Tea, its history and mystery

by Joseph M. Walsh

Tien-kes—While large and coarse in make are pleasing in the hand, being chiefly sold on style, as they will not stand the cup test in comparison with Moyunes. The liquor is dark and thick, astringent and frequently “smoky” in flavor, due to the high firing in the effort to make them roll or curl tighter.

Tai-pings—Like Tien-kes, look well in the hand, being fairly well-made and stylish-looking, but of a leaden-blue hue, the result of the “facing” or coloring-matter used in their preparation in order to enhance their appearance. The infusion is dark and muddy in the cup, flat and frequently “earthy” in taste, the infused leaf being large, coarse, dark and irregular.

Pingsueys—Termed by the Chinese Mien-pan-cha or “Bastard tea,” possess no intrinsic value really as a tea, many experts contending that they are not even allied to the tea plant, but prepared from the leaves of some shrub remotely resembling it. The dry leaf is very stylish and firmly made, but of a leaden-blue color and “greasy” in appearance, gypsum and Prussian blue being extensively used in their manipulation. The liquor is dark and heavy, bitterly astringent and “brassy” or metallic in flavor, while the infused leaf is large, coarse and irregular in shape, dark-brown in color, and recognizable from its dissimilarity to the true tea-leaf.

Canton—Called by the Chinese Tchaw-cha or “Lie-tea,” is another spurious variety, manufactured in that city from “spent” or exhausted tea leaves, that is, from leaves once used and from which the vital properties have been extracted. They are made by first grinding and mixing them with a gluey compound to make them adhere, and then rolled into the form of Imperials and Gunpowders, as they cannot be curled or twisted, after which they are artificially colored or faced with a preparation of Prussian blue, kaolin and turmeric. They are smoothly rolled and leaden-blue in color, having a peculiar greasy external appearance in the hand, due to the mineral matter used in their preparation. They do not possess a single physiological property of tea, yielding only a greenish viscid substance, dark and muddy in color, the so-called leaves disintegrating and settling in a pasty consistency at the bottom of the cup, the liquor being devoid of every semblance of tea.

Country Greens—Are uncultivated teas gathered in outlying districts, rough and uncouth in appearance, bitter and astringent in liquor, wild or “grassy” in flavor. The leaves when unfurled are exceedingly large, rough and uncouth in the cups, having every appearance of a wild or uncultivated tea-leaf.

Sub-Varieties of Green Teas.

Gunpowder—Termed by the Chinese Choo-cha or “Pearl tea,” so named from its small, round and “shotty” form. It is generally prepared from the smallest and youngest leaves of the tea plant, its quality corresponding to the picking and district of growth. The product of first crop is sometimes known as “Pinhead,” from its extremely small, globular and granulated appearance. That prepared from the second crop is larger and not as hard rolled, while the third and fourth pickings are respectively still larger and more irregular in form, but, while darker and heavier in liquor, they are not near as delicate or fragrant in flavor.

Imperial—Derives its trade name from being the make or style of tea used in the Imperial household and the wealthier Chinese. That exported is prepared from the larger and older leaves of the respective pickings and rolled in the same manner as the former, from which fact it is sometimes called “Big Gunpowder” and “Pea-leaf.” But while larger and bolder in make it possesses much the same drawing and drinking qualities, excepting that it is heavier and darker in liquor and not as delicate or aromatic in flavor.

The true Imperial tea, known in China as “Flower tea,” not because it is prepared from the flower or blossom of the tea-plant, as is erroneously supposed, but from its being considered the “perfection of tea.” This variety is never exported owing to its limited production and being also very lightly fired in curing, it is very susceptible to moisture, the damp of a sea voyage tending to greatly impair its delicate properties.

Young Hyson—Is a corruption of the Chinese term, Yu-he-tsien or “Early spring,” from being picked early in the season. In make the leaves of the finer grades are extremely small, firmly, if not artistically twisted, and almost wiry in texture, being prepared from the youngest and tenderest leaves just expanding. The leaves of the later pickings are correspondingly larger and looser in make and appearance, and relatively inferior in drawing and drinking qualities to the earlier pickings.