SUBSTITUTES IN USE FOR TEA.
Previous to the seventeenth century it had long been the custom in many countries of Europe to make hot infusions of the leaves of various plants, most notably those of the Salvia (sage), which had at one time a high reputation as a “panacæa,” being greatly extolled by the Solieman school of physic, as a potent factor for the preservation of health, and it is the custom at the present time in many other countries where it is difficult or impossible to obtain China tea, to use the seeds or leaves of other plants as substitutes, the active principle of which, in many instances, is analagous, and in others identical with it. Among the former are the leaves of plants destitute of theine (the active principle of tea), but which possesses some other stimulating properties, and among the latter the leaves and seeds of other plants containing that principle, and consequently producing the same exciting effects, these include Coffee, Cocoa and
Yerba Maté—or “Paraguan tea,” a species of Ilex, or holly, the leaves of which yield the same active principle (theine) characteristic of the China tea-plant. So closely does it resemble the latter in effect that many authorities claim it to be a species of that shrub, upwards of forty million pounds being annually produced and consumed in Paraguay and other South American countries.
Coca Tea—used extensively in Peru and Bolivia, composed of the dried leaves of the Coca tree, but though generally chewed, is more frequently prepared as a tea by the natives. In the infusion it possesses somewhat similar properties to China tea, and forms an important article of international trade among the various tribes, not less than thirty million pounds being annually consumed there.
Guarana—or “Brazilian tea,” prepared from the seeds of the guarana by the inhabitants of the interior of that country, and so rich are they in theine that they have lately been adopted for the purpose of obtaining that principle in larger quantities for medicinal purposes.
Ugni—or “Chilian tea,” produced from the leaves of that plant, but though generally used as a medicine, is as often prepared as a beverage.
Cenopodium—or “Mexican tea,” made from an infusion of the leaves and seeds of that plant, but used only as a remedy in the treatment of asthma and bronchitis by the natives of that country.
Pimento—or “Trinidad tea,” prepared from a decoction of the leaves of the pimento, and is in common use in that and other of the West India islands both as a beverage and a medicine.
Bun-fullup—or “Jungle tea,” found in the Naga range in eastern Assam, and used by the Singphos in the same manner as the Chinese species and also as a medicine.
Khat—or “African tea,” produced from an extract of the Khola nut, the active principle of which has recently been ascertained to be identical with that of the tea of commerce, is much used among the nomad tribes of Somali, the Soudan and other African countries.
Cathadules—or “Arabian tea,” prepared from the leaves of that shrub in the same manner as ordinary tea, and extensively cultivated there for that purpose, as much attention being bestowed on it by the natives as on coffee. The leaves are also chewed, when green, like those of the Coca in South America, being highly intoxicating in effect, particularly in the wild state.
Saxifraga—or “Siberian tea,” produced from a decoction of the leaves of that plant, but used only as a beverage in the same manner as those of China tea.
Epilobium—or “Russian tea,” is prepared from the dried leaves of the common willow, and are also extensively used for mixing with the regular teas of commerce, commanding as high as four roubles a pound in the dried state, for that purpose; being also in common use among the poorer classes of that country as a substitute for China tea.
Buxifolium—or “Labrador tea,” is made from an infusion of the leaves of that plant, and used extensively as a beverage by the natives of that country and adjoining provinces.
Appalachian—or “Pennsylvania tea,” is prepared from an infusion of the Punos plant found growing in a wild state on the Allegheny mountains, and used as a beverage as well as for the purpose of imparting heat; and while very closely resembling the tea-plant of China in its structural character, of its merits or drinking qualities as a tea nothing definite has as yet been ascertained.
Ceanothus—or “New Jersey tea,” known to the Indians as “pong-pong,” is prepared from the leaves of Red-root, and was at one time in general use and very popular among the natives of Virginia and the Carolinas, and was also extensively used in Revolutionary times as a substitute for China tea when refusal was made to pay the tax upon the latter.
Chimonanthus—or “English tea,” recently obtained from the leaves of that plant, and used as a substitute for China tea, as well as for mixing with it. Originally a native of China and Japan, it has been acclimatized in that country, where it is at present extensively used alone and as an adulterant.
Coffee-leaf Tea—in use in many of the Coffee-growing countries, most notably in Arabia, Sumatra and the West India islands. It is prepared from the roasted leaves of the coffee-tree in the same manner as China tea, the natives of these countries particularly preferring it to any decoction made from the berries of the latter.
Strawberry-leaf Tea—obtained from the leaves of the common strawberry shrub, carefully dried and cured after the manner of the China plant. They are prepared and used in Germany particularly as a tea; they yield a very close imitation of the liquor and flavor of the regular tea of commerce, so much so that quite an industry has sprung up in their cultivation and preparation as a substitute for tea in that country. The celebrated “Faham tea” of the Mauritius being still another remarkable substitute for the tea of China. But as with many of the foregoing should be regarded in the light of medicine rather than that of a regular beverage.
That this characteristic element Theine should be present not only in the Tea-plant of China and Coffee-plant of Arabia, but also in so many others widely differing, so remote in situation, and so unlike in appearance, and from which millions of people in all parts of the world draw a refreshing and exhilarating beverage, is a striking and beautiful fact in nature. Under such a fact there may be more significance than science has yet elicited.
CHAPTER IV.
CULTIVATION AND PREPARATION.
The Chinese, from time immemorial, have been accustomed to raising their tea on every available space of ground; on barren hill-side, marshy plain and other patches of land unsuited for other purposes. Most of the gardens are, however, situated in hilly districts, but in almost all of them the soil is poor and sandy, varying considerably, even in districts alike famous for the perfect growth of the plant.
The soil of the gardens situated on the hills is composed chiefly of a brownish clay, containing large proportions of vegetable matter intermixed with fragments of slate, quartz and sand-stone, held together by a calcareous basis of granite. A soil, in fact, very similar to that which produces pine and scrub-oak, while on the plains it is darker, but containing a still greater proportion of vegetable matter, enriched by sewerage but invariably well underdrained by natural declivities. Yet while many of the gardens are situated on the tops of mountains, among pine trees in some districts, and along river banks on others, the Chinese, as a rule, prefer ground that is only moderately elevated, in sunny sites, everything else being favorable. Many of the latter yield more abundantly, but the product of the former is invariably the finest in quality.
With regard to climatic essentials the plant endures a tropical temperature well, at the same time accommodating itself to the cold of winter without injury. But when cultivated for commercial uses in such latitudes the seasons are found too short for its profitable production there, and while it is successfully grown at zero cold in some districts, it is nevertheless most lucratively cultivated in climates where the thermometer rarely falls more than six degrees below the freezing point. The climate varies to a considerable extent in the different districts of China where tea is grown, being excessively warm in the southern, and intensely cold in the northern provinces, snow being on the ground for days together in the latter or green tea producing districts. And though it has been proved by experiment that this variety will bear a greater degree of cold than the black, considerable snow falls annually in the province of Fo-kien, where Black teas are grown. The most important climatic consideration, however, is the amount of rain-fall, a dry climate being altogether unfit for tea cultivation; a hot, moist or damp one being proved the best. The rain-fall in the most profitable tea districts ranges from 80 to 100 inches per annum, the more falling in the spring months the better, and that too must be equally diffused. But where irrigation can be systematically introduced, this is of less importance.