TO MAKE TEA.
There is
very little art in making good tea; if the water is boiling, and there is no
sparing of the fragrant leaf, the beverage will almost invariably be good. The
old-fashioned plan of allowing a teaspoonful to each person, and one over, is
still practised. Warm the teapot with boiling water; let it remain for two or
three minutes for the vessel to become thoroughly hot, then pour it away. Put
in the tea, pour in from 1/2 to 3/4 pint of boiling water, close the lid, and
let it stand for the tea to draw from 5 to 10 minutes; then fill up the pot
with water. The tea will be quite spoiled unless made with water that is
actually ‘boiling’, as the leaves will not open, and the flavour not be
extracted from them; the beverage will consequently be colourless and
tasteless,—in fact, nothing but tepid water. Where there is a very large party
to make tea for, it is a good plan to have two teapots instead of putting a
large quantity of tea into one pot; the tea, besides, will go farther. When the
infusion has been once completed, the addition of fresh tea adds very little to
the strength; so, when more is required, have the pot emptied of the old
leaves, scalded, and fresh tea made in the usual manner. Economists say that a
few grains of carbonate of soda, added before the boiling water is poured on
the tea, assist to draw out the goodness: if the water is very hard, perhaps it
is a good plan, as the soda softens it; but care must be taken to use this
ingredient sparingly, as it is liable to give the tea a soapy taste if added in
too large a quantity. For mixed tea, the usual proportion is four spoonfuls of
black to one of green; more of the latter when the flavour is very much liked;
but strong green tea is highly pernicious, and should never be partaken of too
freely.
Time.—2 minutes to warm the teapot, 5 to 10 minutes to draw the strength
from the tea.
Sufficient.—Allow 1 teaspoonful to each person, and one over.
TEA.—The
tea-tree or shrub belongs to the class and order of Monadelphia polyandria in
the Linnaean system, and to the natural order of Aurantiaceae in the system of
Jussieu. Lately it has been made into a new order, the Theasia, which includes
the Camellia and some other plants. It commonly grows to the height of from
three to six feet; but it is said, that, in its wild or native state, it
reaches twenty feet or more. In China it is cultivated in numerous small
plantations. In its general appearance, and the form of its leaf, it resembles
the myrtle. The blossoms are white and fragrant, not unlike those of the wild
rose, but smaller; and they are succeeded by soft green capsules, containing
each from one to three white seeds. These capsules are crushed for oil, which
is in general use in China.
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