THE TEA TRADE IN NEW ZEALAND.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1727, 29 December 1887, Page 3

THE TEA TRADE IN NEW ZEALAND.

Few of those who may be classed uader 'tie head of the geueral public haVe any idea of ;he vast Btrides made m oonnection with the tea trade m New Zealand of late years, as evidenced by the riae and progreßa of the firm of Nelson, Moate, and Co. This fi-m, which c'aim to be the tionaerc of the tea bending trade m Ne» Zealand, stared business m 1879. A< this period tea blending was an unknown art In the colony, and blended tea was not used — we were then content to t»ke the cup which cheers but does no< inebriate m its crude state, unaoftened by the art of the tea blender, by which the various flavors are combined into one harmonious whole. Now the scene is ohauged, and the progress of the fim of Nelson, Moate, and Co. is an index whereby the extent of the alteration whioh the tea ttade m New Zealand has undergone may be gauged. By means of their enterprise, agencies for the sale of } their blended teas have been established m every town, village, and hamlet m the colony. From the Bluff m the South to the Three Kings m the North the name and fame of Nelson, Moate, and Oo '* blended teas hare become * household word amongst the settlers. They have establishments In Dunedln, Ohristohurch, Wellington, and Auckland, and there fa about them an appropriateness m the matter of surroundings and fittings whioh at once strikes the vfaitor. The bead office is lv Chris' church, where there is, m addition to the retail establishment, a large warehouse and bond. Altogether, it may ba noted, some 60 hands are employed m ftonnection with the business of the ficm. It has been said that imitation ia the aincsroat form of flattery, and no doubt when the imitation does not go the length of putting forward' an inferior article as a superior one, the flattery may be eDJoyable. Tho firm of Nelson, Moato, and Co., like others who i have succeded m producing an article which, from its excellence, has commanded a large amount of public favor, has, however, had to fight against imitation whioh is not flattery, inasmuch as it r>aa been of a oharacter which la likely to detract from the well-earned reputation of their teas. This imitation has been carried to Bach an extent that the very color of the paper used, and the snaps of the tins, and every mlnut w have been copied with great fidelity. Though this Js exceedingly flattering to the firm, as showing that their teas have secured so great a hold of the public favor as to be worth imitation, yet it is more than likely that the people may be deceived into osin^ teas of an inferiok description, under the belief that they have been blended by Messrs Nelson, Moate, and Co. Still, despite this, the sales of the teas blended by the firm are increasing every month, and it may confidently be predicted that at no distant date they will command even a larger share than they now do of the tea trade of the colony.