July, 1881
THE WEST
SHORE.
79
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surface of the brick work, the fire-place
it on the buck title of the itove. The
roaster standing 011 tho opposite side of
the flrw-nlare ihrows nHntit t IK, tt
leaves into the Kuo at once, then places
hit hand upon
ami with a
pressure
draw them from
one title of the Kuo
to the other, repeat
Ing tlilt motion un
til the leave are
sufficiently rousted.
Tho roaMing It con
tinued until tho
leave give out a
fragrant tmcll and
become quite sft
and then they are
Immediately rolled
or kneaded with the .
hands upon tray
of bamboo work, of
circular form, then
again roasted and
cooled successively
until the leave In
come quite crUp and
break at the .light
est pressure of the
finger. The tea It
then ready fur pack
ing. It I hett to pack
the tea while warm
taking are alto that
the box I perfectly
dry.
1'ckoe, the finest
and hett of block
teat, It prepared at
before Mated from
the leaf bud Iwfore
It I expanded. It
wa erroneously
supposed to be the
blottom of the lea
plant, hence the
French name,yrYr
it tki. The tea
bloom itself ha
but littte fragrance
and U never mlird
with imported tea.
although totnrtimet
used in China.
IJohca lea it the coarsest kind that i
eiportcd, consisting of the full grown
leave, which remain on the shr)b after
the regular harvest and which are coj.
lrtrdjn a r'ou'H msnnrr, etpoud to
with paper, weighing, when ready for
shipment about 1 10 pounds each, .
On our front Page will be found en
graving of tnttr ' vani-f ii-s nf hm t
leaf; the different rollings and shrinkage
it undergoes in the ..
process of nianufsc-,
ture is well illus- '
trated on page 177.
The Japanese tea in
its pure unadul
terated state . is a
long, well twisted
leaf with but little
dust or , broken
leaves in it and of a
brownish green and
not a yellowish or
' grayish green color,
n China tea ia
made cither green
or black from the
same plant, the
color being given to
it by the difference
in manipulation.
When black is
wanted the leaves
are sorted and put
in process of man
ufacture the same
day; they are ex
posed to the rays of
the sun on stands
ubout two feet from'
the ground, in
sieves made of
bamboo, until they
begin to shrivel.
(Page 178). The
finest Souchong and
Paochong teas are
prepared from the
most delicate young
leaves, these are
dried in the shade,
in rooms especially
fitted up with
framework to re
ceive the sieves, be
neath which char
coal fire are built
in earthen pant.
After being dried
the leaves must be
cooled to check fer
mentation; for this purpose they are
placed in three layers upon bamboo
trays arranged on tall stand and es
posed in shady situations to the wind in
the open air, or in a building which ad
here they remain until they emit a
slight degree of fragrance when they
are aifted and tossed alwut with the
hands and arm, an onrratinn krnt tin
1
until they have acquired the necessary
, - -, . .. . .
" ,
them
slight
- As
ram
WINNOWING, BEATING AMI) KOI.I.ING MACIIINI 5 fKI) IM IT. A
Tt'KK. -
degree of fragrance, when they are
ready for roasting. This it done In shal
low and very thin iron vessels of a cir
cular form (page 176) and which
called a Kuo; it fits horizontally ioto a
nits a thorough draught through it,' stove rih it rim even with the upper
.1 Ui - 1 . . . i ' ' '