Evening star., 1900-12-29
Ar EXACTING PROFESSION
LIFE OF A TEA-TASTER IS ANYTHING
BUT EXCITING.
He Must Abstain From Smoking and
Drinking-Draws Good Salary,
but His Health often Fails.
From the New York Herald.

life They are not the young men who nave
to go to afternoon functions, but the 1nde-
fatigable persons who tell whether a grade
of the fragrant oriental herb is worth
half cent a pound more or less than
given sample. The government MAINTAINS
a board Of experts, and every large tea I'M
porting house has in its employ com
petent judge of the quality of tea. Many OF
the importers are themselves proficient IN
the art of determining the value OF the
leaves.
The continual tasting of tea racks the
nerves impars the digestion and deranges
the functions of the internal organs. 1t
frequently makes life unpleasant. and the
connoisseurs have to stop work for a time
One of the governments judges OF tea,
Abel H. Upham, recently committed sui
eide in Chicago. His family said that he
was driven to insanity by the demands of
his profession.
Tea tasters draw high salaries, for their
work requires not only delicate perceptions,
but wide knowledge. They must know all
the methods in the curing of tea and be IA
miliar with every trick and artitice which
might be employed to enhance the value or
inferior leaves.
WI Ting Fang. the Chinese minister once
remarked at public dinner that Americans
dd not know good tea when they tasted 1t,
and, in his deft oriental way insinuated
that American tea experts bore titles which
try have ma de careful study of the tea
industry and there are few facts about the
grades of the herb which they do not know.
In this way there have been some dis
putes between the Chinese brokers and the
American importers. The Chinese are eX
ceedlngly honest in the main, but OCCASION
ally there are questions as to the value of
tea which call for the making Of fine dis
tinctions.
Grow Up in the Business.
American judges of tea grow up in the
business. They begin at about the age of
eighteen years, and work for at least five
years before their Judgments are accepted
as final. There are so many kinds of tea,
separated by slight differences. that the
expert must feel the delicate gradations as
though by instinct. The tea faster is grad
ually evolved from the apprentice. The
master has no time to calmly and deliber-
ately give instructions. SO the student sits
at the teacups OF Gamaliel and learns lit
tie day by day. He first serves as the at
tendant.
In the large importing houses the most
conspicuous feature is the table where the
teas tested. 1t is about four feet In
diameter. The top is poised on pivot so
that it can be easily turned about at the
touch. On 1t Is placed q second slab of
wood about three feet in diameter, which
is raised an inch from the surface of the
first layer. On the higher portion are
placed the scales, the cans of tea and the
spoons. On the lower layer are ranged the
cups from which the subtle brew is to be
tasted The liquid made from sample is
always placed exactly opposite the can
from which the tea to be tasted was taken
The Judge, sitting in his chair, by turning
the table top, may bring any sample which
he wishes to examine within his reach.
Before the actual tasting of the tea the
appraiser makes an examination of the
dry leaf. He is something like a dramatic
crltlc who only goes to a new play to con-
III m his suspicious Before the actual test
Ing of the sample he has already formed an
opinion OF its quality. He takes a handful
of the tea and sifts it from one palm to the
other, carefully looking at it. He feels its
weight He looks at ii keenly to detect the
presence of aduitera ton or of deleteriOus
coloring matter He smells it to get an
idea of its aroma. He studies the shifting
leaves in his hands in order that he may
see II the tea has been properly cured.
The Dry Leaf.
The appearance of the dry leaf is de-
pended upon to guide the judge in the first
rough classification. The Japan teas are
all OF one flavor, and the gradations are
practically made upon their color Pan
fired Japanese tea Should vary from olive
to gray in color, or it may be of grayish
blue. SUn-driea japanese tea is brown in
color. and the leaves, which are fired in
baskets, are black
The expert takes an amount of tea equiv
a,ent to the weight of a fve-cent piece
He originally used the coin but owing TO
the fact that the nickel disk was cnntinu-
ally stolen from the scales by persons who
needed car fare. he finds that a bit of lead
of the same weight will do just as we'll
The herb Is then placed in cup of the
finest Limoges ware. The vessel is devoid
of decoration, and has no handle The clpS
are the only articles i'll the dingy store
rooms Of the tea importers which suggest
luxury. Upon the herb is poured boi ing
n llr- or rfllrNI too
which is always standing on the gas stove
The tea faster permits the leaves to steep
until they are opened by the action of the
hot water. The size. form and color of the
leaves play an important part in forming
an opinion as to The value of the COM
modify.
The leaf at the top of the plant is the
tsrderest and has the best flavor The
small leaf is, therefore, a sign of quail -
The willy celestial knows this, and he there
f. re chops up the la.ge leaves before they
are cured. he leaves are taken from the
hot water and carefully opened out If
they are small and perfect they are Of
extra quality They are graded down the
stalk a regular tirsts, seconds. thirds and
f'urths. The expert can readily de erIniue
by looking at chopped leaf how large the
perfect leaf is hailed hy the annraiser vi h
the nhus:asm which the connoisseur dis
plays at the sight of wine Of cid vinta age
or that which the pa ron Of The turf mani
tests when he sees thoroughbred.
smell. ,;is',t. Then Taste
The tea faster carefully inspecss the
liquid which results from the stepping of
the leaves. The color and the consistency
Of the steamins fluid ,el him all manner
Of things which the layman would not
know. The aroma as /, usecnGs from the
cup reveals the story 10 the examiner AS
10 where and when that tea was prepared
SI9It and smell saw. done rEtlfS t,.,t 81,