A Treatise on Adulterations of Food, and Culinary Poisons / Exhibiting the Fraudulent Sophistications of Bread, Beer, Wine, Spiritous Liquors, Tea, Coffee, Cream, Confectionery, Vinegar, Mustard, Pepper, Cheese, Olive Oil, Pickles, and Other Articles Employed in Domestic Economy

by Friedrich Christian Accum

Counterfeit Tea-Leaves.

The late detections that have been made respecting the illicit establishments for the manufacture of imitation tea leaves, arrested, not long ago, the attention of the public; and the parties by whom these manufactories were conducted, together with the numerous venders of the factitious tea, did not escape the hand of justice. In proof of this statement, it is only necessary to consult the London newspapers (the Times and the Courier) from March to July 1818; which show to what extent this nefarious traffic has been carried on; and they report also the prosecutions and convictions of numerous individuals who have been guilty of the fraud. The following are some of those prosecutions and convictions.

Hatton Garden.—On Saturday an information came to be heard at this office, before Thomas Leach, Esq. the sitting magistrate, against a man of the name of Edmund Rhodes, charged with having, on the 12th of August last, dyed, fabricated, and manufactured, divers large quantities, viz. one hundred weight of sloe leaves, one hundred weight of ash leaves, one hundred weight of elder leaves, and one hundred weight of the leaves of a certain other tree, in imitation of tea, contrary to the statute of the 17th of Geo. III.[85] whereby the said Edmund Rhodes had, for every pound of such leaves so manufactured, forfeited the sum of 5l. making the total of the penalties amount to 2,000l. The second count in the information charged the said Rhodes with having in his possession the above quantity of sloe, ash, elder, and other leaves, under the like penalty of 2,000l. The third count charged him with having, on the said 12th of August last, in his possession, divers quantities, exceeding six pounds weight of each respective kind of leaves; viz. fifty pounds weight of green sloe leaves, fifty pounds weight of green leaves of ash, fifty pounds weight of green leaves of elder, and fifty pounds weight of the green leaves of a certain other tree; not having proved that such leaves were gathered with the consent of the owners of the trees and shrubs from which they were taken, and that such leaves were gathered for some other use, and not for the purpose of manufacturing the same in imitation of tea; whereby he had forfeited for each pound weight, the sum of 5l. amounting in the whole to 1,000l.; and, in default of payment, in each case, subjected himself to be committed to the house of correction for not more than twelve months, nor less than six months.

Mr. Denton, who appeared for the defendant, who was absent, said that he was a very poor man, with a family of five children, and was only the servant of the real manufacturer, and an ignorant man from the country, put into the premises to carry on the business, without knowing what the leaves were intended for. By direction of Mr. Mayo, who conducted the prosecution, several barrels and bags, filled with the imitation tea, were then brought into the office, and a sample from each handed round. To the eye they seemed a good imitation of tea.

The defendant was convicted in the penalty of 500l. on the second count.

The Attorney-General against Palmer.—This was an action by the Attorney-General against the defendant, Palmer, charging him with having in his possession a quantity of sloe-leaves and white-thorn leaves, fabricated into an imitation of tea.

Mr. Dauncey stated the case to the jury, and observed that the defendant, Mr. Palmer, was a grocer. It would appear that a regular manufactory was established in Goldstone-street. The parties by whom the manufactory was conducted, was a person of the name of Proctor, and another person named J. Malins. They engaged others to furnish them with leaves, which, after undergoing a certain process, were sold to and drank by the public as tea. The leaves, in order to be converted into an article resembling black tea, were first boiled, then baked upon an iron plate; and, when dry, rubbed with the hand, in order to produce that curl which the genuine tea had. This was the most wholesome part of the operation; for the colour which was yet to be given to it, was produced by logwood. The green tea was manufactured in a manner more destructive to the constitution of those by whom it was drank. The leaves, being pressed and dried, were laid upon sheets of copper, where they received their colour from an article known by the name of Dutch pink. The article used in producing the appearance of the fine green bloom, observable on the China tea, was, however, decidedly a dead poison! He alluded to verdigris, which was added to the Dutch pink in order to complete the operation. This was the case which he had to bring before the jury; and hence it would appear, that, at the moment they were supposing they were drinking a pleasant and nutritious beverage, they were, in fact, in all probability, drinking the produce of the hedges round the metropolis, prepared for the purposes of deception in the most noxious manner. He trusted he should be enabled to trace to the possession of the defendant eighty pounds weight of the commodity he had been describing.

Thomas Jones deposed, that he knew Proctor, and was employed by him at the latter end of April, 1817, to gather black and white thorn leaves. Sloe leaves were the black thorn. Witness also knew John Malins, the son of William Malins, a coffee-roaster; he did not at first know the purpose for which the leaves were gathered, but afterwards learnt they were to make imitation tea. Witness did not gather more than one hundred and a half weight of these leaves; but he employed another person, of the name of John Bagster, to gather them. He had two-pence per pound for them. They were first boiled, and the water squeezed from them in a press. They were afterwards placed over a slow-fire upon sheets of copper to dry; while on the copper they were rubbed with the hand to curl them. At the time of boiling there was a little verdigris put into the water (this applied to green tea only.) After the leaves were dried, they were sifted, to separate the thorns and stalks. After they were sifted, more verdigris and some Dutch pink were added. The verdigris gave the leaves that green bloom observable on genuine tea.

The black tea went through a similar course as the green, except the application of Dutch pink: a little verdigris was put in the boiling, and to this was added a small quantity of logwood to dye it, and thus the manufacture was complete. The drying operation took place on sheets of iron. Witness knew the defendant, Edward Palmer; he took some of the mixture he had been describing, to his shop. The first time he took some was in May, 1817. In the course of that month, or the beginning of June, he took four or five seven-pound parcels; when he took it there, it was taken up to the top of the house. Witness afterwards carried some to Russell-street, which was taken to the top of the house, about one hundred weight and three quarters; from this quantity he carried fifty-three pounds weight to the house of the defendant's porter, by the desire of Mr. Malins; it was in paper parcels of seven pounds each.