HINTS TO TEA-MAKERS.

Wellington Independent, Volume XXVI, Issue 3233, 23 June 1871, Page 3

HINTS TO TEA- MAKERS.

It is said that half the human race ; drink tea of some soitor another. The Chinaman puts his tea in a cup, pours j hot water upon it, and drinks the infu- i sion off the leaves; he never dreams of sugar or cream. The Japanese triturates the leaves before putting them into the pot. In Morocco they put green tea, a little tansy, and a great deal of sugar, into a teapot, and fill up with boiling water. Jn Bokhara every man carries a small bag of tea about him, a certain quantity of which he hands over to the booth keeper he patronises, who concocts the beverage for him. The Bokhariot finds it as difficult to pass a tea booth as our own dram drinker does to go by a gin palace. His breakfast beverage is tea flavored with milk cream, or mutton fat, in which bread is soaked. During the daytime sugarless green tea is drunk, with the accompaniment of cakes of flour and mutton suet. Jt is considered an inexcusable breach of manners to cool the hot cup of tea with the breath ; but the difficulty is overcome by supporting the right elbow in the left hand and giving a circular movement to the cup. How long each kind of tea takes to draw is calculated to the second, and when the can is emptied it is passed round the company for each tea-drinker to take up as many leaves as he can hold between his thumb and finger — the leaves being esteemed an especial dainty. When Mr Bell was travelling in Asiatic Russia he had to claim the. hospitality of the Buratsky Arabs The mistress of the tent, placing a large kettle on the fire, wiped it carefully with a horse's tail, filled it with water, and threw in some coarse tea and a little salt, "When this was near the boilling point she tossed, the tea about with a brass ladle until the liquor became very brown, and then it was poured off into another vessel. Cleansing the kettle as before, the women set it again on tho fire, in order to fry a paste of meal and fresh butter. Upon this the tea and some thick cream were poured, the ladle was put into requisition, and after a time the whole taken off the fire and set aside to cool. Half-pint wooden mugs were handed round and the tea ladled into them, a tea forming meat and drink* and satisfying both hunger and thirst. — " Chambers' Journal."