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Show TEA TREE. EAs eS MAaS Sr rhe ‘Ne ceaaanes — ane ee5) od atra _ Ws 998 TEA TREE. as in China, the is chiefly consumed within the country; where h exportation we knowis very considerable, and the soeg notois it which great to exercise the arts of sophistication, in ent. defici not are se Chine the rious are figures In the Chinese drawings above mentioned, ‘there Rinute of ent differ the ting of several persons apparently separa ng near standi ts baske l severa tea, and drying it in the sun, with ty. quanti erable consid in and nce, them filled with a white substa what as well as ain, uncert is d applie To what use this may be in the the substance is; yet there is little doubt that it is used any uce introd not do se Chine the se becau manufacture of tea, the to t respec some in s relate what but , pieces thing into their ne subject. is Wearebetter acquainted with a vegetable substance which fraOlea employed in giving a flavour to tea. This is the in teas grans, the flowers of which are frequently to be met with uent unfreq not exported from China, The plant itself is now in our stoves*. The flowers also of the Camellia Sesanqua and of the Arabian Jasmin are sometimes mixed amongtheteas, for the same purpose of increasing their fragrance. The Chinese call the former Cha whaw, or flower of tea. It is cultivated in vast abundance in China, notso much forthis purpose, as for its nut, whichyields an esculentoil, equal to the best which comes from Florence. The tea plant is particularly valuable from the facility of its cultare on the sides and very tops of mountains, in situations fit for little else +. Weare not certain what motive induced the natives of China and Japanfirst to use an infusion of tea; but it is highly probable that it was in order to correct the water, which is said to be brackish and ill-tasted in many parts of those countries {. Sir George Staunton says, that persons of rank in China are own so careful about the quality of the water intended for their consumption, that they seldom drink any without its being di- stilled ; and every Chinese infuses tea or some other vegetable supposed to be salubrious, in the water which he uses. Like beer in England, tea is sold in public-houses in every town, also and Caby the side of public roads, and on the banks of rivers * Lettsom, p. 43. + Staunton’s Embassy, vol. ii. p- AGT. ¢ Lettsom, p. 19. 999 nals, both in China and Japan; noris it unusual for the bure thened and wearied traveller to lay downhis load, refresh hime self with a cup of warm tea, and then pursue his journey *. These qualities of taking offthe ill taste of water, and refresh. ing after fatigue, have been experienced in other countries besides China and Japan. Thus Kalmsays, “ If tea be useful, it must be so in travelling through a desert country, where wine or other liquors cannot conveniently be carricd, and where the water is generally unfit for use, as being full of insects. In such cases it is very pleasant whenboiled, and tea is infusedin it ; nay, I cannot sufficiently describe the fine taste it has in such circum. stances. It relieves a wearytraveller more than can be imagined, as I have experienced with many others who have travelled through the forests of America: on such journeys tea is found to be almost as necessary as victuals.” Forster, the translator, adds, that on his travels through the desert plains beyond the river Volga, he has had several opportunities of making the amie observations on tea, and that every traveller in the same circumstances will readily allow them to be very just +. Captain Forrest, in his Voyage to New Guinea, relates several instances, wherein the sailors experienced the exhilarating effects of this infusion t. Other travellers have borne testimony to this pleasant and salutary effect of tea. And persons, after violent exercise, or coming off a journey much fatigued, and affected with a sense of general uneasiness, attended with thirst and great heat, by drinking a few cups of warm tea commonly experience immediate refreshment. Neither the Chinese, nor the natives of Japan, ever use tea before it has been kept at least a year; because whenfresh it is said to prove narcotic, and to disorder the senses, The Chinese Pour hot water on the tea, and draw off the infusion in the same manner as is now practised in Europe; but they drink it withOut sugar or milk. The Japanese reduce the tea to a fine powder, by grinding the leaves ina hand-mill; the cups arefilled with hot water, and as much of this powder as might lie on the o of a moderate-sized knife is put into each cup, and stirred out till the liquor foams, and it is sipped while warm. Ac—_—. * Embassy, vol. ii. p. 66, 69. + Travels in North America, vol. ii. p. 304, Engl, ed. } Lettsom, p. 20. |