The Empire Tea Company.

Pelorus Guardian and Miners' Advocate., Volume 4, Issue 20, 14 March 1893, Page 3

The Empire Tea Company.

We have received from Messrs W. & G. Turnbull & Co. a leaflet containing a full descriptive report, written by a representative from the' Evening Post, of their large warehouses and the several industries carried on within their walls, the most important being the blending of teas, for which this firm has now a colonial reputation. After giving the dimensions of the warehouses and a description of the rooms the report goes on to say:—"Mr Shortridge, the tea expert, confirms the general impression that Chinese tea is being crushed out of the market of the civilised world by the superior flavoured leaf from India and Ceylon. Of course the superiority of the Ceylon tea is accounted for by the fact that the soil of the latter has not undergone such an exhaustion as that of China for countless centuries has been subjected to, and then again the growers in India and Ceylon have brought the most improved machinery to their aid in the drying and packing of the leaf. The blender shows the visitor some dozen or so of different qualities and prices of teas which the Empire Tea Company send out to the trade, from a good wholesome, finely flavoured Ceylon blend, retailed in very handsome packets at 2s per pound to the more superior blend at 3s the pound, and known as the Dragon and Houdah blends. The tea packing room is on the same floor, and here 14 men and boys are packing tins, leads, and packets as if their lives depended on the operation, as, indeed, they do so depend, The packing is performed by hand, and also by a large machine ot the mast modern pattern. The tea having been blended by workmen in the floor above is dropped down by means of air-tight shoots —this precaution being taken in order to preserve the perfect aroma of the leaf—into bins in the packing room, so that time and labour is thereby economised as much as possible. On the floor above the packing the blending is in full swing for eight hours a day. The blending room is air-tight. The different descriptions of leaf required to make the particular blend are put into a huge drum, the lid of which is closed tightly, and two men then commence to revolve the drum at a high rate of speed, which, of course, causes the teas to become thoroughly well mixed or blended. This important operation takes about ten minutes to complete. Each blend is again carefully tested in order to maintain the firm's standard." Besides tea blending Messrs W. & G. Turnbull & Co. carry on an extensive business in the preparation and packing of coffee, pepper, spices, powders of all kinds, vinegar, syrups, &c. The factory employs upwards of 50 men and boys, apart from the clerical staff, and these industries may be considered of great importance as a means of employing labour and deserve all the encouragement it is possible to give them.