Kinmond’s Tea Dryer.
To all interested in Tea in India, and their name is legion, Tea manufacturing machinery and its capabilities must be a subject of great interest.
Though Tea prices may, and I think to a certain extent will, revive, the old scale which existed previous to the late serious fall will never probably return. How serious the fall has been will be appreciated when I state that gardens which previously realised 14 annas to 1 rupee for their produce think now they do well if they obtain an average of 10 annas. Thus, an average of 12 annas (even if the partial rise I hope for takes place) will probably be more than most Indian plantations will get in the future. In two words, the Tea industry of India is passing through a period of depression and a crisis which argues “the survival of the fittest.” Not only must plantations, destined to last, produce largely, they must also make good Teas at a small cost. This latter, I hold, both as regards quality and economy, can only be attained by the use of machinery; and thus, what is the best kind of rolling machine, the best description of dryer, equaliser, and sifting apparatus, is an all-important point.
Tea machinery is still quite in its infancy. Various as are the machines in use, and superior as some are to others, perhaps none of them are yet quite perfect. Still, planters cannot afford to wait for ultimate perfection, for though any machines bought to-day will probably be more or less out of date in a few years’ time, he who waits must go to the wall in the meanwhile. Realising this fact, as those who know the subject do, they (and they are many) ask eagerly:—
“Which of the several machines for the different processes in Tea manufacture shall we buy?”
I have not now, perhaps, the knowledge to discuss fairly the several merits of the various machines for each different process, but as Tea Dryers hold an important place in the list, and I have, perhaps, an exceptional experience of one kind, I purpose to give your readers the benefit thereof.
Years ago, when I first mooted the idea that Tea could be fired without charcoal, it was scouted. It was said, “The fumes of charcoal had some chemical and necessary effect.” “The Chinese would not have used it from time immemorial had a substitute, and a cheaper one, been practicable.” Such were the objections. It is now no longer a question. A great part, perhaps the greater part, of the Indian produce is to-day worked with other fuel, and it is only a question of time when all of it will be so. It is generally admitted that Tea prepared in Dryers is more valuable than that fired over charcoal; and begging the question that the fumes of charcoal are not necessary (the old idea is very nearly exploded), it is reasonable that it should be so; for, if there is one thing certain in Tea manufacture, it is that speed is necessary. Charcoal drying took on an average 45 minutes; Tea is fired in the best Dryers in eight minutes. In respect of speed, Kinmond’s Dryer (which is the one I advocate) is certainly unequalled.
When, as in large factories, 30 or 40 maunds of Tea have to be made daily, it is evident that, cæteris paribus, the machine which will do most in a given time and given space must be the best. In these respects also Kinmond’s Dryer stands well, for the small size (No. 1) will do one maund, and the larger size (No. 2) will turn out two maunds per hour. In other words, in a working day of 12 hours (and I allow no more, for I do not believe in night work) 12 and 24 maunds daily are the capacities of the two sizes. Considering that the said two sizes, with necessary stokehole, tables, &c., occupy respectively not more than 200 and 260 square feet of space in a factory, the satisfactory results, in both the above respects, are unquestionable.
Tea made at night, both because the colour of it in its different stages cannot be well seen (let the light be what it will), and also because superintendence cannot then be so close, is never so good as day-made Tea. This is why I do not believe in night work; and it is also a very important extra reason why machinery (which by its speed enables all the necessary Tea to be made by daylight) will prove such a great and lasting advantage.
When Kinmond’s Dryer was first constructed, it was proposed to work it at 300 degrees. Later experience has proved 260 degrees is better and sufficient; but of course more time is thus taken, and with the old sizes one and two maunds per hour could not be turned out at the lower temperature. The machines are now made one-fifth larger to obviate this.