GENERAL.

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXIX, Issue 4731, 10 August 1935, Page 3

GENERAL.

HOW TO JUDGE TEA. Paradoxical as it may seem, it is not wise for the housewife to go by the best taste when attempting to find whether her tea is good, or poor. Tea tasting is a full time job which requires years of practice before one becomes efficient. It is far simpler to tell by the leaf. The leaf of a good tea always differs in several ways from that of an inferior one. So, if these differences can be recognised the quality of the tea becomes apparent by looking, not tasting. First, take a handful of tea, shake it out on a piece of white paper and examine it carefully. . Immediately it is noticed that the leaves are not all black, some being yellow. These scat* tered yellow pieces are the tips of the leaf, the best part of the tea. Very little tip is found in inferior teas, whereas fine tea has so much that it presents a bright golden appearance. A fair sprinkling should be found in medium priced tea. But make sure that the tip is genuine. Inferior tea often contains imitation tip—little pieces of chopped up stalk, which, of course, have not the flavour of real tip. To tell the difference, pick out a piece of tip and rub itbetween the finger and thumb; the genuine tip will break up, but the imitation remains whole. The next difference in leaf between good and inferior tea is slightly less obvious, but just as conclusive. Most people believe tea to bo black in appearance. Such is the case in poor tea, but a better quality is not really black. Hold the tea to the light and look into it carefully. The first colour impression received is -that of black, but it is suddenly noticed, not jet black. About the whole tea there is a brownish tinge or, as it is known, a black background A first class tea invariably has this peculiar appearance.