San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1881-10-27
FACTS FOR TEA DRINKERS.
.,...,.vive uilljen, Pesads, Inpsvtsd Annually
for Here ConsunrtIon.
v~cm The Nv York Exproaa.

s.u,.yF'. nil,!:. rs: y. !. !:l:.tsd Annually
From, the New York Express.
r. II hardly two hundred years ago
Kan John Locke, the philosopher,
-rnte 70 his friend Limborch, then in
Hollsnd: II want the best tea, even il
4 costs forty forms pound; only you
Int he quick, or we shall lose this OBJ
n,ortunity, and I doubt whether we shall
have another" Now the importation
and the consumption of the stimulant
"a reckoned by the million pounds.
Thus much for not alone the advance
made by commerce, but also for the
T;despread custom of tea-drinking.
The demand in this country for tea is
growing larger every year, and the habit
Of drinking it has become all but uni
versal. Our close relations to China
and Japan favor the importation of the
commodity, and our merchants are quite
Wiling to foster the rather injurious
,oustom to the repletion of their pockets.
A reporter for the Express called hpon
Mr.. A. A. Low OF tho firm of Low
Brothers, at Burling slip. and, after
several au, stions, elected the following
information: 1--WE import into this
country,s said MT. Low, sabout 85,OOO,-
600 pounds Of tea each year: It has
become one of the chief importations
of this country, and as the population
grows the consumption OF ten becomes
greater. Within the past Eve years the
impsrtations have increased about $780,
600 pounds each year, and the prospects
are that the amount of leaf consumed
will become larger and larger as the
wears speed by. The greater portion
of the cargoes' of tea are lnndedl mt San
Francisco o. at the larger Californian
ports, and theA are itrahspotted across
the country to New York, from whence
the tea is distributed ell over the land
The Eastern people are less of tea
drinkers than those who live in the
West. s@his apparently unaccountableI
fact is an2so the presence of lime III
almost all the water which is furnishes
to the lsrge.cities fer doAsstic purposes,
and ths%people have isesgtainsl that
the usenf Tea will neutah1S toA great
e1tent,the action of the lime npQn the
Stomach.ss" SpsSsi.a3 Z, = y, !,
,.sa.~ s.cHINA THE MAIN SOURCE. ~
"We obtain most of our tea from
China proper, large quantity from
Japan, the better quality from the Is
land of Formosa, and small quantity
Of fermented tea from India. The Chi
nese tea is the popular favorite more
because of its cheapness than because
of its quality. The Formosian tea is
very fine. It was only few years ago
when the Island of Formosa was opened,
and it was Immediately found that the
first crop Of tea obtained from there
was the best ever imported into this
country. Tea needs virgin soil, and
that it had in Formosa. II is not like
the grape or other stimulant growing
plant which needs long cultivation to
reach its highest standard Of excellence,
but it demands that the ground be fresh
and rich. In Japan the tea plant has .
smaller leaf and a very delicate havot.
This is, of course, speaking very gen
orally, because every plantation has its
distinctive crop, and the plants OF one
section are very distinctly marked from
those of another. I can tell by the
simple flavor of the leaf within ten
miles Of the place where il has been
grown. In all probability, after Amer
lea, England claims the largest quanti-
ty Of tea-but the Leaf which the Eng
lish people affect is the fermented one.
The tea leaf is. heaped in the planta-
ton, and water poured upon it; then,
by the action of the heat of tho sun.
the leaves become slightly decomposed,
and consequently fermentation sets in.
The tea is then taken, rolled, and burnt
The fermented tea has very peculiar
flavor. It is not pleasant, l think, to
taste, at least the Americans do not
care for it, as the taste is pungent,
sweet, and sometimes sickening. 1t is
used in this country more for the pur-
pose Of mixing with green tea than for
any other purpose. Its influence in
this mixture is to give the larger guam
tity sweetish flavor that is relished by
the Western people especially. In Eng
land, and perhaps throughout the Con-
tinent, the fermented tea is very much
liked. The reason for this peculiarly
of taste is due, in all probability, to
custom rather than choice. f&I
INDIAN TEA. .
aThe Indian tea is all of the ferment-
ed kind bought the most eagerly IN
England, Out of the rs, 100000 pounds
of tea imported by this country only
about LOCO, 900 pounds are used here,
This tea very rarely comes to this conn
try directly, it usually comes here by
way of England. The value of all kinds
of tea is regulated, as matter OF course,
l,r 10 nuolifu. b11f the Indian growth Is