The Hawaiian gazette., 1873-12-31
HAWAIIANGAZETTE
Japanese Tea.


duetion of tea in Japan have been issued
BY the Foreign Office, and they are illus
trated BY a native artist showing the pro
cess of preparing the tea. The best tea i:
produced in the province of Yamashiro
At Oguro, in that province, there are tree:
from 400 to 500 years old, producing ties
/ worth s. per ID The hedges in the lane:
and around the kitchen gardens in the vii
lages are generally tea shrubs The pro
duction of tea in Japan in 1871 is estima.
ted at about Sc, GOO, OOOlbs., about half the
quantity being consumed in that country
and about half exported. 1t is thought
that an increase of about Is per cent. pei
annum may be counted on for some years.
The consuls describe the method of pre-
pairing the tea. The leaves are steamed,
then rolled out on mats or rubbed be-
tween the hands, dried over a charcoal
fire, and sifted the process of drying and
sitting being repeated. Great care is ne
cessary in keeping the tea, when packed,
protected FROM the air; if exposed, it
loses both It's flavor and its color Tea
from young shrubs does not remain good
for more than 8 year; tea from old trees
is at its best at the end of the first year,
and remains so for eight months. The
chief tea merchants of hioto have been
getting some Chinese over to prepare tea
in the Chinese fashion; it is sold at prices
varying between IS. and los. the kin, the
kin being equivalent to l.SS English ID.
avoirdupois. As is well known, China
leaf finds its way to the hands of the
foreign purchaser fully cured and packed
and ready for expectation; but Japan
leaf comes to the market in q compare
lively raw state, requiring further firing
to extract sufficient moisture to permit its
expectation. There are several tea-fring
establishments in Yokohama, giving en-
ployment in the height of the tea season
to some 1900 or 1000 hands, mostly wo-
men and children, who work at sum
equal to Old day, the working day be
ing from A NJ to P. NJ. Japan teas,
fine, finest and choice, rank with fine to
finest China Moyune greens; medium to
good medium, with good to fine Foochow
or Annoy Oolongs; and low medium with
good cargo Oolongs. Japan tea finds
very little sale in the English market;
most of it goes to the United States or
Canada Acting Viee-Consul Wilkinson
(Hiogo) explains that the taste for teas,
differs in America and in England In
America the prevailing taste is for green
or uueolored teas, and it has been found
easier and more profitable to prepare ia
pan teas as the former. The difference
depends partly on the original quality of
the leaf and partly on the preparation.
In the preparation of the black tea the
leaf is taken when fresh, and after it is
picked 1t is wetted and put into baskets,
where it Is allowed slightly to ferment;
but the japanese have not yet adopted
this method, and it Is thought it would
not be remunerative. There is q want of
body in the Japan tea, and lower grades
would not compete successfully with the
corresponding grades Of Chinese tea; the
latter can be produced more cheaply, and
gives a liquor more suitable to English
tastes. In the original quality of the
leaf, too, Japan teas are more suitable for
green teas. There Is a difference also be
tween black and green teas in the manner
Of firing. Black teas are fired in bas-
kets; but the blush green color of the
leaf, which Is preferred in America, is best
produced by firing in iron pans. Japan
teas are not, as a rule colored with any J
pigment In the preparation of China
green teas there is a mixture used of gyp-
sum and Prussian blue, or indigo, giving
4 glazed slate color. In Nagasah an imi- |
tation of Chinese green tea is prepared |
and exported under the names of gun
powder, Tyson, young hyson, and Twan-
kay. These are colored in this manner.
but nearly all the tea that goes from Yo-
kohama or Hiogo Is uneolored-that is,
the only coloring it receives is from the
action of the heat and the metal pans In
order to produce the color by these means,
the tea is very highly fired This gives
the liquor drawn from it what teamen call
a biscuity" flavor, which is liked in
America, but not liked in England SO well
As the more mellow flavor which teas have
when not 50 highly fired. Tea is not i'm
proved by high firing, except that it will
keep longer without deteriorating, and
this no doubt Is an advantage in the eyes
Of dealers. But in the process of firing it
oses more, and as the leaf is rendered
more brittle there Is 4 larger proportion of
lust. In basket firing tea will lose from I
to per cent if fired in pans it will
ose 9 per cent The color of the LIQUOR {
which japanese uncolored tea draws Is
Ike that which Is drawn by fine Oolongs
"a pale olive; but it is not so bright as
hat drawn by the finest grades Of China
.