The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1886-12-15
MANDARIN TEA.
VISIT TO A CHINESE TEA HOUSE
IN san FRANCISCO.
Elaborate Interior Arrangements
Serving Tea That Costs Five
Dollars Pound-How is
Prepared and Tastes.

Cne least attractive OF the places tne
stranger visits in Chinatown is the great
restaurant, which is in every detail re-
production of the tea hou e of China.
Or rather it is the tea house of China
brought bodily across the ocean and set
up hero. The wa Is of the building are
American, but that is all. The rest came
from China.
We enter what appears to be a little
shop, where half dozen men are busy
preparing meats, etc, as if for market.
A few feet from the door, and imme-
diately in front of us, rises great stair.
case. Mounting the first flight we reach
the apartment assigned to ordinary Chi.
nese customers whose purses are too
short or whose disposition is too prudent
to permit indulgence in, luxury. Here
everythingis pc. fectly plain, but every.
thing is Chinese. Even the common
wooden stools on which guests sit were
imported, though similar articles could
be made here for trife.
Mounting the second fight we come to
the great tea house of the rich merchants
and bankers, who desire the best Of
everything and a-e prepared to pay for
it. The apartment Is large, airy and gor-
geous with the barbaric splendor of Chi.
nese art and Chinese coloring. Great
prisms of highly colored glass form win:
dows, through which the light streams
by day and gorgeous lamps are here for
illumination by night. There is carving
everywhere, masses of it, done in ebony
at cost of endless toll, and done marvel.
ously we'll; but having spent months in
working the stccly texture OF the rich
black wood into artistic forms, the bar.
baric taste of the craftsman has prompted
him to spoil the result by covering his
work with gilt. so that no part of the
wood can be seen 1t might as well be
plaster moulding for aught the eye can
detect of its true character as carved
ebony. The panels, the partitions, the
tops of the doorways, the doors them.
selves, are all made of these elaborate
pieces of carving, and even the balcony
in front is crowned with massive piect
stretching entirely across the building
and weighing something like ton.
Around the walls within sit great ebony
chairs, deliberately carved and inlaid with
mother of pearl and jade--chairs that
make the gentlewoman of cur party cove.
teous in the depths of her housewifely
soul. Between each pair of these chairs
sits small square tea table, made OF
ebony, carved, inlaid and topped by q
slab of jade.
In the middle of the apartment there
are round tables for use, each surrounded
by stools. Here our cups of mandarin
tea are served, and here for the first time
we make acquaintance with the cup that
cheers in its perfection. The tea used
is absolutely pure, and costs two dollars
pound in China It is worth five dol.
lars pound here. The beverage is not
brewed in q teapot, but in the cups
themselves. Into each scalding water il
poured in order thut the porcelain may
not chill the tea. This is thrown out
and a quantity of tea sufficient for q /,
reasonably large family is placed in each
cup. Boiling water is added, and the
brew is instantly covered with second
cup, inverted, the rim OF which fi'a
nicely within that of the first. This
upper cup is never removed except when
it is necessary to add water, as the
Chinese tea drinkcr is jealous sof the
aroma of his herb, and will not will
ingly allow any part of it to escape.
Cinnamon usually drink directly from
the two cups, but we, being barbarians
and unprovided with salamander at
tachmehts to the lips, arc furnished with
toy tea cups. Sugar is brought to US
also, because the Chinese mind has
grasped the fact that West rn barbara
ans a Q sometimes capable of the atrocity
of sweetening tea, and the Chinese are
an obliging and polite people: but we
have come hither to drink Chinese tea
in Chinese fashion, and we would as
soon tn nix of indulging in sassafras or
tansy as Of touching the sugar bowl. We
take our tel straight on this occasion, as
if we were high mand"rins with pigtails
two yards long, and we like it so.
The first sip is revelat on OF new
Joys undreaued of before, and we look
at the tiny cups, jce!ously wondering
if enough Iemains under the covers OF
the larger ones to fill them again. The
sip has created desire, and desire is too
strong for prudence. We feel that We
should prolong the JOY by restraining the
longing for a draaght of the rich infusion
and resolutely restricting each moments
indulgence to mere sip, but the tempta-
ton is too great, ard we drink draughts
recklessly. In brief while the larger
cups are drained dry and sorrow sits
with us, but it i; oaly for a moment.
Ganymede, yellow and 'pig-:ailed, but
not tripping after Hebe's fashion, comes
to the rescue with kettle of boiling
water, from which he fills the covered
cups again, and we understand that the
rapturous indulgence is not yet ended.
A Moment and we taste again, only to
learn that what we have been hitherto
drinking was merely preparatory IN.
fusion, possessing only the smallest
share of the true flavor of th tea. The
second infusion Lrings the tipple to per-
fection, and then we know what it was
that the cup bearer of the gods had to
serve to his matters.
With the tea are served salt almonds,
nuts and Chinese candied fruits, in
cluding candied olives, which are re-
markably palatab'e, as the olive is In
almo every form to the educated taste;
and, also something looking like or
d1nary tea biscuit, which upon examina-
ton prove to be made Of extravagantly
rich pastry, and filled with some Chinese
conserve which our Western palates re-
iect as distasteful. When all is done
we descend to the little shop on the
ground floor; Ganymede calls out some'
thing in Chinese from the floor two
fights above; the polite Chlnaman be-