The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1897-06-17
ideas tor I6Wonnen,

1aose UNIVERSAL beverage IN the world.
. = mas OF late undergone a strange
osolutaon- The excessive use Of tea is a
1"ouerh indulgence, and until about ten
years ago practically all the leaves came
from hin 1t is a very remarkable
tnang that. although we drink SO much
yea IN this country. we do not understand
me art OF making it in the least. A
famous chinaman who was over here
was asked by his hoaJtess if he took
milk and uga "Yes.s' he replied, elots
of both"
oh" remarked the lady, II thought
you drank 1t without either in China,
Without a smile he remarked. II take
Doth here to disguise the flavor of the
tea.e
speaking to a member of a large China
mousse. who was the tea faster for his
nrm, / asked him the proper way to
prepare our tea. WELL he replied, 'sthe
Kettle should be warmed, the leaves put
IN, and the boiling water poured upon
them. They should stand from five to
six minutes to draw
So long as that?' I remarked, in
surprise. Certainly. We lave a sort
of hour-glass beside us when we are
tasting. and we never let the infusion
stand for less than five minutes. and
1t Is strange tea If 1t requires more han
six. After that every minute the tea
remains In the pot the liquid is spelling
and absorbing a certain amount OF pois-
on. Stewed tea is bad for the digestion
and nerves. and everything else" Then
he proceeded to tell me how he had
served several years apprenticeship in
tea tasting. how i'll 1t had made him at
first. and what self-denial had been call
ed upon in giving up smoking and pep
perry foods to train the tongue to such
acute sensitiveness that the faster could
tell TO a fraction OF a farthing the value
of the tea he took into his mouth. Need
less to say they taste without sugar or
milk, and that they do not swallow the
liquid.
To be a good tea faster is to be as
sured of an excellent income, for every
thing depends in tea-growing hands upon
the faster. It is he who decides what to
grow, and it is he who fixes the value
when grown. Consequently a tea faster
has the entire wealth or ruin, SO to
speak. of his firm in his hands.
Most of the best China tea comes to
America or goes to Russia.
A restaurant in the land of the Tsar
where tea is the great drink, presents a
curious sight to a stranger. At any hour
of the day one may see men and women
sitting around little tables imbibing what
at first sight appears to be hot toddy.
Beth are smoking. generally the women
only cigarettes and the men cigars. The
steaming liquid before them, served in
tumblers, is of a very pale straw color
with a slice of lemon floating on the sur
face, and an invariable spoon standing in
the glass. It is neither brandy nor
whiskey they are slipping; it is the great
Russian beverage, tea, and from the first
thing in the morning to the last thing at
right the Russian is everlastingly enjoy
ing his tea. 1t is made on the famous
samover-not In it-as by some people
supposed. The samover is an enormous
urn of brass, copper or silver, inside
which is a small fire round which the
water boils, and on the top where we
should put a lid. the teapot rests to be
warmed, or stands to draw when the tea
is made. Therefore. it is always boiling
hot, and the Russians are so careful not
to drink STEPPED tea. that as soon as one
pot has drawn and is emptied a fresh
one is brewed so that the liquid should
not be composed of theme and tannin.
80
Perhaps the greatest tea drinkers of all
are the Moors, because to them it is
everything. Mohammedans do not drink
s~pirits-which is more than can be said of
the Russians-and, therefore, the Ma
hcmmedan sip his tea as his one and
great consolation. hi pomp with which
it is made is amazing to a foreign mind.
Every one squats on the floor; the head
of the house sits down beside the teapot.
with great pomp the servant. who seems
invariably to be called Mahommed or
Absolam. brings in the boiling urn, and,
after the master has rinsed the pot. put
in the tea, filed the pot with water,
waited a certain number of minutes and
SKINNED of the frothy substance that
has risen to the surface. he packs the
precious teapot as full as ever it will go
with freshly grown mint. Nor is this
all: he takes as much sugar as the
stranger imagines would fill the entire
pot, and handful after handful, pokes it
into this mint Favored connection, lets it
stand some minutes, and then pours out
a little of the weak but highly favored
tea and drinks it himself, to assure his
guests tina it is not poisoned.
Then solemnly cups are filled for The
visitors, and with the greatest pomp and
wonderful s~alaanas, they are hande
around. To the men first, of course, as
women, even foreign women, count for
nothing in Morocco. Three cups of tea
is the regulation supply, and it is an Of
Tense to leave any Moor's house until
one has solenniy managed those three
cups, enjoyed with many bows and
gracious salutations. and generally ac-
companied by extraordinary cakes, which
the Moors love, but which to the foreign
tasteEwell, one has only to explain they
are fried in rancid butter. considered by
the Mahommedans a delicacy.
Many a fine umbrella is cut of in
youth through the carelessness of its
owrer. Take, for example, a good silk
watershed. If you will examine the
weave, usually a twill. you will notice
that 1t is extremely sensitive.
SIX is moderately strong and elastic.
a long ana patient sufferer. but when it
does begin to give out It gives out very
rapidly. You will notice hat 1t is not
bonn proof. neither is it hand proof
Now. the more you put your hands on
the silk the worse It is for the umbrella.
r fs therefore a great mistake to catch