"Every season sees vast quantities of tea pass through the sieves in hundreds of packing houses, some in hamlets in the hills, some, as in Foochow, in cities ten to fifty miles from the hills, much of it brought in by women who have carried it up and down the mountain pathways, twenty-five miles a day, regardless of their bent backs, their only food often a double handful of salt in their girdles to bite at before they drank. "Probably all the tea leaving Foochow has been lifted up and down as much as if it had been carried up one side of the great pyramid and down the other a score of times. Boatmen at river marts have fought pitched battles for it, their livelihood depending upon its transport, and plenty of other men h4ve been ready to fight for the privilege of carry ing it—women, also, under their loads, behind their new husbands." This graphic picture relates to tea-making in 1874. Modern methods we have already described.
Consumption and Principal Varieties.
The consumption of Green Tea—twenty or thirty years ago the standard variety —has to a considerable extent given place to the taste for Black Tea.
An equally important commercial change has been the increase in favor of Ceylon and India teas at the expense of the Chinese varieties. Imports from China have been greatly reduced during the last few years, falling from 53,157,332 pounds in 1904 to 24,394,663 during 1910.
When to this loss of trade from the United States is coupled a still greater dimi nution in the English market, where Ceylon and India teas are most popular—for, after China and Japan, England is the world's largest per capita tea consumer—the natural assumption is that China must feel the change of conditions very severely. As a matter of fact, the Chinese merchants are the only material losers. The greater part of the China tea sold was, and is, produced by small planters who have never been able to secure an adequate price for their leaves, so when the demand for tea fell off many of them planted more beans and potatoes and were just as well contented.
Japan has succeeded China as the principal source of the Green Tea consumed in this country, and supplies about half of the total quantity of all tea imported. The third place is held by Ceylon and India teas, imported both direct and via England.
The titles most familiar to the public are Black, in all qualities and prices ; English Breakfast, generally a China Congou; Mixed, blends of black and green leaves ; Ceylon and India, black ; Oolong, green-black leaf; Green, in "Gunpowder," "Young Hyson" and other sizes, and Japan, in general usage applied to a light Japan green tea.
The more "fancy" varieties include the Pekoe, Orange Pekoe and scented types.
"English Breakfast" tea is an American trade term unknown in England.
The titles _ _ _ _ _ popularly known are, however, en tirely inadequate to describe or classify the many varieties of tea on the mar ket. They leave the importer, wholesaler or re tailer a wide range from which to se lect varieties and blends to suit his trade and environ ment.
Even the list following of China, Japan, Ceylon and other teas is far from being exhaustive. It includes only the most important, and most generally accepted, trade titles and distinctions. Accuracy is rendered the more difficult by the lack of system in applying and retaining titles.
The widest range in qualities is found in China teas—they vary from very choice types which are too expensive to make importation profitable, to large quantities of grades so poor and so badly manipulated that their importation into this country is not permitted.
Teas as retailed consist usually of several varieties or grades "blended" to pro duce the most pleasing results—a small quantity of an expensive highly fragrant tea being added to a plainer, lower grade to improve its flavor ; an over-strong high grade being toned down by a lighter variety—and so on indefinitely.