Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-05-03
THE AFTERNOON TEA.
Mrs. Sherwood Tells How to Make
1t a Pleasant Entertainment.
TIE HISTORY OF TIE BEVERAGE
Dangers That Lurk in the Dried Leaves
and How to Avoid Them.
RULES OF ETIQUETTE TO OBSERVE
WRITTEN FOR THE DISPATCH,


Jonas Hauney wrote a treatise against tel
drinking in Johnson's time, and that vas
nsatiable and shameless tea drinker took u,
the cudgels for tea, settling it as braia in
spirer for all time, wrote Rasselas. On tn,
strength Of it Cobbett wrote against its us,
by the laboring classes, and the Edinburgh
ReUie,D lndorsed his arguments, stating that
a prohibition absolute and uncompromis
ing of the noxious beverage was the first steI
toward insuring health and strength for tn,
poor" and asserting that when laborel
| fancied himself refreshed with a mess o.
| this stuff, sweatened with the coarsest brown
sugar and by azure blue milk, it was only
the warmth Of the water which consoled
him for the moment"
Cobbett claimed that the tea table cost
more to support than would keep two chill.
dren at nurse. The Quarterly Reuiew. in
an article written perhaps by the most ia.
nous chemist of the day, said that "tea re-
lieves the pains Of hunger rather by me-
chanical distention than by supplying the
waste of nature by adequate sustenance,'
but claimed for it the power Of calm, placid
and benignaRt e1hilaration. greatly stimu-
lating the stomach when fatigued by di-
gestlve exertion and acting as an appro-
pirate dilutent of the chyle.
Some More Favorable Literature.
More recent inquiries into the qualities ol
the peculiar power Of tea have tended TO
raise it in popular esteem, although no one
has satisfactorily explained why it has be-
come so universally necessary to the human
race. An agreeable little book called "The
beverages we indulge in. The herbs which
we infuse"-or some such title-had great
deal to do with the adoption of tea as a
drink for young men who were training for
boat race, or who desired to economize
their strength in a mountain climb.
But everyone from the tired washer
woman to the student, the wrestler. the fine
lady and the strong man demands cup OF
tea. To the invalid it is the dearest solace,
if it is dangerous. Tannin, the astringent
element in tea is, however, bad for delicate
stomachs and seems to ruin appetite. Tea,
therefore, should never be allowed to stand
Hot water poured on the leaves and poured
off into a cup can hardly afford the tannin
time to get out Since tea drinkers even put
the grounds in a silver ball perforated, and
sling this through cup of boiling water,
thus is produced the most delicate cup of
tea.
HOW the Cnlneeo MAKE II
The famous Chinese lyric which is painted
on almost all the Chinese teapots of the
empire is highly poetical. "On slow fire
set tripod, fill it with clear rainwater.
Boil it as long as it would be needed to turn
fish white ana Holsters red. Throw this
upon the delicate leaves of choice tea, let
it remain as long as the vapor rises in
cloud. At your ease drink the pure liquid
which will chase away the five causes of
trouble"
The "tea of the cells Of the dragons,
the purest Pekoe from the leaf buds Of
Syear-old plants, no one ever bees in
Europe.
But we have now secured many brands of
tea which are sufficiently good, and the
famous Indian tea brought in by the great
Exposition in Paris in 1889 is last gaining
an enviabIe reputation. 1t has perfect
bouquet and flavor. Green tea, beloved by
our grandmothers and still favorite with
some copnoisseurs, has proved 70 have so
much theme, the element of intoxication in
tea, that it is forbidden to nervous people.
1t is this element which makes tea save food
by its action in preventing various wastes
to the system. 1t is thus peculiarly accept
able to elderly persons-to the tired labor
ing woman. Doubtless Mrs. Camps famous
teapot with which she entertained Betsy
Prig contained green tea.
The Mongolian Knows Its Dangers.
But there is an unusually large amount
of nitrogen in theme, and green tea possesses
SO large proportion of it as to be positively
dangerous. In the process of drying and
roasting this volatile oil is engendered. The
Chinese dare not use it for year after the
leaf has been prepared. and the packer and
unpacker of the tea suffer much from paraly-
sis. The. tasters of tea become frequently
great invallds, unable to eat. Therefore our
iavorite herb has its dangers.
More consolIng is the legend Of the origin
of the plant. A drowsy hermit, after long
wrestling with sleep, cut off his eyelids and
cast them on the ground. From them sprang
a shrub whose leaves, shaped like eyelids
and bordered with fringe of lashes, pos
sessed the power of warding of sleep. This
was in the third century, and the plant was
tea.
But what has all this to do with that
pleasant vision OF a steaming kettle boiling
over blazing alcohol lamp, the silver tea
caddy, the padded cozy to keep the teapot
warm, the basket of cake, the thin bread and
butter, the pretty girl presiding over the
cups, the delicate china, the more delicate
infusion. ALI these elements 60 to make
up the afternoon tea.
How the O'Clock Tea Originated.
From one or two ladies who staid at home
one day in the week and offered this refresh
ment to the many, who grew to find that it
was a verv easy method Of entertaining (the
original 8 o'clock tea, which arose in Eug-
land, from the fact that ladies and gentle
men after hunting required some slight re-
freshment before dressing for dinner, and
liked to meet for little chat), out of this
simple informal entertainment grew the
present party in the day time. It now is
used as the method of introducing daugh-
ter, etc., and is the ordinary way OF enter
tanning everybody.
The primal idea was good one. People
who had NO money for grand spreads were
enabled to show to their more opulent neigh
bors that they, too, had the spirit of hospi-
tality. The doctors discovered that tea was
healthy. English breakfast tea would keep
nobody awake. The cup of tea and the
sandwich at would spoil nobody's dinner.
The ladies who began these entertainments
receiving modestly in plain dresses were
not out OF tone with their guests, who came
in walking dresses.
But, then, the "other side" was this:
Ladies had to 60 TO nine teas of an after
noon, perhaps taste something everywhere.
Hence the new disease, delirlum "teamens."
1t was uncomfortable to assist at a large
party in heavy winter garment OF velvet
aud fur. The afternoon tea lost Its primitive
character and became On evening party in
the daytime with the hostess and her
daughters in full dress and her guests In
walking costume.