Tea, its history and mystery

by Joseph M. Walsh

The value of tea commercially, depends principally upon the character and flavor of the infusion and also on the aroma imparted to it by the volatile oil, which is not generally estimated by chemists owing to the imperfect methods of obtaining it and the difficulty attending the operation. But commercially the value of a tea is based on the amount of “extract” it yields as well as on the quantity of theine and tannin contained therein. Tea-testers and experts on the other hand take no account of theine, which is almost tasteless, but which is at the same time physiologically the most important constituent of tea. And so far as total extract is concerned Congou teas are inferior in quantity to Oolongs, Greens and Japans, while the latter in turn yield a larger percentage of theine than either India or Ceylons, notwithstanding that it is claimed that they yield less. Yet it must be admitted that a deeper color is imparted to the infusion by India and Ceylon teas, and that they are also of greater strength than China and Japan teas, in fullness (not delicacy) of flavor, the former claim is not borne out by either analysis or testing. There is also no uniform relation existing between the chemical composition of teas and their commercial value, as the percentage of extract determined by a half-hour’s boiling of the leaves in 100 parts of distilled water bears in China and Japan teas particularly a more uniform relation to the price, although the total extract obtained by exhausting the leaf is very irregular. This result is also quite in accord with the fact that the finer and more valuable qualities of all teas are to be found only in the youngest and tenderest leaves, the decline from the finer to the lower grades in the amount of theine dissolved being also noteworthy as showing the power to yield nearly all their theine, the latter doing so only to a limited extent under the same treatment. But although these results show the difference in the drawing qualities of all the various kinds of tea, yet they are not sufficiently uniform to make such analysis the basis for calculating the price of tea. It is evident, however, that the volatile or essential oil—to which tea owes it flavor and aroma—plays a more important part than any of the other constituents in determining the commercial value of tea. Again, it must be noted the strength and flavor of the infusion is as much due to the character of the water used in drawing as to any other cause, the quantity of tannin extracted by soft water being greater than that obtained by the use of hard.

The taste for tea being an acquired and not a natural one, it necessarily follows that persons who have been accustomed to a certain variety or flavor in tea, want that particular kind and will be dissatisfied if any other is given them. Consumers of wine have their fancies, so have users of ale or beer—one prefers a dry, another a sweet wine—one a mild and another a bitter beer. This being the case, it becomes essential to the success of the tea-dealer to study and learn what variety of tea or what particular flavor his customers have been accustomed to before attempting to cater to it. This is a question somewhat difficult to answer, as not only is there a wide difference of taste in tea in the different parts of the country, but in every large town or city alone the varieties and flavors in demand are so numerous and various that most dealers are compelled to mark out a distinct line for themselves. In the larger cities this is the most successful course to pursue, particularly if the kind and quality of the tea be kept regular and uniform the year round, as it secures the return again and again of the same customers for that particular tea, and thus keeps a business always steady and progressive. Even away from the larger cities it is well to follow this course, but while at first it may be found advisable to keep close to the established tea-taste of the section, a gradual change may be found good policy, as a dealer can by a little effort educate his trade in time to a particular variety or flavor of tea, for after all is said, and as remarked before, the taste for a certain tea is only an acquired one. He may, for instance, be selling a heavy-bodied Amoy or dark-leaved Foochow Oolong and suddenly change off to a fine Formosa. In such a case his trade would be very apt to find fault at first, notwithstanding that the latter may be choicer and more expensive than the former, but by ignoring the complaints at the beginning and continuing to insist upon their taking it, eventually succeed in educating them to acquire a taste for it. Still the importance of retaining and maintaining the quality and flavor to which his customers are longest accustomed cannot be overestimated, for no dealer can afford to jeopardize his business or can expect success if his teas one month consist of fine flavored teas, the next month of heavy and dull and the third of a sharp and pungent kind. To maintain this necessary regularity, must be admitted, is difficult, as no two consecutive importations of tea are exactly alike although selected from the same picking or chosen from those grown in the same district the variations may still be so wide as to cause dissatisfaction among consumers. Therefore it becomes essential to the success of the dealer to pay particular attention to the quality of his tea, as there is no article he deals in which will attract trade or retain it longer than good tea, a fine tea creating more comment in a town or neighborhood than any other article used at table and if customers once lose confidence in either the ability or honesty of the dealer they will be repelled rather than attracted, it being next to impossible to get them back again. So that it does not pay a dealer to make any mistake in the selection of his teas, such mistake proving fatal to drawing or holding trade. Poor teas will drive more customers away in a week than can be made in a year; it is therefore much better and more profitable in the long run to sell only good teas at a smaller margin of profit than to sell poor teas at a larger one. Many dealers make use of the argument, “I bought this tea so much cheaper and my customers do not appear to notice the difference; they do not complain.” This may be true, but it is delusive, as people seldom complain; they go elsewhere and get better value. Every community becomes accustomed to drinking a particular description of tea and is quick to discover any change in the character and flavor of any tea that may be substituted for it, thereby becoming dissatisfied notwithstanding that even a higher-priced tea, of different character, may be given them. For this reason the dealer will do well to keep as close to the grade and variety in use there and as nearly uniform as possible at all times maintaining a “standard.” To do this effectually it will be necessary for him to study and learn as near as he can the particular grade and flavor his trade prefers, which is best accomplished by first trying them with various kinds until he has found that which is best suited to a majority of his customers; having succeeded in this, let him stick to that particular kind. Again, as any one variety will not suit all tastes, he can next endeavor to find a tea adapted to the minority by the same method, reserving and keeping these two or more kinds as the case may be. It is much easier to describe what teas to avoid than those to select or what may be best adapted to a particular section, as good tea of all kinds will sell at any time.

Again, some sections of the country possess great advantages over others in the testing and preparation of tea for use, as, wherever the water is soft and pure, much better results are obtained from the infusion by a given quantity of leaves, owing to the fact that such water dissolves more rapidly and extracts a larger amount of the theine than hard or muddy water. The coarse as well as fine properties of the tea are also “brought out” more prominently by the action of the former, it being for this reason that “high-fired,” “toasty” and “tarry” teas so much in favor in some sections will not sell at all in others where the water is soft as a rule, and why China Congous are best appreciated in sections where the water is soft, as the natural delicacy of their unique “fruity” flavor is best extracted by that kind of water and to a greater extent than is the flavor of most other varieties.

The distinctive flavors which characterize the different varieties of tea may be summed up in a single technical term—Amoys are “nutty,” Foochows are “mellow,” Formosas are “fragrant,” Green teas are “pungent,” Pekoes are “piquant,” Congous are “fruity,” Souchongs are “tarry,” Japans are “mealy,” Scented teas are “aromatic,” Indias are “malty,” Ceylons are “toasty” and Javas are “sour.” Oolongs of an “herby,” “weedy” or “wild” flavor should be avoided, as they are principally mixed with Ankois. Pingsueys, Cantons and all doctored Green teas should be tabooed altogether; if cheap Green teas must be had, procure a low-grade Moyune regardless of its appearance, as it will give better satisfaction than the finest of the foregoing. Japans of a “fishy,” “grassy” or “metallic” flavor should also be shunned, as they will be found dear at almost any price. Congous of a “woody,” “mousey” or “smoky” flavor and too “tarry” Souchongs are also good teas to leave alone, while Canton and Macao Scented teas should never find a place in the dealer’s stock. Low-grade India, Ceylon and Javas are either “raw,” “uncooked,” “baked,” “burnt” or “sour” in flavor, and decay very rapidly being unfit for use after a few weeks’ exposure. In brief, do not handle any old, raw, grassy, weedy, woody, smoky, fishy or brassy flavored teas under any circumstances. There is no satisfaction in them to the consumer and no profit in them to the dealer. Keep good teas only and get your price. It pays best in the end.

A tea-dealer with any desire to extend or even retain his trade should no more attempt to sell poor, inferior, unclean or damaged tea than a butcher to endeavor to sell tainted meat or a baker to give his customers sour bread. The offense may not at first seem so objectionable, but the verdict of the public will be the same in each case, and the practical manner in which his customers will manifest this opinion will be to let such dealer severely alone. Good clean teas can nearly always be purchased for a few cents per pound above the price of the “trash” now offered in the American market and masquerading under the name of tea, being nothing more or less than a gross libel on the “fascinating beverage.” By this mistaken policy of trying to save three or four cents, the seed is not only sown for the future ruin of the dealer himself, but it also produces the effect of disgusting the public and casting discredit on tea as an article of food. While, on the other hand, if the dealer make a comparatively small but necessary sacrifice for the sake of future gain by selling Tea that is tea and be content with a fair and legitimate profit, satisfaction will be given to his customers, trade fostered and the consumption of this now most important food auxiliary increased at least two-fold in this country.

“Standard Chop,” or “celebrated district” teas, should always be selected when possible, and “first-crop” for high-grade teas, as first-crop teas are invariably superior (except in the case of Formosas) to the later pickings in flavor, aroma and keeping properties, due to the larger amount of theine and volatile oil which they contain, and possessing every quality except weight for which tea is valued or appreciated. To do this it will be necessary for the dealer to ascertain which “chop” is the best and which district has yielded the best picking during the current season, thereby making quality as well as quantity the test of excellence. For, as with wheat and other crops, the tea crop also varies according to the season and curing; some years being highly successful in one district while it may be a comparative failure in another. The “Tong-lees” may be heavy and flavory this year, thin and flavorless the next; while the “Tong-mows,” or some other “chop,” inferior in leaf and liquor last season may possess all the most desirable qualities this. Green teas, Japans, Congous, Souchongs, India, Ceylons and all varieties of tea being equally subject to these variations So that the advantages to be derived from a careful selection of the best “chop” and “district” teas of the season, with but slight consideration, will be manifest to the intelligent dealer in tea.

The tastes of communities differing so widely in the various sections of the country, the dealer must study and learn the particular variety and flavor best adapted to the locality or town in which he is doing business, as a tea that may give general satisfaction in one section may not suit at all in another. But generally in mining, milling or manufacturing districts or among working classes in cities, heavy-bodied Amoys and dark-leaved Foo-chous will be found the most popular. The taste for China and Japan teas in this country is undoubtedly an inherited one, but irrespective of this cause they are for the vast majority of tea-drinkers peculiarly the most suitable and best adapted, being softer, milder, richer, more mellow and wholesome than either the India or Ceylon growths, and it is only a cultivated and refined taste that can appreciate them at their true worth. In a community composed principally of Irish, English or Scotch, thick “fruity” Congous, heavy-bodied “tarry” Souchongs, Capers, Pekoes, India and Ceylon teas or combinations formed from these varieties will prove the most satisfactory. While Green teas are most in demand in the Southern States. Oolongs in the Eastern and Middle, Foochows and Formosas being chiefly sold in the larger seaboard cities, Amoys in the principal manufacturing districts, Japans in the Pacific and Northwestern, India, Ceylons and teas of the Congou order, in Irish, English and other foreign settlements.

All teas after ripening have a tendency to decay, some teas not keeping as well as others, there being a great difference in the time that some will keep before the deterioration becomes pronounced in comparison with that of others. And tea also possessing an natural aptitude to become impregnated with the odor of any high or foul-smelling article near which it may be placed, care should be taken to keep it away from such commodities as fish, soap, coal-oil, molasses and spices, as it quickly absorbs all pungent odors. Yet I have known of teas that were imported with or stored in close proximity to wine, oranges, lemons and even camphor to be improved in flavor, more particularly when very lightly tainted by such odors. Still teas should be kept as much as possible from the light and air, particularly in damp or humid weather, as the oxydizing influences of the atmosphere has a more or less deleterious effect upon them. They should never be sold out of freshly-painted bins or newly-japanned tea-caddies, being much better, at all times, to deal them out of the original packages, replacing the lead and lid when through. The most successful tea-dealers I have met invariably sell them in this manner. Do not keep your teas too close to a fire or stove, a dry, cool atmosphere of moderate temperature is always best.

The tea-market fluctuating considerably in the course of the year, it will be necessary for the dealer to understand something of the law of supply and demand, which affects the fluctuation to a considerable extent, before he can make profitable purchases. The dealer who is best “posted” in his business makes the best business man, so that the tea-dealer who not only understands the article he is dealing in, but whose knowledge and discrimination enable him “to buy the right tea at the right time” possesses advantages over his competitors, the value of which can hardly be overestimated. Each season, on the “first arrivals,” high prices are paid, and if there be a brisk demand those full prices are continued for some time, after which follows a dull, drooping or listless market, from which but little satisfaction can be obtained; but should the demand on arrival be light, through dealers holding off for better terms, the prices rapidly decline to a more reasonable level, it then becomes comparatively steady. When this is the case the decline occurs about the middle of September, and dealers will do well to take advantage of the choice selections of teas that arrive during the months of October and November. For the better buying of teas at this time it will also be found necessary to note the supply very closely, as during heavy shipments the market is nearly always easier, while, when the arrivals are light, the tea-market is higher. These points are deserving the special attention of the successful tea-dealer.

For some years past a new development of the tea trade has, to the surprise of the older wholesale and retail dealers, assumed a good deal of prominence, for if the advertisement columns of newspapers, startling placards at railroad stations and on fences form any criterion, the public are taking a liking to teas put up in pound and half-pound packages under fancy names—the latter having no relation whatever to any country, district or locality where the teas are grown. That the public should, to a certain extent, buy anything persistently forced upon its attention is perhaps possible, but tea put up in tin, lead or paper packets would seem a somewhat hopeless direction in which to attempt to draw the public taste. Tea in bulk, in the original lead-lined chests, undoubtedly keeps better, as it preserves the strength, flavor and aroma of the tea longer than when exposed to the oxydizing influence of the atmosphere, particularly in this climate, so that during transference into the tin, paper or unseasoned lead packet, ornamented with a “showy” label which the more gorgeous the more apt it is to communicate a taste of the ink, paint, glue or material in which it is packed to the tea they are intended to adorn. Again, these packets, labels and labor add as much as five to eight cents to the cost of the tea, together with the expense of flaunting them before the eyes of the public, which must be simply enormous. The public generally are ignorant in such matters, and the legitimate dealer might look with amused surprise on the apparent demand for packet teas if it were not that an increasing number of dealers are adopting the new system. Engaged as most of the grocers are in trying to stop the plague of all sorts of proprietary goods which yield them so little profit and make them the servants only of the manufacturers and proprietors, it is astonishing, to say the least, that other dealers should be found who are adopting the same system with tea. A grocer cannot manufacture spices or sugar, grow wine, distil whisky or brew beer, but he can, as generations of grocers have done before him, sell good tea out of an honest tea-chest,—or caddy—and make a respectable living, if not money, out of it for himself and not for others, while serving the public well at the same time. Surely, the attitude of the grocers on this question should not be one of doubt, as they have it in their power to make it clear to the public that they can sell cheaper, better and fresher teas of their own, and with a far better guarantee of the source of supply named or adhered to than if a paper or metallic packet with a fancy label, however attractive, is trusted to. Again, there can be no valid reason why every grocer, if he sees fit, should not put his own teas up and offer them under his own name and brand upon it, if his patrons should desire, a fancy and costly packet with no other advantages attaching to it.