St. Paul daily globe., 1888-06-24
THE CUP THAT CHEERS.
An Expert Talks About the Quail
ties of Different Teas.

IhE CUP HI AL CHEERS.
An Expert Talks About the Quail
ties of Different Teas.
New York Star.
Everybody has heard of tea, but it is
not everybody who will drink it, and it
is given to only comparative few to
know how to prepare good tea for the
table. The tea drinkers are, firstly, the
Russians; secondly, the English, the
Irish, the Scotch OF the better classes,
the Americans of the New England and
Middle states of North America, and of
the Western states, including the Pa
cific slope, and the British in thevarious
colonies of the British empire. The
Germans and AuStrianS drink but little
in comparison with other European
people. while the Danes and Swedes
are free consumers of he leaf. Few
Spaniards ever drink tea. TIE ORR
entails Except in the British empire of
India, where tea is drunk by the Euro
peans) are not tea drinkers.
The Chinaman and the Japanese are
tea-drinkers, but the people of both
China and Japan drink tea very mOder-
ately, and they invariably drink it boil
ing hot. The Russians, and especially
bltually, as do also the Japanese. The
French drink tea very sparingly. and
scarcely ever except as medicine. When
any lady who happens to be troubled
with nervousness calls in the aid of a
physician the almost universal medi-
cine ordered is cup of tea, which rem
edy is speedily followed by ''tisane, -
which has not the most remote affinity
with the celestial leaf; and as very lit
tie is to be found in the drug shops in
France chest of tea lasts very long
time in the possession of the druggist,
and is therefore of too poor quality to
be useful for tea as medicine.
The Russian peasant is free con-
sumer of tea, and is perfectly satisfied
with ''brick tea," which is the COM
moner sort of the leaf compressed into
the shape of small bricks. On the other
hand, the gentry and the nobility are
also free consumers; but, as may natur-
ally be supposed, their consumption of
tea is confined to the higher and more
costly grades. The best tea is, there
fore, consumed by the English gentry
and nobility, and, as a rule, by the we'll
tO-dO middle classes. The poor in En-
gland also consume vast quantities of
tea, and it must be only the miserabiy
poor old couple who would be content
without their cup of tea, morning and
evening, OF who would not be very sorry
it they were unable to offer cut to a
neighbor or companion.
The SOuthern-American is essentially
coffee drinker, and very seldom drinks
''the cup which cheers and not inebri-
ateS." The states between Mexico and
Columbia, Salvador, Chill and Peru
drink comparatively little tea, but are
great consumers OF chocolate, as are
also the Spaniards. And it may not be
out of our way to mention that in no
country in the world is chocolate made
to such perfection as in Spain. But
tea is our theme. and not chocolate.
The Engiishman and the British colo
mist will drink no other tea than Congou,
and this brings us to the question of the
qualities of the several kinds of tea. L
have frequently heard elderly ladies de-
clare that ''green tea' is very bad for
the nerves, and that declaration is not
altogether unfOunded, as l will en-
deavor to explain.
made of the Self-Same leaves, but the
manner in which the leaves are manip-
ulated is, in effect, the difference be-
tween ''green tea" and 'COngou tea"
When the leaves are first taken from
the bushes for the manufacture of the
COngOu tea, the leaves are not allowed
to become dry. If there be danger of
their drying quickly. and, indeed, if
there be any appearance of dryneSS, the
leaves are Sprinkled with fresh water
for the purpose of producing certain
degree of decomposition of the leaves
process which makes the Congou tea
the least hurtful Of all teas to the nerves
of the consumer. The leaves thus
moistened and ready for manufacture
are rolled between the palms of the
moisture or dryneSS of the leaves, are
rolled by the hands and feet, which is
the initiatOry process for shaping the
leaf. A handful of the leaves so rolled
are placed in the palm of the operative,
who again rolls the mass into kind of
round ball of leaves, preparatory to be-
ing thrown into the lower part of an
iron panshaped something like this U,
known as FychOw pan, under which
a gentle fire of charcoal is lighted.
The sides of the pan being thus
gradually heated, the operative throws
the ball of leaves down into the pan,
creating little cloud of steam proceed
ing from the moisture of the leaves,
when the manipulation, knowing exactly
and by long experience where and in
Ndil pSl VI tuO pan uiiC Ucll VI IctlfCS
is, seizes it, shakes it for a short time to
prevent too quick or close cohesion,
grasps the leaves, again rolls the mass
INTO ball and repeats the performance
over and over again until the moisture
from the leaves is all, or nearly all,
taken away, when the leaves being Of
themselves rolled into shape, the man
ipulator continues the process of rolling
to bring the tea into shapely and hand
some appearance. This is the simple
process of making Congou tea, which is
so largely consumed by the British and
the Russian people. The processes
above explained are common to ''green"
and to "Congou" tea, with this excep-
ton, namely, that the tea of commerce
for the better classes is more carefully
handled in order to produce uniform
shape and what is called handsome
leaf,' meaning leaves that are hand
somely made.
Three Great Men of Kansas.
Chicago Times.