Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1880-04-02
Tea Drinking.
A PROFESSION" IN NEW YoRK-sKILL DIS
PLAYED by EXPERIENCED TASTERs.

PLAYED BY EXPERIENCED TASTERs.
from the New York Medical Record.l
There are, SAYS Dr. Dana, probably
more than hundred firms engagedin tea
tasting in this city. In all their Offices
there are large tables with hroundrevolving
tops A circle of tea-cups is placed along
the edge of these. The tea-taster sits
down before the display of crockery, and
tastes one cup after another, moving the
table top around. In the centre 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 MS will balance the half dime This
is put in tea-cup and the boiling water
poured on. The tea-taster then stirs up
the leaves, lifts them on his spoon, and
inhales the aroma. At the same time he
generally takes sip Of the infusion,
holds it in his mouth for short time, and
then spits it out. Enormous brass GUS
padores, holding two or three gallons, re-
ceive the tea thus tasted and the contents
| of the cups that have been examined On
some occasions, when large amount of
| tea of n certain kind is to be bought,
many samples of this are brought in form
different houses. The buyers and sellers
sit around the revolving table with the
samples made into infusions in the cups
before them. These are tasted all round,
| the "body." tineness, ''toastiaess," 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 quality
and price is obtained.
The skill displayed at these drawings"
is quite remarkable. A a-taster will
detect not only the quality of tea as re-
CARDS age, strength, flavor, fineness, etc,
but he can tell in which of the numerous
districts in China the tea was grown
The facts regarding the different samples
are sometimes put on the bottom of the
cups, where they cannot be seen. The
cups are then mixed up, and the infu-
sions tasted again and sorted out simply
by their fiavors
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 great
deal with the activity of business. Few
of the gentlemen whom l asked could
give any idea. Sometimes, however, as
many as 400 or 800 cups are tasted in the
day. 1t is quite the custom to have to be
tasting tea steadily for the most of the
day. or for hours at time. Probably
an average of 200 cups day throughout
the year is n low estimate. The poorer
kinds of tea are often not slipped at all,
but the sense of SMELLS depended on.
OF the better qualities of tea, some is
swallowed, and some spit out. Indeed,
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 absorption through the
oral mucous membrane, and by the
stomach More tea is simply taken into
TIE mouth without swallowing than is in
hailed alone; but all the tea is inhaled,
even if it is tasted also. 1t is only Il
small proportion, amounting to not more
than two or three cups day, that is swal-
lowed. A silver five-cent piece weighs
LIS grms. (gr. xvIII). Estimating that
an average Of 200 cups of tea are tasted
per day, about one-half of pound would
represent 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 to-
gether. Green tea, on the other hand, is
much less extensively used than former