About Tea

Tea is the leaf of a shrub (Camellia sinensis) which is a native of China, and can also found in Japan, Siam, Upper Assam, and a few other places. In appearance the plant looks very much like myrtle, and usually grows to the height of five or six feet. It has a flower, similar to a wild white rose. When the flower is finished a small fruit develops containing several blackish seeds the size of a pea.
 
The parts of the plant used for tea are the leaves which are hard and glossy, and dark green in color. The leaves are not picked until the plant is three years old. Gathering the leaves is a tedious and delicate process as the leaves are plucked singly. One worker will pick about 15 pounds of tea each day. The leaf-gathering starts in the early part of spring and three crops are picked during the season.  Gathering the tea can be mechanised but hand picking is often preferred.

Preparing The Leaves For Use

The tea leaves are  put out in the sun for several hours and then they are rubbed between the hands until they become as soft as leather. They are then spread on metal plates which have been previously made so hot that the leaves quickly dry and shrivel up. They are then packed in chests, and each chest is marked with the name and district of the grower.

The popularity of tea spread from its origins in China to Western Europe and the Americas.  Tea was first brought into England in the reign of Charles II. One of the first instances in which it is mentioned is by Mr. Pepys, who remarked in his journal, "I sent for a cup of tea, a Chinese drink, of which I had never drank before."

For a long time tea was very expensive, selling as high as fifty shillings per pound. Some curious stories are told of the manner in which people, unacquainted with the nature of tea, first made use of it. Some boiled it and ate the leaves. Others, after boiling them, fried them in butter, all wondering what could be found admirable in such an insipid dish!


A Rhyme About Tea 


In winter and summer a cup of tea 
Is one of the sights that we love to see; 
When we shiver with cold, or are wet with rain, 
It very soon makes us feel warm again; 
And it greatly refreshes our wasted powers, 
As we sink exhausted in sultry hours; 
It nerves for action, or soothes to rest; 
It brightens the sad, and cheers the deprest; 
It puts at his ease a half-shy guest; 
And unlooses the silent tongue:  
Now please not to think it strange that we, 
Should write this rhyme in honour of tea, 
Since " Cowper" as you in his poems may see
The praises of tea has sung.