The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-12-05

We have always bothered Patricia
a lot by asking all manner Of ques-
tions about tea. She has always said
that she knew good tea when she
experiment how to blend the brand
she uses, but that there her knowledge
ended. We might have found out
some Of the things we asked for our
selves, I suppose, but we seem to feel
that everything pertaining to tea be-
longs peculiarly in her province, so
we have been waiting all fall for her
to redeem her promise Of looking into
the subject, some time and sharing
with us what she learned.
So this week, when Helena found
a quaint7looking volume called THE
Little Tea Book" boxed iii tea box
mating with label printed on red
hrecracker paper, lying on Patricia
table, she guessed at once that Patricia
was primedo on tea. NJ
| Patricia warned us that her re-
searches had not been profound, but
that they had enabled her to clear llp
several points that had bothered her
and she thought tt would be ample to
satisfy our and other pc ople,s super
fetal and idle teatable curiosity. Il.
"You all know my my tea is a special
kind, and that there are special and
superior kinds, but suppose you think
as I used to and nearly every body
does, that the superiorityris.a matter
of the locality OF growing, kind OF
plant and grading with perhaps some
questionsof the degree Of purity Every
kind of tea has a name and it issquite
tinct variety as IN fruits or potatoes,
but it doesn't; in the retail business
1t simply designates a mixture, sor, az
! 1t is called in5the tea business, a blend.
We are all somewhat familiar with
the practice in perfume-making Of
mixing variety of scents instead OF
| using the extracts from a single flow
er, and tea is handled in very much
! the same way and for very much the
same reason.
1.-THE only kinds Of Unattended teas
| that combine the desirable and popu-
/ lar values are the choices. and most
expensive that obviously the majority
cannot afford, but by centuries OF
study and observation, 1t has been
discovered that by combining in cor
1 rect proportions the ordinary grades
in each Of which some particular quail.
tiles are conspicuous, a very choice
land satisfactory tea is secured. It is
not even necessary to put in any OF
the expensive varieties to accomplis
| in its best quality affords the flavor
that people fancy always furnishes
the basis for commercial blends, ane
this tea is known from that fact al
''oolong, Is. 'souchong." Japan, - Gee
lon,'"' ETC., altho it may have a specia
name; also. The base furnishes thu
i dominant qualities. but it's deficien
cies are supplied by judicious a;dmix
1 lures. In general the qualities de
manded a. body and pungency ane
some particular and distinct flavor.
'.The division into black and greer
teas you are all familiar with, whethe
, you know what it means or not. Th'
infusions of green teas are light ant
sparkling and pungent; the Infusion
} of black tea dark colored, heavy
!, bodied and rich Favored. It lis
) popular notion that they are mad
| from different plants and therefore II
) different tea fields. This is not true
| the difference is in the process, an,
black and green tea could be mad
y side by side from the same picking
! of leaves. It is usual. however, as J,
: matter of tradition and convenience
: for certain districts to make chief:
$ one kind. The terms we commons