
Natural Leaf. — Leaves of medium size, all grades cured together.
Fannings, Siftings, Dust, and Nibs. — Considered as by-products
in the manufacture of the above-named grades.
SEMI-FERMENTED TEA
Formosa semi-fermented or oolong tea is black in
color, the highest grades consisting of small, tightly rolled
leaf, while the lower grades are more open leaf. The
grades, listed in the order of quality, are: Choicest, Choice,
Fine, Good, Medium, and Standard. All produce a brew
of amber color, which is highly flavored in the better
grades.
Jasmine tea or Jasmine oolong tea is a mixture of
tea leaves mixed with jasmine blossoms to impart aroma.
80 Field Museum of Natural History
This is grown in the Foochow district, in China, and
prepared from the so-called Wysan leaf.
Scented Orange Pekoe is manufactured also in the
Foochow district, from the youngest and smallest shoots,
and is scented with jasmine flowers.
PRODUCTION, EXPORTS, AND CONSUMPTION
During the season 1933-34 the world production of
tea of all kinds grown for export, amounted to approxi-
mately 1,031 million pounds. The quantity produced by
the different countries is as follows:
(In millions of pounds)
North India 320
Ceylon 220
China 200
Java 135
Japan 60
South India.... 50
Sumatra 26
Formosa 20
Total 1,031
This total, of 1,031 million pounds, was exported to
the following countries:
(In millions of pounds)
United Kingdom and Ire-
land 438
For home consumption in
various tea-producing
countries 180
United States 86
Soviet Russia 75
Africa 60
Australia 60
Asia 40
Canada 40
Europe 40
South America 12
Total 1,031
In the United States the yearly consumption of tea
per capita amounts to ^ pound. In the United Kingdom
the amount per capita is 11 pounds, in Australia 83^
pounds, in Ireland and South Africa 8 pounds each, and
in Canada 4 pounds.
THE LI3RARY OF THE
SEP 11 1937
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
