Emily. I was thinking, my dear mother, how much at a loss the English must have been, before the introduction of tea into Europe. I have heard my father say, it was not known here till within the last two hundred years.
Mr. B. I did tell you so, my dear. Some Dutch adventurers [Footnote: See Macartney's Embassy to China.], seeking, about that time, for such objects as might produce a profit in China, and hearing of the general use, there, of a beverage from a plant of the country, endeavoured to introduce the use of the European herb, sage, amongst the Chinese, for a similar purpose, accepting, in return, the Chinese tea, which they brought to Europe. The European herb did not continue long in use in China, but the consumption of tea has been gradually increasing in Europe ever since. The annual public sales of this article, by the East India Company, did not, however, in the beginning of 1700, much exceed fifty thousand pounds weight: the annual sale now, approaches to upwards of twenty millions of pounds.
Emily. It is indeed an amazing increase; but I am not surprised that is has been so universally adopted. I know of no beverage so refreshing and pleasant. Although we take it twice a day, we never seem to grow tired of its flavour. I suppose it is cultivated in China, as carefully as corn is with us?
Mr. B. It grows wild, like any other shrub, in the hilly parts of the country; but where it is regularly cultivated, the seed is sown in rows, at the distance of about four feet from each other, and the land kept perfectly free from weeds. Vast tracts of hilly ground are planted with it. It is not allowed to grow very tall, for the convenience of the more readily collecting its leaves, which is done first in spring, and twice afterwards in the course of the summer. Its long and tender branches spring up almost from the root, without any intervening naked trunk. It is bushy, like a rose tree, and the blossom bears some resemblance to that flower.
Emily. There is a very great difference in the flavour of tea. Does that depend upon the manner of drying it?
Mr. B. In some degree it does; but its quality is materially affected by the soil in which it grows, and by the age of the leaves when plucked from the tree. The largest and oldest leaves are least esteemed, and are generally sold to the lowest of the people, with very little previous preparation. The younger ones, on the contrary, undergo great care and much attention, before they are delivered to the purchaser. Every leaf passes through the fingers of a female, who rolls it up almost to the form it assumed before it was expanded by growth. It is afterwards placed upon very thin plates of earthen-ware, or iron, and exposed to the heat of a charcoal fire, which draws all the moisture from the leaves, and renders them dry and crisp.
Emily. I have heard that green tea is dried on copper, which gives it its peculiar taste and colour, and renders it less wholesome than black tea.
Mr. B. This is, I believe, a mistake: the chief use of copper, in China, is for coinage. Scarcely any utensil is made of that metal, and the Chinese themselves confidently deny the use of copper plates for this purpose. The colour and flavour of green tea is thought to be derived from the early period at which the leaves are plucked, and which, like unripe fruit, are generally green and acrid.
Emily thanked her father for the account he had given her, and all the children gratefully felt the value of their kind parents, who were ever willing to devote their time and attention to the improvement of their beloved family.
Mr. B. I hope you are all prepared to give me a further account of Romulus, after tea.