CULTIVATION AND PREPARATION.
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The Chinese, from time immemorial, have been accustomed to raising their
tea on every available space of ground; on barren hill-side, marshy
plain and other patches of land unsuited for other purposes. Most of the
gardens are, however, situated in hilly districts, but in almost all of
them the soil is poor and sandy, varying considerably, even in districts
alike famous for the perfect growth of the plant.
The soil of the gardens situated on the hills is composed chiefly of a
brownish clay, containing large proportions of vegetable matter
intermixed with fragments of slate, quartz and sand-stone, held together
by a calcareous basis of granite. A soil, in fact, very similar to that
which produces pine and scrub-oak, while on the plains it is darker, but
containing a still greater proportion of vegetable matter, enriched by
sewerage but invariably well underdrained by natural declivities. Yet
while many of the gardens are situated on the tops of mountains, among
pine trees in some districts, and along river banks on others, the
Chinese, as a rule, prefer ground that is only moderately elevated, in
sunny sites, everything else being favorable. Many of the latter yield
more abundantly, but the product of the former is invariably the finest
in quality.
With regard to climatic essentials the plant endures a tropical
temperature well, at the same time accommodating itself to the cold of
winter without injury. But when cultivated for commercial uses in such
latitudes the seasons are found too short for its profitable production
there, and while it is successfully grown at zero cold in some
districts, it is nevertheless most lucratively cultivated in climates
where the thermometer rarely falls more than six degrees below the
freezing point. The climate varies to a considerable extent in the
different districts of China where tea is grown, being excessively warm
in the southern, and intensely cold in the northern provinces, snow
being on the ground for days together in the latter or green tea
producing districts. And though it has been proved by experiment that
this variety will bear a greater degree of cold than the black,
considerable snow falls annually in the province of Fo-kien, where Black
teas are grown. The most important climatic consideration, however, is
the amount of rain-fall, a dry climate being altogether unfit for tea
cultivation; a hot, moist or damp one being proved the best. The
rain-fall in the most profitable tea districts ranges from 80 to 100
inches per annum, the more falling in the spring months the better, and
that too must be equally diffused. But where irrigation can be
systematically introduced, this is of less importance.
PLANTING AND PICKING.
Tea is invariably raised from seed, in China, collected in the fall
after the last crop has been gathered and placed in sand to keep them
fresh during the winter months, and sown the following spring in
nurseries. In sowing the seed from six to eight are put in pots about an
inch below the surface, usually four feet apart, and covered with
rice-husks or parched earth. In growing, many of the seeds prove
abortive, scarcely one in five germinating. When the nurslings have
attained a height of from four to six inches they are transplanted to
the beds of the gardens in which they are to grow four to five feet
apart. The plants are never manured in China, nor does it appear to be
customary to prepare the ground for their reception, it being claimed by
many authorities that manure, while it increases the yield, invariably
spoils the flavor of the tea. Chinese growers in general asserting that
teas produced without the aid of manure are always the most fragrant and
aromatic.
The plantations are laid out in the early spring, and being well watered
by the copious rains which fall during this season, the young plants
establish themselves, requiring very little care thereafter. Until they
have attained a height of about 18 inches, the weeds are pulled
regularly, not raked, and the leading shoots pinched to induce them to
become numerous and bushy. When the season is dry they are saturated
with rice-water and the roots covered, and if severely cold they are
protected by a wrapping of straw, rising up in a cluster when the rains
come and become firmly established, after which they require very little
more attention except occasional weeding, until they are three years
old. In some districts the branches are periodically pruned, the
constant abstraction of the foliage having a tendency to reduce the
height and expand laterally making them resemble a collection of plants
rather than single shrubs, the size of the leaves in such cases being
smaller than when the plants are suffered to grow at will, but covering
the branches so thickly as to prevent the hand being thrust through. An
eastern exposure is avoided when near the sea, and care is also taken
not to overshadow them by huge trees or noxious plants, certain notions
prevailing concerning the injurious influence of such trees when growing
too near the tea plants. When the soil is good and the season favorable
the leaves can be picked when the plants are two years old, but if poor
and dry, three years are usually required for them to mature. On the
larger plantations three years are generally allowed before beginning to
gather the first crop or picking. A tea plantation at this age when seen
at a distance resembles a shrubbery of evergreens, the view being very
picturesque, the gardens representing a series of terraces descending to
the plain, and the rich dark-green leaves affording a pleasing contrast
to the strange and oft-times barren scenery with which they are so
frequently surrounded. There is a close analogy between the tea
plantations of China and the vineyards of France, the quality of the tea
varying according to the situation of the sites, the nature of the soil
and their exposure to climatic changes. Thus, there are in China
plantations of tea enjoying reputations equal to those of the best
vineyards of Burgundy, Champagne and Bordeaux.
There are three regular pickings in the course of a year. The first
known as the _Shon-cheun_ or “Early spring,” occurring about the middle
of April or beginning of May, according to the district, the product of
which is termed _Taou-cha_ or “head tea,” a very superior kind,
consisting of the youngest, tenderest, and most delicate leaves and
leaf-buds just expanding. The quantity obtained from this picking is
limited in quantity but simply superb in quality, the very finest teas
known to commerce, being prepared from them. The leaves are selected
with the greatest care and picked with the utmost caution, such pains
being taken to insure its excellence that for weeks before the harvest
commences, the packers, who have been previously trained are prohibited
from eating fish or other food considered unclean, lest by their breath
they should contaminate the leaves, being also compelled to bathe two or
three times daily in the picking season, as well as wear gloves during
the operation.
The second picking, called _Er-chuen_ or “Second spring,” takes place
between the end of May and beginning of June, when the branches are
literally covered with leaves, and yielding what is known in China as
_Tzu-cha_ or “filial tea,” from the fact of its producing the largest
quantity, constituting the most important crop of the season and forming
the principal one exported, but being greatly inferior to the first in
point of quality.
The _San-chuen_, or “third crop,” is gathered in July when the shrubs
are searched for leaves, and the product converted into what is termed
_Wu-kua-cha_ or “tea without aroma,” and though still more inferior to
the preceding ones in quality and quantity, is nevertheless an important
one commercially, forming the bulk of that exported as well as for
blending with and reducing the cost of the preceding crop. A few leaves
of the first picking will support five successive immersions, yielding
five cups of moderately strong tea; the second supplying only two and
the third but one of the same strength to a like quantity.
A fourth picking or rather “gleaning,” termed the _Chiu-lu_ or “Autumn
dew,” is made in the more prolific districts in September and October,
the product of which is known as _Ta-cha_ or “old tea,” but of little
value commercially. The leaves being large, coarse and almost sapless,
are generally retained for home consumption by the poorer Chinese or for
dyeing purposes, and still another grade is sometimes made by chopping
up the stems and twigs of the foregoing with a shears, a practice,
however, much to be condemned. The operation of picking is one of the
greatest nicety, only women and children being employed in its
performance. A small basket is strung by a cord around the neck of each
picker, in such a manner as to leave the hands free, a larger basket
being placed near for general use. The branch is held by one hand while
the leaves are carefully plucked with the other, for, except in the
latter gatherings, no portion of the stem or stalk must be broken off
with the leaves.
The quality of the tea largely depends on the exact time of picking, as
the choicest leaves may be changed into an inferior grade of tea on a
single night if the exact proper time to pick them be neglected. The
practice of picking the young leaf-buds just as they are beginning to
unfold would also prove greatly injurious to the plants, were it not for
the copious rains that fall during the season of picking, causing fresh
leaves to sprout out and elaborate the sap necessary to constitute the
further growth of the shrub. The weather also exerts a great influence
upon the character of the tea, as, for instance, when the rains fall
equably and a bright sun appears after heavy showers, the plants become
thick and flourishing, the leaves bright green in color, elastic in
texture and much richer in flavor. Whereas, when too much falls at one
time, they become mildewed, broken and less flexible and limited,
stunted and sapless when too little falls during the season of growth.
The product of single plants vary so much that it is difficult to
estimate the average quantity. A plant of three years’ growth yielding
only about 8 ounces of green leaves to a picking, equivalent to about 80
pounds per acre, while at five years’ growth the same plant will produce
five times that quantity, but the quality of the tea will not be near so
good. One Chinese authority states that 2 catties, about 2 pounds, of
green leaves are obtained from the more celebrated trees, but that the
average quantity was between 10 taels and 1 cattie, or from 1 pound to
22 ounces annually, adding that a single _mou_ (acre) of land contained
from 300 to 400 plants. From these varying statements it is evident that
no definite amount can be fixed on as an average product per plant, per
acre or per annum. The average collection for each picker is from 14 to
16 pounds of raw leaves per diem, the average wages varying from four to
eight cents per day, according to the skill of the picker.
CURING AND FIRING.
As a general rule in China the small growers do not prepare the tea for
market, simply curing them up to a certain point in which condition they
dispose of it to the merchant or commission man, locally known as
“tea-men,” who send agents into the country and who buy it in small
quantities from the growers and carry it to _hongs_ or warehouses
established at different points in the tea districts. In this
preliminary preparation the leaves when first collected by the grower
are spread out in light layers on straw mats and exposed to the sun
until they are thoroughly withered, when they are gathered up and placed
on bamboo trays and triturated until a large portion of the sap or juice
is pressed out. After this operation they are again exposed to the sun
and then dried in rattan cylinders, separated in the middle by a
partition, covered on top, and underneath of which is a chafing vessel
of ignited charcoal. The leaves when thrown into this concavity are
constantly agitated until the process is completed, finishing the
cultivator’s work, the leaves being delivered to the merchant or factor
in this state. The quantity for a “chop” or shipment being selected
according to the quality of the leaf and the district producing it. The
merchant or factor has them picked over by women and children to remove
the stems and fibre which still remain attached to the young sprouts
before completing its final preparation for the foreign market. The
drying, buying and transporting of the leaves from the gardens to the
hongs occupies considerable time, during most of which the but partially
prepared tea is very much at the mercy of the elements.
Tea leaves, when first picked, possess none of the color, odor or flavor
of the tea of commerce, these properties being developed by the numerous
processes to which they are subjected in the operation of curing and
firing, and for which the Chinese have a long vocabulary of technical
terms. The definition of which, as vouchsafed to the “outside
barbarians,” are intended more to mystify rather than elucidate the art.
The operations of Tea manufacture may, however, be classified in the
following sequence: Evaporating—Fermenting—Sunning—Firing—Rolling; each
process having to be carried to a certain specific point, or if under or
overdone, the leaf is spoiled and the tea correspondingly injured.
The partially withered leaves are packed in small cotton bags, loosely
tied at mouth, and placed in open wooden troughs or boxes perforated at
the sides with numerous holes, in which they are pressed and kneaded by
the feet, to expel all superfluous moisture, the object being to extract
all excess of tannin the principle to which tea owes its bitterness and
astringency. If the leaves be fermented without previously going through
this process, the tea will be too pungent and bitter. The fluid driven
out through the holes is of a greenish, semi-viscid nature, the quantity
expelled from the leaves being considerable. Properly evaporated, the
leaves when pressed in the hand return to their regular shape, the stem
bending double without breaking.
The process of fermentation is accomplished by next emptying the leaves
into bamboo baskets and covering them with cotton or felt mats, to cause
a retention of heat and hasten the fermentive changes. Having been
allowed to stand in this condition, the time requisite for this process,
being learned only by experience, being more rapid in dry, warm weather
than in cool and damp. If the leaves be allowed to remain in a heap
after evaporating, so that heating by natural fermentation should occur,
the tea will be greatly injured. The process is stopped by emptying the
leaves and spreading them out on large mats, exposed to the sun’s rays.
The effect of proper fermentation is to make the tea richer, smoother
and more pleasing in flavor. Tea in this respect being like tobacco,
which if dried over a fire when first cut, becomes so sharp and bitter
as to sting the tongue.
During the process of “sunning” the leaves are tossed up and turned over
repeatedly, so that the whole may be diffused and thoroughly permeated
by the sun. With bright sunshine one hour’s exposure is sufficient,
after which they are ready for the final processes of firing and
curling. One of the results of the sunning process is to evaporate in a
greater degree the properties that produce nervousness or wakefulness in
the tea.
As in the case of its botanical classification, much error and confusion
for a long time existed with regard to the production of the varieties
known to commerce as Green and Black teas. It was claimed at one time
that the former were prepared exclusively from the species botanically
termed _Thea Viridis_, and the latter came from _Thea Bohea_. It was
also stated that the difference in color was due to a variation in the
soil, climate and methods of cultivation, and again that Black teas were
prepared only from plants grown on hilly sites, and Green teas solely
from those cultivated on the plains in a soil enriched by manure. These
botanical names and groundless conjectures have for a long time misled
the public, later and more careful investigation fully disproving such
erroneous impressions. But while it is now admitted that the greater
portion of the respective commercial varieties known as Green and Black
teas are prepared from the corresponding botanical species in their
respective districts, it is more from custom, convenience or demand than
from any other cause. The manufacturers cater to the latter, the workmen
also preferring to make that kind best with which they have the most
experience. Chinese tea men now admitting that both kinds are prepared
at the will or pleasure of the manufacturers in the Black and Green tea
districts. At Canton and other treaty ports in China it is an open
secret that both varieties are prepared from either species according to
the demand, the difference in color being entirely due to the different
methods of preparation from the first stage. In the
PREPARATION OF GREEN TEAS.
When the leaves are brought in from the gardens, they are spread out
thinly on flat bamboo trays, where they are allowed to remain exposed
from one to two hours, in order to evaporate any superfluous moistures,
the time depending much on the state of the weather, after which they
are removed to terraces or verandahs built expressly for the purpose of
firing and curling, and containing from ten to twenty small furnaces
about three feet high, each having at the top a series of shallow pans,
termed _Kuo_, built into brick-work, low in front, but rising gradually
at the sides and back, having a flue beneath and a fireplace at one end.
The pans are heated to a certain degree by a charcoal fire made in the
furnaces underneath. Charcoal being used exclusively for the purpose, as
smoke of any kind would injure the flavor of the tea. A limited quantity
of raw leaves are thrown into the _Kuo_ at a time, rapidly moved about
and shaken up with both hands until they become affected by the heat,
making a cracking noise and give out considerable vapor, the freshest
and juiciest cracking first.
The operators meantime continue to stir them rapidly as possible with
their bare hands until they become too hot to be endured, the object
being to expose them equally to the action of the heat, and at the same
time prevent them from burning or scorching. When the heat becomes too
intense they are lifted rapidly above the _Kuo_ and allowed to fall
gradually to cool them, any burned leaves being instantly removed. After
being allowed to remain in this state from four to five minutes, during
which they become moist and flaccid, they are quickly removed with a
shovel resembling a fan and transferred to a long, low table made of
split bamboo and covered with matting and surrounded by several
_Saihoos_, who divide the leaves among them, each taking as many as he
can hold in his hands, rolling them from left to right with a circular
motion into the form of a ball, which is compressed and rolled upon the
table, to rid them of any excess of sap or moisture, and at the same
time curl or twist the leaves. During this process they are frequently
shaken out and passed from hand to hand with a rapid motion, until they
reach the head workman, who examines them carefully to see if they have
attained the requisite twist, after which they are separated and spread
out in bamboo trays until the remainder have undergone the same process.
A second set of operatives now collect them and turn them over and over,
toss and retoss them in the air to a considerable height, while a third
keeps fanning them in order that they may cool more speedily and retain
their curl longer, those containing the most sap curling quickest,
tightest and retaining it the longer. When the firing and curling
operations are completed, the leaves are again exposed to the action of
the air, so as to admit the passing away of the expressed moisture and
at the same time impart a crisp appearance.
When a sufficient quantity of leaves has been rolled they are again
placed in the _Kuos_, under which a slow but steady charcoal fire has
been kept burning and stirred with a rapid motion by the hands of the
_Saihoo_ until they become thoroughly dried and the green color
permanently fixed, that is, until there is no longer any danger of them
turning black. At this stage the leaves are of a dull-green color,
becoming brighter as they cool, in which state they are termed by the
Chinese _Mao-cha_ or “Cat tea.” The next and last process consists of
winnowing or passing the leaves through sieves of varying sizes to free
them from stems, dust and other extraneous matter, and separate them
into the different kinds of Green Tea known to commerce. After which
they are again refired, the coarser leaves once and the finer grades
three to four times in order to bring out the color more fully and make
them retain their curl longer. In the
PREPARATION OF BLACK TEAS.
The leaves undergo the same process of evaporation and fermentation as
with the green, but for a much longer period. They are spread out thinly
on large mats and allowed to lie in this condition for at least
twenty-four hours, after which they are gathered up and thrown in the
air and allowed to fall back again in order to separate them. They are
next turned and returned for a considerable time, being slightly beaten
or patted with the hands meantime until they become soft and pliable,
when they are again heaped and allowed to lay in this state for about an
hour, and when examined, at the end of this time they are found to have
undergone a slight change, becoming darker in color, moist and flaccid
in texture and emitting a sweet, fragrant odor. At this stage they are
placed in the _Kuos_ and fired for about five minutes, rolled on bamboo
tables and shaken out thinly on sieves placed outside the “hong” and
exposed to the oxidizing action of the atmosphere for about three hours,
during which the operatives are employed in going over the sieves,
turning and separating the leaves from each other.
After the leaves have lost considerable sap and become correspondingly
reduced in size they are next removed into the factory and placed a
second time in the pans for three or four minutes, rolled as before and
put into tubular bamboo baskets, narrow in the middle and wide at both
ends, and suspended over charcoal fires for from five to six minutes,
during which they are carefully stirred and watched until they begin to
assume a dark color, the operations of heating and twisting being
repeated from three to four times, the heat being gradually reduced at
each operation, and during which the operators make holes with their
hands through the centre of the leaves in order to equally diffuse the
heat and give vent to any smoke or vapor from the charcoal. They are
then covered up, placed aside until they become perfectly dry and their
black color firmly established, improving in appearance as they cool.
When there is no longer any danger of their becoming green, the final
processes of sifting, sorting and grading is performed at the
convenience of the workmen.
With four _Kuos_ and six _Saihoos_ only from 400 to 500 pounds of
prepared tea can be cured in a single day, it requiring 400 pounds of
raw leaves to produce 100 pounds of cured tea. The leaves of the earlier
pickings being smaller, more tender and juicy, the yield is
correspondingly less, the leaves containing the most sap curling
quickest, tightest and retaining it longer.
It may here be observed in regard to the preparation of Green and Black
teas that the leaves intended for conversion into the latter variety are
allowed to lie exposed to the action of the sun and air for a
considerably longer time than those of the former, that they are raked
and tossed about until they become more soft and pliant, and that they
are allowed to ferment longer before firing. And, again, that after
firing and curling they are exposed to the oxydizing influence of the
atmosphere in a moist state for hours previous to being fired a second
time and finally dried in baskets over a slow fire. While the leaves
intended for Green teas are immediately fired and curled after being
picked, and dried as quickly as possible after the rolling process has
been completed. The differences in the methods of preparation are
therefore most marked, and satisfactorily accounts for the difference in
their color, flavor and aroma, as well as for the effects—nervousness
and wakefulness—produced in some constitutions by Green teas, due to the
greater amount of sap contained in the leaves.
But, for the at one time commonly-received opinion that the distinctive
color of Green teas was imparted by curing in copper pans, there is not
the slightest foundation in fact, since copper is never used for the
purpose, repeated experiments by unerring tests having failed to find a
single trace of that metal in any Green teas.
Later investigations proving that the hue of Green teas is due as much
to their manipulation as to the degree of heat at which they are fired.
It has been found that at equal temperatures the leaves of both will
turn black if allowed to lie as long before or during firing, the green
color being retained only by the excessive motion, the latter tending to
accelerate the power of evaporation of the juices, and which is further
augmented by incessant fanning.
GRADING AND PACKING.
The final grading of Green teas also differs from that of Black, there
being two distinct styles or “makes” of the tea—rolled and twisted. They
are first separated and then sifted, in which operation four sieves are
used, two to separate the small from the large round or rolled leaves,
and two for the curled or twisted. After being sorted or separated they
are again fired into deeper pans at a much higher temperature, and
winnowed while hot in large circular bamboo trays, to free them from any
remaining chaff or dust, the choicer grades being hand-picked previous
to being sent to the _Twa-tu-tia_ (Tea market), which is held in the
nearest town or village to the district of production. The inferior
grades are generally disposed of in an unassorted condition to the
native factors or foreign merchants, who afterwards sort, grade and pack
them for export.
The grading or classing of Black teas for their first market is
performed differently in the different districts. The most common
custom, however, is to sort the dried leaves at the hongs, according to
their size, style and quality, by collecting them in heaps or large
layers, and rake them down so as to mix them well together and make them
uniform in grade and average cost; the leaves being more often the
product of different plantations, and even districts. The product of
each plantation is brought by coolies in cotton bags or bamboo baskets
to the tea market, and when disposed of are removed to the “Go-downs,”
or warehouses, situated in the adjacent villages, where the teas of a
district are stored until they are disposed of to the native factors or
foreign agents, who travel through the country in the interest of
commission houses or merchants at the treaty ports, and by whom they are
again fired, graded and winnowed to free them from any remaining
impurities. When the orders are filled the teas are transported across
the country on the shoulders of coolies, or sent down by river or canal
in “junks” to the shipping ports, the time occupied in transit varying
according to means, being usually from six to eight weeks.
Previous to being packed for export in the lead-lined chests in which
they are received in this country, the teas are again subjected to a
still further firing, with the object of totally evaporating any
moisture they may have absorbed in transit from the interior or by
laying exposed in the storehouses, as well as to better fit them for the
long sea voyage, after which the tea is weighed in “catties,” and placed
in the chests, the packer pressing it down with his hands. When another
cattie is put in he steps on top, places his hands behind his back and
throwing his head forward goes through a sort of a tread-mill dance,
until the leaves are tightly compressed into the smallest possible
compass. More tea is then put in and pressed down in the same manner
until the chest is filled, when the leaden lid is put on and soldered,
the chest being nailed, clamped, matted and rattaned later, numerous
hands, men and women, being employed in its final packing.
Before matting a Chinese character termed a “Chop-mark” is placed on the
side of each chest, ostensibly to denote the packer or picking, but
although the same “crop” or brand is received year after year from the
same shipper it does not necessarily follow that the grade or quality
will be the same or even equal to that of the preceding ones.
The term “chop” in Chinese means contract, and does not, as is claimed,
refer to the crop or picking of any particular garden or season. In
trade it is applied to a quantity of tea frequently composed of the
product of different gardens, or piens (localities) and even districts
averaged or made uniform in the piens of the Twa-tu-tia by the factors
before forwarding to the shipping ports. When a sufficient quantity of a
certain specified grade has been secured from several growers to make up
a chop, it is carried to a warehouse in the adjacent village, where it
is all mixed together, averaged, refired and packed for the foreign
market. The quantity for a chop being selected according to the quality
of the leaf and the district producing it, and considering how chops are
made up—a few piculs from several gardens, often widely apart, they are
wonderfully uniform in grade. Still, although year after year the same
“chops” are received from the same shippers, it does not follow that the
chops of one year or season will be as fine as those of the preceding or
of equal quality. It being by no means an unusual practice for the
packers in the interior to leave the chests unmarked until they reach
the shipper, who, knowing the chops must be in demand at that particular
season in the consuming countries, supplies them to order, or, at least,
not to use one of bad repute.
The average cost of medium to fine grades of tea is 40 taels (about $20)
per picul (133⅓ pounds) laid down at the port of shipment is as follows
at the present time: The refiring, packing, leading, chests, matting and
rattaning varying from $3 to $4 per picul more.
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