The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-01-31
LABELS REQUIRED ON TEA
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 COLORED, TO BE BRANDED
Conference of Dealers and Officials Re- suits in Decision to CO-Operate-Re- jectiOns From Warehouses Have Enrcod Iasue

| suits in Decision to Co-Operate-Re- | jectiOns From Warehouses Have Forced Issue
 | F. l.. Dunlap, chairman of the United | States department of agriculture, board of food and drug inspection, of Wash
 ngton, D. C., officially has notified the wholesale dealers in tea that on May l. ] 1911, all the tea imported into the United States If artihcially colored, must be so labeled or branded; likewise, after that | date, all the tea entering interstate com- merce must conform to the above ruling in regard to the labelling of tea. This coloring is applied by the pro- ducers of tea in its native countries, | and it is generally applied to low grades that are not uniform in color. By this coloring they produce a tea of fine ap- pearance, which will sell at cents to 5 cents pound higher than if it was
 marketed in its natural color.
 A conference of representative tea dealers of the eastern cities with off, cials of the United States treasury de- partment was held in New York a few weeks ago. It was decided that all tea entering this country should be properly labeled, and the agricultural depart ment shall, in any case where there is reason to suspect that teas are not prop erly labeled, make examination of the facing of such teas in warehouse. and shall cooperate with the tea examiners to subject any tea under suspicion to chemical test.
 Tea dealers believe that what has forced this issue stronger than anything else is the vast amount of rejections by this country in the last few years, re- garding artificially colored teas, which examiners would not permit to be taken from the bonded warehouse on account of the coloring.
 rr,t.. >R x~. l11 1c1 to be taken out of this country caused quite an advance in market prices. Lower grades are up 3 cents to 5 cents per pound English breakfast tea Is also considerably higher.
 The shortage of Ceylon tea for this year will be considerable, so with an in- creased home consumption prices must remain high.
 Tea experts say that the tea trade in this country is increasing, where dealers handle a good cup quality. but where the dealer handles only the lower grades the tea business is very light. In his opinion, all arthcially colored teas should be so labeled, and this will work great benefit to Indian and Ceylon black teas.
 The process of making tea in India Is different from that of Japan and China. In the latter countries nearly everything is done by hand. and the methods are insanitary. In China the leaves are sorted by women and girls, and the mixture is pressed out by treading with bare feet They are rolled over and over on bamboo trays with the hand, and are fired in red-hot pans by half naked. perspiring workmen.
 It is the same in Japan. A visitor at one of the large firing establishments preparing green tea for the American market found natives curing 1t by what is known as pan firing.
 Imagine a long row of ovens filled with copper pans. each 20 inches wide and 30 inches deep. The tops of the oven were at about the height of mans waist. or just high enough to en- able one to stir the contents with the hands.
 There were at least 90 of these pans, and over each bent a Japanese woman, her dress pulled down to her waist and the upper part of her body bare Each was stirring and kneading and rolling the drying tea. The fires were hot and the steam rose. Drops of precipitation stood out on the backs of the workers. and 1t seemed as if the tea might be brewed by the sweat. It took those wom- en almost an hour to finish each lot, and after that the teas were put up by hand.
 Tn India the tea Is rolled by machinery. Every plantation has it's factories. where the leaves are withered and rolled be- tween steel plates so carefully grad uated that they do not iniure the tea The drying is done by hot blasts and re- volving cans. and the result Is that the tea comes out perfectly pure and clean. It is carefully graded and packed while warm in iead-linad chests for shipment abroad. <