porcelain bowl, not unlike a chemist's mortar, and crushed it into a
very fine powder. At the same time a quantity of gypsum was produced
and burned in the charcoal fires which were then roasting the teas.
The object of this was to soften it, in order that it might be readily
pounded into a very fine powder, in the same manner as the
Prussian-blue had been. The gypsum, having been taken out of the fire
after a certain time had elapsed, readily crumbled down, and was
reduced to powder in the mortar. These two substances, having been
thus prepared, were then mixed together in the proportion of four
parts of gypsum to three parts of Prussian-blue, and formed a light
blue powder, which was then ready for use.
"This colouring matter was applied to the teas during the process of
roasting. About five minutes before the tea was removed from the
pans--the time being regulated by the burning of a joss-stick--the
superintendent took a small porcelain spoon, and with it he scattered
a portion of the colouring matter over the leaves in each pan. The
workmen then turned the leaves round rapidly with both hands, in order
that the colour might be equally diffused. During this part of the
operation the hands of the workmen were quite blue. I could not help
thinking, if any green-tea drinkers had been present during the
operation, their taste would have been corrected, and, I believe,
improved.
"One day an English gentleman in Shanghae, being in conversation with
some Chinese from the green-tea country, asked them what reason they
had for dyeing the tea, and whether it would not be better without
undergoing this process. They acknowledged that tea was much better
when prepared without having any such ingredients mixed with it, and
that _they never drank dyed teas_ themselves, but justly remarked,
that, as foreigners seemed _to prefer having a mixture of
Prussian-blue and gypsum with their tea_ to make it look uniform and
pretty, and as these ingredients were cheap enough, the Chinese had no
objection to supply them, especially as such teas always fetched a
higher price.
"I took some trouble to ascertain precisely the quantity of colouring
matter used in the process of dyeing green teas, not certainly with
the view of assisting others, either at home or abroad, in the art of
colouring, but simply to show green-tea drinkers in England, and more
particularly in the United States of America, what _quantity_ of
Prussian-blue and gypsum they imbibe in the course of one year. To
14-1/2 lbs. were applied 8 mace 2-1/2 candareens of colouring matter,
or rather more than an ounce. To every hundred pounds of coloured
green-tea consumed in England or America, the consumer actually drinks
more than half a pound of Prussian-blue and gypsum. And yet, tell the
drinkers of this coloured tea that the Chinese eat cats and dogs, and
they will hold up their hands in amazement, and pity the poor
Celestials."
If the Chinese use it in these quantities to tinge the genuine leaf, how
much more must the English employ in making up afresh exhausted leaves!
That every spoonful of hyson or gunpowder contains a considerable quantity
of this deleterious dye will be seen by any one who places a pinch upon a
fine sieve, and pours upon it a gentle stream of water, when the tinging
of the liquid will show at once the extent of the adulteration, and the
folly of drinking painted tea. Assam tea, though not so inviting in
colour, is free from adulteration. A word to the wise is enough.
Of fifty samples of green tea analyzed by Dr. Hassall, all were
adulterated. There is one particular kind which is almost entirely a
manufactured article--gunpowder, both black and green--the former being
called scented caper. Both have a large admixture of what is termed "lye
tea," or a compound of sand, dirt, tea-dust, and broken-down portions of
other leaves worked together with gum into small nodules. This detestable
compound, which, according to Mr. Warrington,[3] who has analyzed it,
contains forty-five per cent. of earthy matter, is manufactured both in
China and in England, for the express purpose of adulterating tea. When
mixed with "scented caper," it is "faced" with black lead; when with
gunpowder, Prussian-blue: turmeric and French chalk give it the required
bloom. Mr. Warrington states that about 750,000 lbs. of this spurious tea
have been imported into Great Britain within eighteen months! Singularly
enough, the low-priced teas are the only genuine ones. Every sample of
this class which was analyzed by Dr. Hassall proved to be perfectly pure.
Here at least the poor have the advantage of the better classes, who pay a
higher price to be injured in their health by a painted beverage.
The practice of redrying used-up leaves is also carried on to some extent
in England. Mr. George Philips, of the Inland Revenue Office, states that
in 1843 there were no less than eight manufactories for the purpose of
redrying tea-leaves in London alone, whilst there were many others in
different parts of the country. These manufacturers had agents who bought
up the used leaves from hotels, clubs, coffeehouses, &c., for twopence
halfpenny and threepence per lb. With these leaves, others of various
trees were used, and very fine pekoe still flourishes upon the
hawthorn-bushes, sloe-trees, &c., around the metropolis. As late as the
year 1851 the following account of the proceedings of one of these
nefarious manufacturers appeared in the _Times_:--
"CLERKENWELL.--Edward South and Louisa his wife were placed at the
bar, before Mr. Combe, charged by Inspector Brennan, of the E
division, with being concerned in the manufacture of spurious tea. It
appeared, from the statement of the inspector, that, in consequence of
information that the prisoners and others were in the habit of
carrying on an extensive traffic in manufacturing spurious tea, on the
premises situate at 27-1/2, Clerkenwell Close, Clerkenwell Green, on
Saturday evening, at about seven o'clock, the witness, in company with
Serjeant Cole, proceeded to the house, where they found the prisoners
in an apartment busily engaged in the manufacture of spurious tea.
There was an extensive furnace, before which was suspended an iron
pan, containing sloe-leaves and tea-leaves, which they were in the
practice of purchasing from coffeeshop-keepers after being used. On
searching the place they found an immense quantity of used tea,
bay-leaves, and every description of spurious ingredients for the
purpose of manufacturing illicit tea, and they were mixed with a
solution of gum and a quantity of _copperas_. The woman was employed
in stirring about the bay-leaves and other composition with the
solution of gum in the pan; and in one part of the room there was a
large quantity of spurious stuffs, the exact imitation of genuine tea.
In a back room they found nearly a hundred pounds weight of redried
tea-leaves, bay-leaves, and sloe-leaves, all spread on the floor
drying.... Mr. Brennan added, that the prisoners had pursued this
nefarious traffic most extensively, and were in the habit of dealing
largely with grocers, chandlers, and others in the country."
This poisonous imitation green tea, "so largely supplied to country
grocers," was no doubt used for adulterating other green teas already
dosed with Prussian-blue, turmeric, &c. These have found their way into
many a country home of small means. When the nephew comes on a visit, or
the curate calls of an afternoon, the ordinary two spoonfuls of black are
"improved" with "just a dash of green," and the poor innocent gentleman
wonders afterwards what it can be that keeps him awake all night.
We often hear the remark from old-fashioned people that we have never had
any good tea since the monopoly of the East-India Company was broken up:
in this remark there is some truth and much error. There can be no
possible doubt that the higher-priced teas have fallen off since the trade
has been open, as the buyers of the company were perfectly aware of the
frauds perpetrated by the Hong merchants, and never allowed a spurious
article to be shipped. On the other hand, the great reduction which has
taken place in the price of the common black teas, both on account of the
cessation of monopoly and the reduction of the duty, has in a great
measure destroyed the English manufacture of spurious tea from indigenous
leaves. The extent to which this formerly took place may be judged from a
report of the Committee of the House of Commons, in 1783, which states
that no less than four millions of pounds were annually manufactured from
sloe and ash leaves in different parts of England; and this, be it
remembered, when the whole quantity of genuine tea sold by the East-India
Company did not amount to more than six millions of pounds annually.
If the better class of black and all green teas[4] are thus vilely
adulterated, the reader may fancy he can at least take refuge in
coffee--alas! in too many cases he will only avoid Scylla to fall into
Charybdis. Coffee, as generally sold in the metropolis and in all large
towns, is adulterated even more than tea. The Treasury minute, which
allowed it to be mixed with chicory, is at the head and front of the
offending. In the year 1840, this celebrated minute was issued by the
sanction of the then Chancellor of the Exchequer, Sir C. Wood, the
immediate consequence of which was that grocers began to mix it with pure
coffee in very large quantities, quite forgetting to inform the public of
the nature of the mixture, and neglecting at the same time to lower the
price. The evil became so flagrant that upon the installation of the Derby
administration Mr. Disraeli promised to rescind this license to
adulterate; but before the promise was redeemed, the administration was
rescinded itself. Mr. Gladstone, upon his acceptance of office, loath, it
appears, to injure the chicory interest, modified the original minute, but
allowed the amalgamation to continue, provided the package was labelled
"Mixture of Chicory and Coffee." It was speedily found, however, that this
announcement became so confounded with other printing on the label that it
was not easily distinguishable, and in consequence it was provided that
the words, "This is sold as a mixture of Chicory and Coffee," should be
printed by themselves on one side of the canister. It may be asked what is
the nature of this ingredient, that the right to mix it with coffee should
be maintained by two Chancellors of the Exchequer, during a period of
fifteen years, as jealously as though it were some important principle of
our constitution? Chicory, to say the best of it, is an insipid root,
totally destitute of any nourishing or refreshing quality, being utterly
deficient in any nitrogenized principle, whilst there are strong doubts
whether it is not absolutely hurtful to the nervous system. Professor
Beer, the celebrated oculist of Vienna, forbids the use of it to his
patients, considering it to be the cause of amaurotic blindness. Even
supposing it to be perfectly harmless, we have a material of the value of
8_d._ a pound, which the grocer is allowed to mix, _ad libitum_, with one
worth 1_s._ 4_d._ If the poor got the benefit of the adulteration, there
might be some excuse for permitting the admixture of chicory, but it is
proved that the combination is sold in many shops at the same price as
pure coffee.
Analyses made by Dr. Hassall of upwards of a hundred different samples of
coffee, purchased in all parts of the metropolis before the issuing of the
order for the labelling of the packages 'chicory and coffee,' proved that,
in a great number of cases, articles sold as "finest Mocha," "choice
Jamaica coffee," "superb coffee," &c., contained, in some instances, very
little coffee at all; in others "only a fifth, a third, half," &c., the
rest being made up mainly of chicory. Nothing is more indicative of the
barefaced frauds perpetrated by grocers upon the public than the manner in
which they go out of their way to puff in the grossest style the most
abominable trash. The report of the sanitary commission gives many
examples of these puff and announcements, which, we are informed, are kept
set up at the printers, and may be had in any quantities. We quote one as
an example:--
"JOHN ----'S COFFEE,
"_The richness, flavour, and strength of which are not to be
surpassed._
"Coffee has now become an article of consumption among all classes of
the community. Hence the importance of supplying an article of such a
character as to encourage its consumption in preference to beverages
the use of which promotes a vast amount of misery.
"John ----'s coffee meets the requirement of the age, and, as a
natural result, the celebrity to which it has attained is wholly
unparalleled. Its peculiarity consists in its possessing that rich
aromatic flavour, combined with great strength and deliciousness,
which is to be found alone in the choicest mountain growths. It may,
with perfect truth, be stated that no article connected with _domestic
economy_ has given such general satisfaction, and the demand for it is
rapidly increasing.
"John ----'s establishment, both for extent and capability, is the
first in the empire.
"Observe!
"Every canister of John ----'s coffee bears his signature, without
which none is _genuine_."
At the end of this puff the analyst places the words--
"_Adulterated with a considerable quantity of chicory!_"
More erudite grocers treat us to the puff literary, as in the following
instance:--
"Rich-flavoured coffees fresh-roasted daily.
"USE OF COFFEE IN TURKEY.
"Sandys, the translator of 'Ovid's Metamorphoses,' and who travelled
in Turkey in 1610, gives the following passage in his 'Travailes,'
page 51 (edit. 1657). Speaking of the Turks, he says, 'Although they
be destitute of taverns, yet they have their coffee-houses, which
sometimes resemble them. There sit they chatting most of the day, and
sip of a drink called coffa, of the berry that it is made of, in
little china dishes, as hot as they can suffer it, black as soot,
which helpeth, as they say, digestion, and procureth alacrity.'"
This pleasant sample of the puff indirect has also appended to it the
naked sentence--
"_Adulterated with chicory, of which not less than half the sample
consists._"
The worst kinds of adulterated coffee are to be found in that which is
sold in canisters. The value of the tin envelope cannot be less than 2d.,
and, as the coffee so sold is charged at the same price as that in a paper
wrapper, it must be evident that a more extensive adulteration is
necessary in order to make up the difference. Such, upon examination,
proves to be the case, as it appeared--
"That the whole twenty-nine packages, bottles, and canisters submitted
to analysis, with a single exception,[5] were adulterated.
"That in these twenty-eight adulterated samples the falsification
consisted of so-called chicory, which in many instances constituted
the chief part of the article.
"That three of the samples contained mangold-wurzel, and two of them
roasted wheat-flour."
We have said it often happens that the adulterations are adulterated.
Chicory is an instance of it. The original fraud is found to have ramified
in an endless manner; and Sir Charles Wood will doubtless be astonished to
hear of the hideous crop of falsifications his most unfortunate order has
caused to spring out of the ground.
Immediately the process of transforming chicory into coffee became
legalized by the Government, that article came into very extensive
consumption, and factories were set up especially for its secret
manufacture. The reason for this secrecy may be gathered from the list of
articles which are made to subserve the purpose: roasted wheat, ground
acorns, roasted carrots, scorched beans, roasted parsnips, mangold-wurzel,
lupin-seeds, dog's biscuits, burnt sugar, _red earth_, roasted
horse-chestnuts,--and above and beyond all _baked horses' and bullocks'
livers_. This statement rests upon the authority of Mr. P. G. Simmonds, in
a work entitled "Coffee as it is, and as it ought to be:"--
"In various parts of the metropolis," he says, "but more especially in
the east, are to be found 'liver bakers.' These men take the livers of
oxen and horses, bake them, and grind them into a powder, which they
sell to the low-priced coffeeshop-keepers, at from fourpence to
sixpence per lb., horse's liver coffee being the highest price. It may
be known by allowing the coffee to stand until cold, when a thick
pellicle or skin will be found on the top. It goes farther than
coffee, and is generally _mixed with chicory_, and other vegetable
imitations of coffee."
In confirmation of this horrible statement the sanitary commissioners of
the Lancet state that, on analysis, this substance, which
"possessed a disagreeable animal smell, ... consisted of some
imperfectly-charred animal matter."
The new regulation, enjoining grocers to sell coffee and chicory properly
labelled as such, is, no doubt, observed in respectable shops; but in the
low neighbourhoods the mixture as before is passed off for genuine Mocha.
However, the purchaser has the means of protection in his own hands. If he
prefers coffee pure, let him buy the roasted berry and grind it himself;
he will thus be sure of having the real article, and will get it in
greater perfection than by purchasing it ready ground.
In close proximity to the tea and coffee-pots stand the milk-jug and the
sugar-basin. What find we here? A few years ago the town was frightened
from its propriety by a little work entitled "Observations on London
Milk," published by a medical gentleman of the name of Rugg, which gave
some fearful disclosures relative to the manner in which London milk was
adulterated. Dr. Hassall's analyses go to show that, with the exception of
the produce of the "iron-tailed cow," none of the supposed defilements
really exist, and that the milkman is a sadly maligned individual. Water
is added in quantities varying in different samples from 10 to 50 per
cent.; and in the more unfashionable parts of the town _all_ the cream is
abstracted to be forwarded to the West-end. If milk _must_ be adulterated
in large towns, water is undoubtedly the most harmless ingredient; at the
same time it will be seen what a fraud is perpetrated upon the public by
selling milky water at 4d. a quart.
That the London milking-pail goes as often to the pump as to the cow we
have no manner of doubt. To bring the diluted goods up to a delicate
cream colour, it is common to swing round a ball of annatto in the can;
and other careful observers and writers upon the adulteration of food have
detected flour, starch, and treacle. All medical men know that children
are often violently disordered by their morning or evening portion,--an
effect which could not come from the mere admixture of water--and we must
confess that we ourselves believe the milkman to be a very wicked fellow.
We are afraid, if we look into the sugar-basin, we shall not find much
more comfort than in the milk-jug. We refer here to the ordinary brown
sugars, such as are generally used at the breakfast-table for coffee. It
is scarcely possible to procure moist sugar which is not infested with
animalculæ of the acari genus, a most disgusting class of creatures. In
many samples of sugars they swarm to that extent that the mass moves with
them; and in almost every case, by dissolving a spoonful in a wine-glass
of water, dozens of them can be detected by the naked eye, either floating
upon the liquid or adhering to the edge of the glass. Those who are in the
habit of "handling" sugars, as it is termed, are liable to a skin
affection called the grocer's itch, which is believed to be occasioned by
these living inhabitants of our sugar-basins. Horrible as it is to think
that such creatures are an article in daily use, we cannot charge the
grocer directly with their introduction; the evil is, however, increased
by the manner in which he mixes, or "handles," as it is termed in the
trade, higher-priced sugars with muscovados, bastards, and other inferior
kinds, in which the animalculæ abound.
In addition to this foreign animal element, grocers sometimes mix flour
with their sugar, and, if we are to put any credit in popular belief,
sand; but of the presence of this gritty ingredient we have never seen any
trustworthy evidence. Nevertheless we have said enough to show that the
tea-dealer and grocer do their best to supply the proverbial "peck of
dirt" which all of us must eat before we die. Would that we were fed with
nothing more deleterious or repulsive! Let us see, however, the base
admixtures one is liable to swallow in taking--
A CUP OF TEA _or a_ CUP OF COFFEE.
_In the Tea._
If Green--
Prussian-blue.
Turmeric.
China clay or French chalk.
Used tea-leaves.
Copperas.
If Black--
Gum.
Black lead.
Dutch pink.
Used tea-leaves.
Leaves of the ash, sloe, hawthorn, and of many other kinds.
_In the Milk._
On an average 25 per cent. of water.
Annatto.
Treacle.
Flour.
Oxide of iron.
And other unknown ingredients.
_In the Sugar._
If Brown--
Wheat flour.
Hundreds of the sugar-insect.
If White--
Albumen of bullock's blood.
_In the Coffee._
Chicory.
_In the Chicory._
Roast wheat.
" acorn.
" mangold-wurzel.
" beans.
" carrots.
" parsnips
" lupin-seeds.
" dog-biscuits.
" horse-chestnuts.
Oxide of iron.
Mahogany sawdust.
Baked horse's liver.
" bullock's liver.
_In the Milk._
Water 25 per cent.
Annatto.
Flour.
Treacle.
Oxide of iron.
And other unknown ingredients.
_In the Sugar._
If Brown--
Wheat flour.
Hundreds of the sugar-insect.
If White--
Albumen of bullock's blood.
As we perceive the teetotalers are petitioning Parliament and agitating
the towns for the closing of public-houses, we beg to present them, in
either hand, with a cup of the above mixtures, with the humble hope that
means will be found by them to supply the British public with some drink a
little less deleterious to health, a little more pleasant to the palate,
and somewhat less disgusting to the feelings. Some of the sugar impurities
may be avoided by using the crystallized East-Indian kind--the size of the
crystals not permitting of its being adulterated with inferior sorts.
We shall not dwell upon cocoa further than to state that it is a still
rarer thing to obtain it pure than either tea or coffee. The almost
universal adulterations are sugar, starch, and flours together with red
colouring matter, generally some ferruginous earth; whilst, as far as we
can see, what is termed homoeopathic cocoa is only distinguished from
other kinds by the small quantity of that substance contained in it.
There is scarcely an article on the breakfast-table, in fact, which is
what it seems to be. The butter, if salt, is adulterated with between 20
and 30 per cent. of water. A merchant in this trade tells the _Lancet_
that "between 40,000 and 50,000 casks of adulterated butter are annually
sold in London, and the trade knows it as well as they know a bad
shilling." Lard when cheap also finds its way to the butter-tub. Perhaps
those who flatter themselves that they use nothing but "Epping" will not
derive much consolation from the following letter, also published in the
same journal:--
"_To the Editor of the Lancet._
"SIR,--Having taken apartments in the house of a butterman, I was
suddenly awoke at three o'clock one morning with a noise in the lower
part of the house, and alarmed on perceiving a light below the door of
my bed-room; conceiving the house to be on fire, I hurried down
stairs. I found the whole family busily occupied, and, on my
expressing alarm at the house being on fire, they jocosely informed me
they _were merely making Epping butter_. They unhesitatingly informed
me of the whole process. For this purpose they made use of
fresh-salted butter of a very inferior quality: this was repeatedly
washed with water in order to free it from the salt. This being
accomplished, the next process was to wash it frequently with milk,
and the manufacture was completed by the addition of a small quantity
of sugar. The amateurs of fresh Epping butter were supplied with this
dainty, which yielded my ingenious landlord a profit of at least 100
per cent., besides establishing his shop as being supplied with Epping
butter from one of the first-rate dairies.--I am, sir, your obedient
servant,
"A STUDENT."