Show TEA seventy rive million on pounds lin ported Ann annually itally for home consta I lon az Y express it is hardly years ago when john locke the philosopher wrote to his friend Lim borch then in 11 holland olland I want the best tea ten even ifft if it costs forty florins florans ft a pound only you must be quick or wo we shall lose abu this opportunity and I doubt whether we shall have another kur the importation and consumption of the tile stimulant is reckoned by the million pounds this much for not alone the advance made by cor commerce amerce but also for the widespread custom custo of tea drinking the demand in this country for fok tea is growing larger every year and the habit of drinking it jear has as become all but universal our close relations to china and japan favor the importation of the commodity in dai i t y and our merchants arc are ap quite ite I willing g to foster the rather injurious custom to the repletion of their pockets A reporter lor for the express called upon ba M A A low of the firm of low brothers at burling slip and after several questions elicited tile follo following V ng information we c I import n ort into this country py eaid said mr EIT low about pounds of tea each year year it lias become one of the chief importations of this country and as the population grows the con consumption s emption of tea becomes greater W within irbin the past five years the importations have in increased about pounds each year and the prospects are that the amount of leaf consumed will become larger and larger as the ven years ra speed by the greater f the cargoes often arc are landed at atoni sit a francisco or at the larger califi nia nia ports aad then are trans transport ort d across the country to nawt mcw aorl or whence nee the tea is distributed all over the land the casern people are legs less of tea drinkers than those who live in the west this apparently unaccountable fact is due to the pre presence fence of lime in almost all the water which is furn furnished blied to the largo cities for domestic purposes and itlie people li have ave ascertained that the uso sa of tea will neutralize to a great extent the action of the lime upon the stomach sto macli we obtain most of our tea from china proper a large quantity guanti ty from japan the better quality from the island of formosa and a small quantity of fermented tea from andia india the chinese tea is the popular favorite more imore because of its cheapness than because of its quality the For nimian tea is very fine it wag was only a few years ago when the island llan of formosa was opened and it was immediately found that the first crop of tea obtained from there was the best ever imported into this country tea needs a virgin soil ant and that it had in formosa it is not I like ike tho the g grape ra or other stimulant stimulant growing plant t which needs long cultivation to reach its highest standard of excellence but it demands that the tile ground bo be fresh and rich in japan the tea plant has a smaller le leaf and fand avery a very delicate flavor thesis tin s is of course speaking very generally because every plantation lias has its distinctive tive crop and the plants of one section arc are very distinctly distinctly marked from those of another T I can tell by the simple flavor of the leaf within ten miles odthe of the place where it has been grown in all probability alter after A america aerl england claims the tile largest quantity of tea but the leaf which the english is b p people copl c a affect tiec t is th lamented the e I a in en ted one the tea leaf is heaped in t the h e I plantation an tation and water poured upon I it t then b by th action of the heat beat of the sun t the e leaves become slightly decomposed and consequently fermentation sets in the tile tea is then taken talen rolled and burnt the fermented tea has a very peculiar caul ar flavor it is not pleasant I abi think to taste at least the americans do not care for it as the taste is is pungent sweet and sometimes sickening itis it is ii used in this countr country more for the purpose of mixing ivick with green tea than for any other purpose its influence in this mixture isto give the larger quantity a sweetish flavory that is relished by the western people especially in Ln england gland and perhaps throughout the continent the fermented tea is very much liked the reason for this peculiarity of taste is due in all probability to custom rather than to choice the indian tea is all of the fer dented kind bought the most eagerly in england out of the pounds of tea imported by tills this country only about pounds are used here this tea very rarely comes to this country directly it usually comes hereby way of england the value of all kinds of tea is regulated as a matter of cour course by its quality but the tile indian growth is less expensive than the others I am of the opinion that the failure which it has met with when its merchants hav bavi endeavored to force it into this market is duo due greatly to the firm hold the green and black teas have obtained on oil the americana americans almost two thirds of all the teas imported into this country is green while the remainder with the exception ofa of a few hundred bundred thousand pounds is black the prices of tea cannot be determined determine dl upon because becam b they fluctuate and arc are very seldom stable the value of seldom tea te this th year is however considerably considerate bl les lees than loi aa as been for a considerable sid erable time tho the first invoice of tea is 01 of course urse the most valuable and considerable sid erable rivalry is occasioned between the english and american merchants in their endeavors to land the first cargo in this country this ica lea is made more valuable than profit profitable able however as the expense of rapid transportation and find the high ligh prices demanded at the plantations ru run a the profits doam to a very narrow margin I think that the tea trade will increase by de degrees rees until af the price for it becomes almost mos t nominal there ia is a great competition and this of course brings the price down very low should a company be formed forme very however the price would rise and the trade become a monopoly tho the main reason for the I continued standard price is because transportation to this country is is very high igli and tea although light in in we weight takes up a great deal of room tea rea is taking the place of cofelt coal ee to some extent and may ey eventually e do so entirely |