The Dickinson press. (Dickinson, Stark County, D.T. [i.e. N.D.]) 1883-1927, 1888-06-30
EXAMINING TEA.
WHAT A CUSTOM HOUSE OFFICIAL
SAYS ABOUT THE WORK.

Tho Usual Method Pursued in Making
of Tea in the Producing Countries.
Tea Testing Not Injurious.
sin examining tea," said Mr. \. Jutlson
Picrson, the examiner of tea for tho port of
New York, 1--WE seldom resort to tho chen,i-
cal analysis Tho usual method is what is
known as the commercial tcst,' which con-
siSts of pouring given quantity of boiling
water upon given quantity of tho leaves Of
the tea; tho character and quality of tho ten
is then determined by the odor and flavor of
the infusion, appearance of the leaves, etc
Questions of the presence of spurious sub
stance, exhausted leaves, etc, are determined
by chemical analysis, valuable aid to the
examiner"
us tea tasting or testing injurious:"
Mot necessarily so. The expert il pos
sesscd of n critical taste and healthy olfac-
tories, will determine qualities without pro-
iongcd tasting or smelling; an excessive i'll
dulSence in this respect doubtless would and
sometimes does affect tho nervous SYSTEM it
may be seriously"
docs not constant tasting of tea cause
general dislike for the beveragc."
at naturally creates disgust for poor
stul called tea, but not entitled to the name,
of which we get, under the present tea law,
entirely too much; and at the Same timo it
cutlvates Il taste for the better qualities, of
which the average tea consumer knows too
littlen
'Does it not result in fondncss for strong
teun,
VERY likely, as both quality and strength
are essential elements composnga Il good cup
of tea. Many II good housewife fails in ST.
curing good cup Of tea by not putting
enough in the pot"
ADULTERAT1oN OF TEA.
GLOW do they udulterate tea in the pro-
ducing countrics.'
1--WE havo no accurate knowledge upon
which to base an intelligent reply. The al
legged methods are various, hut sufficiently
well authenticated to repeat"
"Do they not pack mixture of good and
bad teas in tho same chest."
"Widc variations in tho quality of leaves
found i'll the same chest or chop arc often
observed This may bo the result either of
accident or design. 1t may and doubtless
docs occur by plucking the earlier leaves
with those that are mutured, ncslccting to
assort properly the different qualitics-per-
lElps intending to increase tho bulk ut the
expense of tho quality"
GLOW much tea is conlscatel!"
"During my service only ono instance of
contiscation has occurred, which consisted of
few packages damaged by salt water and
unfit for use"
"Why do you not draw samples yourself?"
"ln exceptional cases do This duty,
however, is assigned to tho sampler spccill
ca!ly selected for the purpose"
"llow much tea is rejected each year,"
"During my term of servicc-;bout three
ycars-tho total reflections are about %, 900
packages, or say about 1,250,UuO pounds.
About half of these were subsequently, nd
mitted upon rc-examination by arbitration
committees, as provided by tho act.'"
"Do you swallow tho tea in tho process of
cXaminationW
VERY rarely, and then in very small guam
| titles"
Glow do you know that importers do not
| aluierntc after their consignment has been
released 10y you or the customs ocals!'
"OG,eially We havo no knowledge Pre-
sumably, however, the importer sells his i'm
portations i'll tho original packages; and
authorizations or admixtures which do or may
occur would be traceable, il at all, to the re-
taller, Or ono who breaks up tho original
package"
"WLat do you do with tho samplcsg'
after the examination of the samples is
completed they aro held subject to the order
of the importers, and il not called for within
reasonable period are turned over to tho
custody Of tho collector, and are sold at pub
lie auction for the benefit of the government
The average weight Of each sample does not
exceed three ounces, portion of which is
consumed in the examination. Nov York
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