Page 6 Advertisements Column 4

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXII, Issue 7268, 5 March 1885, Page 6

The Canterbury Pren of the Bth November last, thai refers to Messrs. Nelson, Moate, and Co., tea merchants, Auckland, Ohriatchurch, Dunedin, and Wellington:—Messrs. Helton, Moate, and Co., who have, since their starting four years ago, gained bo high a position in the commercial world of the colonies, are as length, in the centre of the new block of buildings in High-street, next to the Empire Hotel, located in premises worthy ef their business. At first sight the visitor may fail to recognise the window as belonging to a tea shop. It is very handsomely fitted up with a partition of finely polished wood, whioh out* off any view of the counters. In the window the central object is a large image of some Japanese god, cat in some heavy wood, and weighing no less than half a hundredweight. The deity looks benevolent and intelligent, the development of his forehead being particularly striking. . He is surrounded by objects of his native land— Japanese j*rs, vases, and paintings, and a very handsome tray for handing tea, cut (apparently nut of tortoieeshel"* in the shape of a fish, whose tail is artfjf W adapted to be used as a handle by the wr, a {>"» His owners find that this Gsh is much appreciated, not to say, coveted, by Ohristchurcb. ladies, and they hare frequently to refute offers to purchase him. . No one has yet bid for the god. Inside, the shop fulfil* the aesthetic promise of the. window. ' It is lined with a very handsome polished wood, pickedoat with gold, and nicely carved, and there at* numerous handsome jars 'in blue and white, with raised imitations of leaves and lizards and such like things. The fittings of this shop cost £500, and the wholesale business being carried on in Bedford Bow, there is ample room for the firm's large retail trade. This is the sole example in the colonies of a shop devoted solely to the sale of tea,.and the firm has good grounds for its assertion that there would be difficulty in finding its equal in the world in point of elaborate decoration. Such profuseness indicates success, and that Messrs. Nelson, Moate and Go. have certainly obtained. At the Ohristohuroh Exhibition they gained gold and silver medaln. against the principal Melbourne houses, and their business ha» grown till they are establish*! in all the towns of New Zealand, and have agencies throughout Australia. Mr. Nelson is the presiding genius of the place, his experience and judgment as a taster having been the main cause of the popularity of the firm's blended teas. Blending is a very fine art, and requires as much cultivation ef the palate as the prim* donna bestows upon her voice, or the piano tuner on his ear. It is the same with tea as with whisky— the amateur taster gets far more pleasure than the professional. Moreover, the teataster like the chef who earns a thousand a-year by presiding over some patricians' feasts, pays for his large gains by a troublesome and never-ending solicitude for and attention to bis health. His duties, too, a.re arduous. Mr. Nelson states that scarcely a day passes on which he does, not liquor some tea* and make a careful ttudy of their flavours. The firm uses no less than fifty different kinds, drawn from Chink, India, and Ceylon. Green tea is tabooed in their blends, Mr. Nelson being convinced of its injurious nature. Before coueluding we may mention one interesting fact ascertained by him, which is somewhat surprising at first sight, and that is the great variation in the quality of our artesian water.' The same tea infused in water taken from place* only a quarter of ; a mile, apart 'will give flavours entirely distinct. Mr. Nelson thinks this i* due to the varying nature of the shingle. .', •'A Primb MLinistbb."—JNewGuinea.— The destiny of nations ha« often depended upon th« digestion of a Prime Minister.. New Guinea.—" How I wish I had a dozes bottles of Eno's fruit Salt! It is the beat medicine 1 haTe ever had. and the-most refreshing drink I have yet tried."—explorations bj the Rev. J. Ghalmeis, London Missionary Society. Caution.— each bottle, and see that the capsule is marked "Eno's Fruit Sal*;" without it on have been imposed on by worthiest imitation* eld by all Chemists, price 2s 9d and U Kd. Prepared only at iCno's Fruit Salt Works, Hatcham, London, 8.8., by J. 0. Eno's patent. — —..,.. <