FAMILY BEVERAGES.
TEA.
This staple necessity of modern life is now consumed by more than five hundred millions of people, and its use appears to grow with the growth of civilization. There is but one species of the tea plant and its varieties are due to differences of soil and climate. China alone produces annually nearly a million and a half tons of tea; to say nothing of the teas of Japan, Corea, Assam, and Java.
Effects of Tea.
Tea exhilarates without intoxicating; rouses the mind to increased activity without reaction, while at the same time it soothes the body, dispels headache, and counteracts the effects of fermented liquors and narcotics. It lessens also the waste of the tissues under the labors of life.
As an English authority says: “When the time has arrived to the old and infirm, that the stomach can no longer digest enough of the ordinary elements of food to keep up the waste of the system, and the size and weight of the body begins to diminish, tea comes in as a medicine to arrest this loss of tissue.” No wonder then that the aged, the infirm and the poor should take kindly to tea. If supplies of food are scanty it lessens the need for them, while it makes them feel more light and cheerful, and contributes to their enjoyment.
Black and Green Teas.
Either may be prepared at will from the same leaves; the difference lies in the mode of treatment. The earliest leaves are the tenderest and best flavored; later gatherings grow more woody and bitter. Black teas are spread in the air for some time after gathering, then roasted and rolled by hand, again exposed to the air, whereby they undergo a slight degree of fermentation, and finally are dried slowly over charcoal fires. The leaves for green tea are, as soon as gathered, roasted a few minutes in pans over a brisk fire, after which they are carefully rolled and thoroughly dried.
Analysis of Tea by Dr. Hassall.
| Black. | Green. | |
|---|---|---|
| Water | 11.56 | 9.37 |
| Tannin | 15.24 | 18.69 |
| Gum | 5.70 | 5.89 |
| Albuminous matter | 15.55 | 24.39 |
| Theine | 2.53 | 2.79 |
| Ash | 5.82 | 5.38 |
| Chlorophyle, etc. | 5.24 | 1.83 |
| Cellulose and other matter insoluble in water | 38.36 | 31.66 |
| —————— | —————— | |
| 100.00 | 100.00 |