Tea-Blending as a Fine Art

by Joseph M. Walsh

SCENTED TEAS

Form a special class of the Chinese product, and comprise Foochow, Canton and Macao Scented Teas. They are sub-divided into Capers, Pekoes, Pouchongs, Orange, Flowery and Pouchong Pekoes, and are very fragrant, being highly scented with the leaves, flowers, blossoms and roots of other plants, such as that of the Iris, Jessamine, Gardenia, Chloranthus and Oleofragrans. They are principally prepared from the largest but most succulent leaves of the first pickings and cured by a series of brisk firings and rollings. The dried leaf is finely made, long and evenly folded, and the infusion is wine-colored, piquant and aromatic, from which fact consumers not accustomed to their use erroneously imagine that they are much stronger and more exciting than the Oolong and Green Teas sorts, and should be used only very sparingly in blending.

Caper—Is so termed from its small, round leaf resembling capers, and is prepared from the youngest and tenderest leaves of the tea plant. The infusion is of a rich wine-color, pungent and aromatic in flavor, forming what is termed a bouquet.

Pekoe—Signifies in Chinese “White down,” applied to the whitish or downy substance at the end of the leaves. It is usually prepared from the young leaf buds just expanding, and is a very much overrated variety.

Pouchong—Is a bold, rough-looking leaf, dull black in color and peculiar in scent, the latter being imparted to it by the admixture of the seeds of the Chulan flower.

Orange Pekoe—Is a long, flat, even-leaf tea, jet black in color and containing yellowish, downy tops at the ends, from which it derives its trade name.

Flowery Pekoe—Is a smaller but more evenly-folded leaf, olive-colored with ends ornamented with whitish or velvety tips, being also very highly scented with the flowers or blossoms of other plants.

In some of the Chinese districts the scenting material is added to the tea during the firing process and afterward separated by sifting, but is, however, more generally introduced into the tea after it is prepared and ready for packing. It is spread over the tip of the tea and allowed to remain there for at least a day, or until it becomes strongly impregnated with their moisture, and then removed, the duration depending in a great measure on the character of the scent employed.

a—Gunpowder. b—Young Hyson. c—Imperial. d—Hyson. e—Twankey.

(Green Tea Plant.)