Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-04-07
FEW FACTS ABOUT TEA
FEW WOMEN MAKE IT PROPERLY
ONLY ONE WAYTo DO IT.
Millions Of Pounds Of Ordinary Weeds
Sold at One Time as tho
Fragrant Plant.

from the New 1Ork Tribune.
Most women think they know every
thing about tea, or at least enough" said
Thomas A. Phelan, but, as matter OF
fact, don't believe there is any other SIN
gle article that appears on American Ia
bles about which, the consumers know so
little" All of thisswas apropos of the Ma
tional Tea Association, lately organized for
the purpose Of unfolding the laws now In
operation to protect. this beverage from
adulteration and spussous imitation.
Mr.. Phelan is the president of the organ
ization. the members and other officers
representing nearly i-two hundred large
firms in all parts of the United States.
Before 1897" Continued Mr.. Phelan, there
was practically no protective legislation
for this import, and the United states was
sort of dumping g9ound for the refuse
brands which could End sale nowhere
where the majority Of the buyers and han,
dlers were not experts, whole sections ana
states practically gave up the use OF Tea
because of its inferior quality. though they
did not know where to turn for remedy.
So clever were the limitations that only an
expert could detect them, but they were no
less spurious for that. Many herbs. some
Of them harmless. but having no relation
here by the million pounds and sold as tea
By some chemical process they were col,
ored so that to the eye they were loenucas
with the genuine article. While many OF
had no more right to be sold as tea than
would, for instance, paper lmltatlon OF
beefsteak painted red.
Weeds for Tea.
"They were green painted weeds. and the
country was flooded with them for so long
that even now American consumption OF
tea is still as low as a pound per capita
per ann,im, while in Canada 1t Is four
pounds, in England six and in Australia
seven. There, you see, they try to out-En-
glish the English. So far as the average
housewife is concerned. she SIMPLY Knows
that she likes this brand or that. plack yea
or green, and in the matter OF making SIG
is doubtless ignorant.
Now, the fact is that OF the so-calleo
black tea alone there are at least oVV val ie-
ties with as many f1avors as are known 10
the most luxurious flower garden. the
greens and Japans might each be subdi-
vided into a like number. one or the placA
teas, the so-called English breakfast,
name unknown incidentally in either CHINA
or England, is really the Congou. OF whlcn
alone there are at least 700 different fiavors
and grades. Other varieties of black tea
are the Oolongs from Foochow and the
Island of FOrmoSa and the CeylonS and IN
dias All these are sold as black tea, put
there is as much difference in taste between
an Oolong and a Congou as between coffee
and chocolate, or whisky and claret. The
Congou Ceylon and India are fermented In
their preparation or allowed to stew in
their own juice SO to speak, which gives
them a heavy, malty flavor. The Oolong
is prepared like green tea, without fermen-
tation, and is fired almost Immediately
after picking. giving 1T bright. toasty
character which results in a Eght-colored
infusion. They are equally good, despite
their differences.
varieties of Tea
LAS rule the English, Irish and their
descendants drink the Congous, while the
older residents Of America, and especially
of New York and Boston, prefer the
Oolongs. The variations in soil and tenn
perature under which the different teas are
grown produce the radically different fla
vors so dear to the true tea lover and so
inexplicable to the uninitiated. The North
China Congous, for instance, are subdivided
into fifty districts, 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 a dozen or more different grades. The
spring, early and late summer and the au-
tumn gatherings all have different fiavors.
which the expert can distinguish blind
folded.
Perhaps one woman in a hundred knows
how to make tea as 1t should be made.
demonstrated that tea has no more in
furious effect upon the nerves than has
cocoa or even water. Cocoa, indeed, I'M
less properly prepared by the manufac-
turer.- contains an amount Of cocaine
which decidedly fmpairs digestion If taken
Tor any length of time Tea to be a pure
tonic and wholly harmless, should be made
with water which has not only come to a
boil but has boiled hard for at least five
minutes. The leaves then should be steep
ed for about five minutes, by no means
more than seven. Previous to that time
the tonic property only is developed; after
seven minutes the tannin becomes opera
tive and the decoctfon more and more in
furious with the increase of time You
can imagine the state of affairs in res
taurants and such places, where the tea
is made In the morning to last all day or
even every few hours The English have
hit upon the ideal time for drinking tea.
at breakfast and between luncheon and
dinner. Taken then it is the best sort of
a tonic"