MASTICATING OR CHEWING.
An approximate estimate of a Tea may also be formed by chewing or masticating the leaves, a good tea being easily recognized by the rapid manner in which the leaves are dissolved on slight mastication. If the Tea be young and the leaves tender, they become quickly reduced to a pasty consistency and very juicy, but if old and inferior they will be found difficult to chew, tough, and yielding little or no sap, according to its age and inferiority.