The daily gazette., 1880-03-26
FIRST EDITION.
Tea 1asters Nv Ne,O YorIc.

There are, says DR.. Dana, probably
more than hundred firms engaged In
tea-tasting IN New York. liz all of
their Offices there are large tables with
round revolving tops. A circle Of tea
cups Is placed along the edge OF these.
The tea faster sits down before the uIs-
play vi crockery and tastes one cup af-
ter another, moving the table top around.
In the centre OF the table Is pair Of
scales with silver half dime In one of
the balances. One or two large kettles
are kept constantly with boiling water IN
them. When sample OF tea Is to be
tasted, as much Is weighed out as will
balance the half-dime. This is put In
teacup and the boiling water poured on.
The tes-tasler then sLirs up the leaves,
lifts them on spoon, aud inhalrs the
aroma. At the same time he generally
takes sip of the infusion, holds II In
splits IL out. Enormous brass cuspa-
dores, holding two or Three gallons, re-
ceivc the tea thus tasted and the con-
tents Of the cups that have been exam
ined. On some occasions, when large
amount of tea of certain kind rs to be
bought, many samples Of this are
brought in from d tlerent houses. The
buyers and sellers sit around the revolv-
ing table with the samples made into
infu ions In the cups before them. These
are tasted all around, the "body," slime
ness" ''toastiness," &C., are learnedly
discussed, and the poorer specimens dis
carded Then those that are left are
tasted again and the number further re-
duced. So IL goes on until the article
which unites the desired quality and
price Is obtained, t.H
The skill displayed at these "draw-
ings" Is quite remarkable. A tea-taster
will detect pot only the quality Of tea
as regards age, streng b, flavor, fineness,
&C., but he can tell in which Of the nu
merous districts In China the tea was
grown. The facts regarding the differ
ent samples are sometimes put on the
bottom Of the cups, where they cannot
be seen. The cups are then mixed up
and the infusions tasted again and sorted
out simply by th,ir havors.
A great deal OF tea may be tasted be-
fore these tea-drawings are finished. 1t
Is hard TO tell the amount that q tea
tsster lakes during the day, for IL varies
a great deal v With the activity of bust
ness. Few Of the gentlemen whom
asked could give any i1ea. Sometimes,
however, az many as four OF five hun
dred cups are tasted In the day. 1t Is
quite the custom 10 haye TO be tasting
tea steadily for the most of the day, or
for hours at time. Probably an aver
age Of 200 cups a day throughout the
year is low estimate. Tie poorer
h,nds OF tea are often not slipped at all,
but the sense Of smell is depended on.
or the better qualities of tea, some is
swallowed, and some spit out. Indeed,
whenever the tea is taken into the
mouth little Of 1t is swallowed. The
tea gets into the system, therefore, in
three ways: By inhalation, by absorp-
tion through the oral mucous men,
brane, and by the stomach. More tea
10 simply taken into the mouth without
swallowing than is inhaled alone; but
all the tea is inhaled, even if 1t is tasted
alto. II is only small proportion,
amounting TO not more than two or
three cups a day, that is swallowed. A
silver five cent peace weighs LIS prms.
(gr' xviii.) Estimating that an average
Of 200 cups of tea are tasted per day,
about one half of pound would repre-
sent the whole amount used.
Japan Tea has OF late years become by
far the most popular variety, and more
Of it Is imported than of all other kinds
together. Green tea, on the other hand,
Is much less extensively used than
formerly.