The southern sentinel. (Winnfield, La.) 1883-1910, 1903-08-07
MUCH SPURIOUS TEA so,n
Herbs Of Cheap Grade Ar.
the Market and sold for n.
Pure Leaf.

Most women think they Know /.
erything about tea, or at ~.
enough said Thomas \. Phelap -.
as a matter of fact / don't -
there is any other single article ~
appears on American tables -
which the consumers know so E,,..
All of this was aproPos of the \,
tional Tea association, lately or,.-
lied for the purpose of upholdipg y.
laws now in operation to protect a..
beverage from adUlteration and =,
rious imitation, reports the NJ.
York Tribune.
Mr.. Phelan is the president ~ =.
organization, the members and 9TH.
officers representing nearly 200 lar,,
firms in all parts of the Uni,ss
States. Before 1897" continued NJ,
Phelan, there was practically =.
protective legislation for this imnO,.
and the United States was a sor, =.
dumping ground for the refm.
brands which could find a sale M.
where else in the world.
Throughout the south. where N.
ajority of the buyers and handler,
were not experts, whole sections and
states practically gave up the use Of
tea because of its Inferior QUALITY
though they did not know where tn
turn for a remedy. So clever vera
the limitations that only an e.per.
could detect them. but they were no
less spurious for that.
Many herbs, some of them harm.
less. but having no relation whatever
to the tea plant. were shipped hers
by the million pounds and sold as tea
BY some chemical process they were
colored so that to the eye they were
identical with the genuine article.
While many of them were not iniuri-
Gus to health, they had no more right
to be sold as tea than would, for in
stance, a paper imitation of beef.
steak painted red.
Now. the fact is that of the So
called black tea alone there are at
least 500 varieties, with as many
flavors as are known to the most lux.
urious flower garden. The greens
and Japans might each be subdivided
into a like number. One of the black
teas, the so-called English breakfast
a name unknown incidentally in
either China or England. is really the
congou. of which alone there are at
least 200 different fiavors and grades.
"Other varieties of black tea are
the colongs from Foochow and tho
island of Formosa and the Ceylons
and Indias. All these are sold as
black tea but there is as much DIFF
ference in taste between an ooiong
and congou as between coffee and
chocolate or whisky and claret. The
congou. Ceylon and India are fer.
mented in their preparation or ale
lowed to stew in their own juice so
to speak. which gives them heavy,
malty flavor.
"The oolong is prepared like green
tea, without fermentation. and IS
fired almost Immediately after pick
ing, giving it bright. toasty charae-
ter, which results in light-colored
infusion. They are equally good, de-
spite their differences.
''As a rule the English. Irish and
their descendants drink the congcus,
while the older residents of America,
and especially of New York and Bos-
ton, prefer the oolongs. The varia-
tions in soil and temperature under
which the different teas are grown
produce the radically different iavors
so dear to the true tea lover and %
inexplicable to the uninitiated.
"The north China congous, for in
stance, are subdivided into so dis
tricts, the leaves from each having
flavor differing as distinctly from
the others as does the Bartlett pear
from the Seckel. and of each variety
there are half dozen or more differ
emit grades. The spring. early ana
late summer and the autumn gather
ings all have different favors, which
the expert can distinguish blind
folded.
Perhaps one woman in hundred
knows how to make tea as it should
be made. Properly prepared. 1t can
be chemically demonstrated that tes
has no more injurious effect upon the
nerves than has cocoa or even water.
Cocoa, indeed, unless properly PR
pared by the manufacturer. contains
an amount of cocaine which deeldeoiy
impairs digestion if taken for any
length of time.
Tea, to be n pure tonic and wnoiiy
harmless, should be made with water
which has not only come TO ooii.
but has boiled hard for at least n'e
minutes. The leaves should then "
stepped for about five minutes, oy NJ
means more than seven. Previous "
that time the tonic property only Is ee.
veloped; after seven minutes the tan
min becomes operative and the a.
cocfion more and more injurious MIL
the increase of time. You can mag
inc the state of affairs in restaurants
and such places. where the tea >
made in the morning to last all da!'
or even every few hours
The English have hit upon 'h'
ideal time for drinking tea. at DreaA'
fast and between luncheon and am