HISTORY AND COMMERCE. Tea appears to have been used for ages in China, where it is believed by the natives to be indigenous. At the end of the sixteenth century it is mentioned by Maffei, a Portuguese writer, in his Histories Indic e, as a product both of China and Japan. On June 27, 1615, a Mr. Wickham wrote the first English record of it. His letter is among the documents of the East India Company. From this time it became gradually known to the wealthy citizens of London, who received presents of small quan tities from China via India, or by small, exorbi tantly dear lots in the markets—sometimes as much as £10 a pound. In 1657 a rather large consignment was received by Thomas Garraway, a London merchant, who established a house for selling the prepared beverage.
The tea-farms of China are usually small. and require careful cultivation and much attention: for the plant will thrive only in or very rich soil. Although an evergreen, the leaves are useful only at certain seasons. Some of the new leaves, which appear in April, are made into young hymn] of such fine quality that it has rare ly been used for distant export because it is said to lose flavor by the sea-voyage. Much iv, how ever, sent overland to Russia, where it commands an exorbitant price. The ordinary picking begins in May; and later in the season, a third picking of an inferior, more bitter woody grade is ob tained and sold mainly to poor people. The odor and flavor of dried tea are developed by the oxida tion which the leaves undergo in the process of drying. Moreover, different qualities and colors are prepared from the same leaves, which may also be roasted and scorched to produce the dif ferent varieties distinguished by odor and taste. For green teas the leaves are roasted in pans for about five minutes almost immediately after they are gathered. After being rolled with the hands upon a table they are returned to the pans, and kept in motion by the hands for about an hour. They are then dull green, but become brighter afterwards. For black teas, they are spread and tossed in the air till they become flaccid: they are then roasted for a few minutes, rolled, exposed to the air for a few hours while soft and moist, and lastly dried slowly over charcoal fires, till they become almost black. Hence their dark color and distinguishing flavor seem due to the long exposure to the atmosphere in the process of drying, and the oxidation of certain inherent ferments acting rapidly upon the juices of the leaf, and especially upon the astringent principle during this exposure. For the purpose of giving
special odors to different varieties of tea, nu merous odoriferous plants are employed in dif ferents parts of China, the blossoms of the sweet scented olive (Osnianthvs fragrans) being fre quently used. In China spurious teas have been prepared and exported under the name of 'lie teas,' but they have not been popular. The Chi nese color (`face') the export green teas with Prussian blue, turmeric, etc.. to please the eye. Facing is not regarded as adulteration, which is unlawful in the United States.
In 1836. after some difficulty in obtaining plants, the culture of tea was attempted on a large scale in India. Plantations had been formed at an earlier period in Assam and had made great progress. In Ceylon the culture of tea has extended. Large quantities are also pro duced in Java. the industry being carried on by wealthy companies. The growth of this plant has been attempted in South Carolina. with con siderable success, and experiments are being made in several other Southern States.
Among the numerous varieties of tea used in the United States are the following: GREEN. Chinese.—(1) Gunpowder sorts—Shanghai. Ping Riley Moyune, Imperial Moyune, and Canton ; (2) Ilyson sorts—Shanghai, Shanghai young, Moyune, Moyune young. Canton young, and Twankay or Imperial Hyson. Japanese—Gunpowder and young Hyson. Java—Gunpowder. BLACK. ('hi Conjou sorts—Canton Foo-ehow-foo, Hung-nmey, Oopaek Kaison, and Oonam (2) Pekoe sorts—plain orange Foo-ehow, scented orange, Canton scented orange and flowery Pekoe, Oolong, and Souehong. Assam—Conjou orange Pekoe, and Souehong. Java—Conjou and. rarely, Imperial.
The use of teas as a beverage is general in Southeastern Asia, and has become prevalent among the British, the Russians, and the Dutch. Among other European peoples its use is much less general, and is chiefly confined to maritime districts, towns, and the wealthy.
Where tea is difficult to obtain substitutes of two sorts are used: those, such as Matt;, guarani (qq.v.), coffee leaves and kolanut, which con tain theine or caffein (q.v.), and which conse quently have the stimulating effect; and those, such as Siberian tea (Saxifrage cressifolia), Ap palachian tea ( Viburnum cassinaides), Labrador tea (Leiophyllum burifolium), Chilean tea (.1/yrtus Ugni), Trinidad pimento tea (Pimento ollicinalis), which resemble the true tea in flavor or smell, or which possess some other stimulating principle. See Plate of BEVERAGE PLANTS.