Serve with tea. B. WEIGH A TEASPOON OF TEA. Allowing one tea- spoon of tea to one cup, what would each cup cost ? C. GREEN TEA. 1. To one-half teaspoon of tea add one-half cup of water✪ Green Tea which is hot, but not boiling. Let it stand three minutes. 2. To one-half teaspoon of tea add one-half cup of boil- ing water, and boil, covered, for five minutes. 3. To one-half teaspoon of tea add one-half cup of boil- ing water. Let it stand three minutes, and then strain about half of it from the leaves. 4. Let the remainder from (3) steep twenty minutes and then strain. 5. Pour one-half cup boiling water through one-half teaspoon of tea in a fine strainer or tea-ball. Compare 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, as to color, flavor, and strength. TEA 75 Put a teaspoon of each into five test tubes, add one-half teaspoon of ferrous sulphate solution and set aside until black precipitate settles. This precipitate shows the amount of tannin (a substance in tea liable to cause diges- tive disturbances) which is extracted from the tea by each method. D. Class Experiments. BLACK TEA. Repeat C, but use black instead of green tea. Judging from these experiments which method of making tea is best? Why? Compare the amounts of tannin in green and black tea. E. MAKE A CUP OP TEA. Serve with the wafers. TEA Chinese tradition recognizes the use of tea since 2700 B.C., but it was not used in England or on the Continent until the latter part of the seventeenth century, nor was it imported into America until 1711. In 1660 Pepys, an Englishman of some political and social experience, records in his diary the taking of his first cup of tea, which he ex- plains is a "China drink." Now England and Australia use large quantities of it per capita compared with its con- sumption in the United States. Tea comes to us mainly from China, Japan, Ceylon, and India. There has been an attempt, however, to grow it in our own country, and some is produced successfully in South Carolina. Tea is made from the leaves of a shrub called thea, which grows from three to six feet high. In order to obtain the best flavor only new, tender leaves and buds are used, but as these shrubs send out four sets of shoots a year, there are four harvests. There are different 76 FOOD STUDY grades and varieties of tea plants, but, in general, the tea from each country has a characteristic flavor. Great differences, however, are due to the age and size of the leaf. The two leaves nearest the tip are the choicest and make the real Flowery and Orange Pekoe; but it is said the finest grades are so highly prized in their own countries that they are never sold in the United States. The leaves TEA LEAVES a, Flowery Pekoe ; b, Orange Pekoe ; c, Pekoe ; d, Souchong (first); e, Souchong (second); /, Congou; h, Bohea. which grow farther and farther down the stem make less and less desirable teas. In selecting teas, then, the size of the uncurled leaves and their uniformity should be considered. The substitution of a larger leaf than the brand calls for, or the addition of tea "dust", or of too large a proportion of stems, are now the chief adultera- tions. There are two chief methods of preparing the leaves for market, and these affect not only the appearance but also TEA 77

AI-modernized reading of the original text

Serve with tea. B. WEIGH A TEASPOON OF TEA. Allowing one teaspoon of tea to one cup, what would each cup cost ? C. GREEN TEA. 1. To one-half teaspoon of tea add one-half cup of water which is hot, but not boiling. Let it stand three minutes. 2. To one-half teaspoon of tea add one-half cup of boiling water, and boil, covered, for five minutes. 3. To one-half teaspoon of tea add one-half cup of boiling water. Let it stand three minutes, and then strain about half of it from the leaves. 4. Let the remainder from (3) steep twenty minutes and then strain. 5. Pour one-half cup boiling water through one-half teaspoon of tea in a fine strainer or tea-ball. Compare 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, as to color, flavor, and strength. TEA 75 Put a teaspoon of each into five test tubes, add one-half teaspoon of ferrous sulphate solution and set aside until black precipitate settles. This precipitate shows the amount of tannin (a substance in tea liable to cause digestive disturbances) which is extracted from the tea by each method. D. Class Experiments. BLACK TEA. Repeat C, but use black instead of green tea. Judging from these experiments which method of making tea is best? Why? Compare the amounts of tannin in green and black tea. E. MAKE A CUP OF TEA. Serve with the wafers. TEA Chinese tradition recognizes the use of tea since 2700 B.C., but it was not used in England or on the Continent until the latter part of the seventeenth century, nor was it imported into America until 1711. In 1660 Pepys, an Englishman of some political and social experience, records in his diary the taking of his first cup of tea, which he explains is a "China drink." Now England and Australia use large quantities of it per capita compared with its consumption in the United States. Tea comes to us mainly from China, Japan, Ceylon, and India. There has been an attempt, however, to grow it in our own country, and some is produced successfully in South Carolina. Tea is made from the leaves of a shrub called thea, which grows from three to six feet high. In order to obtain the best flavor only new, tender leaves and buds are used, but as these shrubs send out four sets of shoots a year, there are four harvests. There are different grades and varieties of tea plants, but, in general, the tea from each country has a characteristic flavor. Great differences, however, are due to the age and size of the leaf. The two leaves nearest the tip are the choicest and make the real Flowery and Orange Pekoe; but it is said the finest grades are so highly prized in their own countries that they are never sold in the United States. The leaves TEA LEAVES a, Flowery Pekoe ; b, Orange Pekoe ; c, Pekoe ; d, Souchong (first); e, Souchong (second); /, Congou; h, Bohea. which grow farther and farther down the stem make less and less desirable teas. In selecting teas, then, the size of the uncurled leaves and their uniformity should be considered. The substitution of a larger leaf than the brand calls for, or the addition of tea "dust", or of too large a proportion of stems, are now the chief adulterations. There are two chief methods of preparing the leaves for market, and these affect not only the appearance but also TEA 77

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