The Portland daily press., 1894-10-20
THE PROFESSIONAL TEA faster.
Tells Big Story About the Money He
Makes.

A tall, slim man with a black muStache,
dark eyes and closely cropped black hair
registered at the California hotel few
days ago, says the San Francisco Examiner,
and has since been going and coming in
nervous sort of way. He registered as 6.
G. Smyth of New York. He seemed a man
who had important business on hand, but
what it was no one knew. Last night he
was dining in the cafe at the hotel, and it
was noticed that he drank plentifully of
the wine, though not SO much as to make
the effect notioea BILE. II do this,'' he said,
sto get my nerves into proper condition.
The fact is, am a tea faster. and this prof
fession is very hard on me ply sically. /
have been following it for several years.
Yes, you may know ii is an important bust
ness. since there al only 10 tea tasters in
the United States. We are engaged by large
merchants and by the government. : have
visited this city several times to taste teas,
and have often visited Vancouver for that
purpose.
'sSinoe the Canadian Pacific railroad was
completed and line of steamers estab-
lished from the Orient, immense cargoes of
tea have been going there from China,
Japan and other countries. 1t has been my
business to examine and taste various sam
pies from these cargoes. l have also visited
Ceylon and nearlyfall of the tea growing
countries of the Orient to observe the mode
of putting up the tea. tits astonishing the
way they manage to adulterate it over
there. The packers are SO Sskilltul that
they slip in a great deal of inferior tea
and work it off under good brands. This
makes the merchants who aftBrward hand
le it complain. Packages of tea of a certain
brand will be found all that could he de-
sired, while other PACKAGES bearing the
same brand and in the same cargo will be
highly adulterated. AS this tea is very cost
ly, there is need of experts to examine it.
They must be good ones. for everything de-
ponds for the time being ON their judgment.
A faster can only taste few hours at
time, when he is weakened, and has totake
a rest. Besides this, when he begins a job
of tasting he must take special pains to get
himself in shape for it. was about six
weeks getting myself ready for examining
some cargoes in the warehouse here for the
government.
Before began I did not taste intoxi-
cants in any form, and did not even smoke
At the same time WAS careful not to eat
strong peppers or spices, or, in sact, any,
thing that could distort the taste. One
must..be in as perfect condition in order to
properly judge of the teas he tastes as a
horse is when prerared for the Derby or
Corbett or jackson when about to begin a
fight for the championship. He must be at
his best and must feel that he is. This after
noon in six hours / made $500 tasting tea
so you see from this how valuable the time
of tea faster is and how careful he must
be of his .condi ton. On each of two or
three previous days l made almost as much
The best tea tasters of the country made
enormous sums considering the time en-
ployed; $4,000 a year is low sum, and
oftentimes from $4,000 to $4,000 is made
and.even more. know man in the bust
mss who.made $4,000. 1t all depends on his
standing, the number of times he is called
as a faster. and what he can endure,
I'm my case this time the government has
sent me to examine teas in order to collect
You know there is now very large number
of men, collecting statistics throughout this
country and Europe in regard to labor the
costs of various products and other things.
1t has desired to lesr all it can about the
adulteration of foods and drinks, and this
is why have been engaged here. am sub
stantially through with my tea-tasting in
San Fanoisco for the present, and this is
why have been drinking wine. which. as
l said, is the best restorative for the weak
ness after lang strain at tastipo