Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-07-18

tea, declared Mr. Mitchell. In the
first place" he asked perttnently, do
You know what is a good cup Of tea?
Wen, a good cup Of tea Is one with the
greatest amount of stimulant and
aroma and the least amount Of tannin,
the harmful substance in tea. So the
best thing to do Is to bring the water
to boil and boil 1t for several min
utes to expel the air. Pour II on the
tea placed In a previously scalded
earthenWare pot, using an even tea
spoonful OF tea for each, cup. Never
let II stand more than three minutes.
Then decant or strain 1t into another
pot and serve--anyway you please.
Mature fixed it for us so that tan
min Is not as soluble In boiling water
as Is caffeine, and as Is the aroma. BY
using boiling water and not letting the
tea stand too long, you can separate
the good from the bad,
Mr.. Mitchell knows tea from the
ground up, here in the United States.
and in all the tea-growing countries
OF the East-Japan, China, Sumatra,
Ceylon, India and Java. He started
In on tea when poor health forced him
to give up his studies at the Medical
College Of South Carolina.
He went to work on the tea farm
OF DR.. Charles U. Sheppard, who was
operating In cooperation with the
Department Of Agriculture. During
the Summer Mr.. Mitchell grew tea,
manufactured tea, studied the pro-
cess OF curing, and experimental with
the development Of labor-savinR
machinery for factory and field work.
/ During the Winters, Mr.. Mitchell
used 70 come up to Washington tor
work In the laboratory. In 1912, the
Secretary of the Treasury needed
some one to manage the tea law. So
Mr.. Mitchell was transferred TO the
Treasury. Tea did not move out ,of.
the Treasury into the Department of
Agriculture along with the rest of the
food laws until 1920 So
In 1917, the Government sent. Mt
Mitchell to all the tea countries, SO
that he might be better fitted for his
JOB. This trip was like a climax to
his IA years experience. He saw dur.
ing that trip all the processes of
growing and curing as practiced in
the Oriental countries, and made a
special study Of the different teas as
affected by manufacture.
In the little room of his Bureau of
Chemistry Office, Mr.. Mitchell is con-
Quoting an experiment of his own
devising and for his own satisfaction
He is starting In to test the value of
1 Tic 0A1CL CtlI uSeQ Tor
packages Of tea The shelves, extend.
ing from floor to ceiling, are gradually
being filled with all kinds of contain
ers-tin, wood. round, square, friction.
topped, strip-cover topped, and num-
berleSs other varieties. There arr
four of each type. Each package Is
dated. Six months after 1t was put
up. the frst package in each group Is
tested in comparison with the same
tea in a check package. Six months
later. the second one win come down,
ana so on, until each type OF container
has been tested over q period of two
years. Then Mr.. Mitchell win compile
his results. and he will be able to tell
IN what kind of a container tea keeps
best.
The United States imported 81. 900.
600 pounds Of tea last year, according
to Mr.. Mitchell's reports. THAT was
9 big decrease" he says. t.But that
does not mean we drank any less tea.
What happened was this: We've used
more black teas. Our figures show
that. That means less tea was
needed to get the same amount of
liquid of the customary color.
Americans drink tea, you know, BY
their eyes, not by taste. And also.
people have been using tea balls.
which seems to be a more economical
means Of preparation. q