DRYING OVER CHARCOAL.
"After showing the leaves spread out on the frames, he led the way to a sort of stove, where a man was manipulating some tea in a pan over a charcoal fire.
ROASTING TEA.
"'This is what we call roasting,' he said, 'and the great object of the roaster is to dry the leaves without burning them. You see he does not allow them to be quiet a single instant, but tosses and turns them in all directions, so that none may stick to the bottom of the pan, which they might easily do, owing to the moisture they contain.'
"We watched the roasting till we thought we understood it well, and as the place was hot we did not care to stay there a great while. The leaves lose their fragrance when first thrown into the roasting-pan, and give out a rank smell, but they gradually recover their perfume, and are ready for the next process, which is called rolling.
"The tea from the roasting pan was given to a couple of men, who stood in front of a table or bench, with bamboo mats before them. One had a large mustache, the largest we had ever seen on a Chinese face, and the other consoled himself for the absence of that hairy ornament by smoking a pipe.
"The roller takes as much tea as he can cover with both his hands, and places it on the mat in a sort of ball. He keeps them closely together, and rolls them from right to left; this motion gives each leaf a twist on itself, and rolls it so firmly that it retains the shape when dry. This part of the work requires peculiar dexterity, and can only be performed successfully after long practice. When a man becomes skilful in it, he can roll the tea with wonderful rapidity; and when his work is done, every leaf will be found separate from all the others, and twisted as though it had been passed through a machine.