The accompanying illustration of an average "flush" shows the leaves which determine the size classifications of the manufactured tea, though in actual growth such exact regularity is unusual, the young leaves frequently appearing two or more together. A mixture of Nos. 1 and 2 is the grade known as Broken Orange Pekoe or Flowery Pekoe. Nos. 4, 5 and 6 make the teas of medium to popular prices. Cheaper grades consist frequently, in whole or part, of the larger leaves from more fully developed shoots. The title "Congou" is by several authorities still accorded to No. 6, but this expression is con fusing, as in the American market the word Congou serves as a general name for the bulk of China Black Teas. The name Bohea, correctly the title of one of the China varieties of the shrub, is similarly applied in some circles to any leaves larger than No. 6, though it was formerly used as a specific title for very choice grades.
The young leaves of all varieties are very similar in general appearance when fresh plucked. The larger leaves differ considerably in general proportions, but they always retain the characteris tic construction which renders it easy to detect the addition of leaves from other plants.
The quality of the tea leaf before preparation depends on : (1) the locality—even the poorest product of an up-land garden is often choicer than the best of a low-lying garden ; (2) soil composition—the minerals contained—for this plays an important part in determining flavor ; (3) the selection of the leaves—by including some of the older leaves, the crop may be greatly increased, but the grade is correspondingly lowered ; and (4) the judgment exercised in the time of plucking.
The weather exerts a great influence. When the rain falls equably and a bright sun appears after heavy showers, the plants become rich with new shoots, and the leaves bright green, elastic in texture and rich in flavor. When too much rain falls at one time, shoots and leaves become hardened and less flexible. If there is too little moisture, they are stunted and sapless.
In Ceylon, where there is no winter, the picking takes place every eight or ten days all the year round, but in China and Japan there are four principal harvest periods. The earliest buddings—pale green and very delicate—are gathered in the beginning of April and are termed "first picking." In China, these, as a rule, realize high prices and are consumed chiefly by the wealthy classes in China and Russia, very little reaching other markets.
The first general gathering commences in May, and it is from this collection that we receive the finest China tea of commerce—known to the trade as "First Crop tea." Then follows a later picking, known as "Second Crop tea," and again a third and fourth, the quality gradually becoming lower in quality as the season proceeds, a large percentage of the late harvests being consumed locally and made into "Brick Tea." All kinds of tea come from the same shrubs, the main difference between "Green" and "Black" being that Black Tea is fermented and Green is not. The number of varieties of prepared tea, both Green and Black, is due to the sorting of the leaves into the different sizes, and to local differences in making and blending.
Prior to the sorting, the freshly picked shoots undergo four main processes if Black Tea is required—withering, rolling, fermenting and firing. For Green Tea, fermentation is omitted.
The shoots for Black Tea are first spread on shelves of wire or jute-hessian to "wither," the object being to allow the sap and other moisture to evaporate until the leaf is soft and flaccid for "twisting" in the rollers. The shelves are very loosely woven, so that the air can pass through them freely. The time required for this pro cess varies widely—sometimes twenty-four hours, occasionally much longer. If the weather is damp, artificial heat is generally employed. For Green Tea, in order to avoid fermentation, steaming for a short time is substituted for the withering process.
The withered shoots are put through rollers, which squeeze out any excess mois ture remaining and give the "twist" which results in the characteristic form of the pre pared leaf. The appearance of the leaf or "roll," as it is technically termed, when taken out of the roller, is a mess of mashy lumps. This is put through a roll breaker, which breaks up the lumps and sifts the detached leaves and young stems through the wire mesh into cloths placed below to receive them.
For Green Tea, the product from the roll breaker immediately undergoes "firing." For Black Tea, it is spread out in wooden frames, covered with wet cloths and allowed to ferment until the leaves attain a bright copper tint—the color which they should have in the teapot after infusion. The extent to which fermentation is permitted, is determined by the smell and appearance of the leaf—points that require experienced judgment, as too little means rawness and bitterness, and any excess destroys much or all of the flavor.