, 1876-01-08
Is Green Tea a Poisonq

A new law, entitled the Sale-of-Food
and-Drugs Act, goes into force in Eng
land next New Years Day. The Com
missiOners OF Customs are given extraor.
dinary powers by il in regard to the stop.
page Of imports Of adulterated edible
goods A remarkable correspondence be.
tween the Commissioners and a firm Of
London tea-merchants has recently been
published, much to the horror Of the de-
voices Of the cup that cheers. The firm
inquired whether the Commissioner
meant 10 eonfscate all adulterated tea
after Jan. I. and explained that such a
course would put z summary stop 10 the
supply Of green tee, inasmuch as every
particle Of that tea l. faced Paced
Is pleasing paraphrase for sadulterated.
Since this rather startling disclosure the
London Times has published a number Of
letters pro and con-. The upshot Of the
discussion has been 10 re-establish the
facts which the Tribune laid before the
public some years ago, when was ex-
posed the poisonous humbug sold and
drank as green tea.
Black tea is the leafin its natural state.
Most Of the varieties are, however, too
mild to satisfy q palate used to pickles
and mustapd and pepper sauces, and like
Condiments The dealers, therefore,
kindly poison the Leaf, and produce what
they are pleased to advertise as "a supo-
Nor quality Of green tea" At zone time ten
pounds Of green tea were sold in the
American market for every pound i'm
ported The process Of adulteration was
performed At the seaboard. A long cyl
inder, turning slowly over q fire, was
half-flled with black tea. Then handfuls
Of turmeric, indigo and other poisonous
matter vas thrown in. Afler the whole
had been cooked together the stuff came
our - green tea Each leaf was perhaps
coated with copperl Since then Chinese
cheap labor" has supplanted Caucasian
cunning. The Mongolian ships the tea
nlready greened, and 90 saves the importer
trouble The change, however, IL bad
one for the consumer. The almond-eyed
heaihen have surpassed their Christian
teachers in the art Of adulterafion. Al
member Of . Manchester tea firm writes
10 the London TimsS that the coloringl
matter used l. q -1lthy compound Oh
lilicnfe Of magnesium, prusaian blue land
other dirt, and that the leaves colorod
are faded and old, and mixed with leaves
Of . plant bearing the suggestive name
of -lie tea-n The ''lie tea, we may add,
lsurishes in New Jersey. and Z carefully
cultivated there-It is not difficult 70 sur
mise Why.
Thels Il such thing Is pure green tea,
but Il 4 much weaker than the nrli1cin|
0|0I .1n1 hal 10 b. pI.rAI-1 tI process
thai D. I1nl nd cllllYI It Is rarely a.
por|ld lhoU China
Recent r.I1IuaI1 ha41 argued that en-
c111Irl Iea-drInkin1 does ~ much harm
% women q excessive consumption Of al.
cohoI does 70 men. The comparison of
The two may BE- AZ exaegernfion, but It Il
not TO Be denied that tea has many VIC
tins, and that they one and all prefer Il In
il poisoned state. Their tastes crave the
acid tuang Of copper and other poisona.
There are many women who constantly
do what Thackeray makes one Of his
lnobs commit dangerous excesses on
gTeen tea-r She who = wise and wants
70 be healthy, will End the abjurntion Of
striped stockings green wall paper and
green tea more efficacious than getting mp
with the sum- Chicago Tribune.