River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1880-04-08
TEA DRINKING.
A Profession i'm New YOrk-Skill
Displayed by Experienced Tasters.
From the New York Medical Record.

From the New York Medical Record
There are, says DR.. Dana, probably
more than hundred firms engaged in
tea tasting in this city. Ia all their
offices there are large tables with round
revolving tops. A circle of teacups is
placed along the edge of these. The
tea faster sits down before the display
of crockery, and tastes one cup after
another, moving the table top around.
In the center of the table is a 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 a sample of tea is to be tasted,
as much is weighed out as will balance
the half dime. This is put in teacuD
and the boiling water poured on. The
tea faster then stirs up the leaves, lifts
them on his spoon, and inhales the
aroma. At the same time he generally
takes a sip of the infusion, holds it in
his mouth for short time, and then
splits it out. Enormous brass cuspadors,
holding two or three gallons, receive the
tea thus tasted and the contents of the
cups that have been examined. On
some occasions, when a large amount
of tea Of certain kind is TO be bought,
samples of this are brought in from diff.
ferent houses. The buyers and sellers
sit around the revolving table with the
sam pies made into infusions in the cups
before them. these are tasted all
around, the body" fineness, 'toasti-
ness" ETC., are learnedly discussed, and
the poorer specimens discarded. Then
those that are left are tasted again. and
the number further reduced. So it
goes on until the article which unites
the desired guilty and price is obtained.
The skill displayed at these "draw-
ings" is quite remarkable. A tea faster
will detect not only the quality of tea as
regards age, strength, flavor, fineness,
ETC., but he can tell in which Of the
was grown. The facts regarding the
different samples are sometimes put on
the bottom of the cups, where they can
not be seen. The cups are then mixed
up, and the infusions tasted again and
sorted out simply by their flavors.
A great deal of tea may be tasted be-
fore these tea drawings are finished.
1t is hard to tell the amount that tea
faster takes during the day, for it varies
a great deal with the activity of the
business. Few of the gentlemen whom
| asked could give any idea. Some
times, however, as many as 400 or 500
cups are tasted in the day. 1t is quite
the custom to have to be tasting tea
steadily for most of the day, or for
hours at the time. Probably an aver
age Of 200 cups a day throughout the
year is low estimate. The poorest
kinds of tea are often not slipped at all,
but the sense of smell is depended on.
Of the better qualities of tea some is
swallowed and some is spit out. In
deed, whenever the tea is taken into the
mouth little of it is swallowed. The
tea gets into the system, therefore, in
three ways-by inhalation, by absorp-
ton through the oral mucous mem
brane, and by the stomach. More tea
is simply taken into the mouth without
swallowing than is inhaled alone, but
all tea is inhaled, even if it is tasted
also. 1t is only small proportion,
amounting to not more than two or
three cups day, that is swallowed. A
silver five cent piece weighs LIS grms.
(gr. XVIII. Eliminating that an average
Of 200 cups of tea are tasted per day,
about one-hslf of pound would repre-
sent the whole amount used.
Japan tea has of late years become
by far the most popular variety, and
mole of it is imported than of all other
kinds together. Green tea on the other
hand is much less extensively used than
formerly.
American husbands find fault with
their wives for extravaganza. What
would one of these grudging, misery
and inhuman brutes say if he stood in
the shoes of Count Potocki, French
man? The other day Paris milliner
sent in ner little bill for one years bon
nets for bis WIFE 1t amounted to no.
541 francs so centimeS. Nine. Fremont,
an equally fashionable lingere, followed
s,,it NTH a hill of 70 00fl franco for sir