SECRETS OF TEA BLENDING.

Hokitika Guardian, 7 April 1926, Page 3

SECRETS OF TEA BLENDING.

(Geo. If. Holden in "Daily Mail.”) A successful ten blender must possess more than delieate ta-to. He must know the chemical const inients of water in every part of the British Isles. Tea being an infusion of leaves in water, tbe kind of water matters just as much as the kind of tea. As the water of two different districts is scarcely ever nreeise-lv tho same, the softness of any water must be known before a tea can be blended to suit it. For easy reference information showing the kind of water used in almost every part of the British Isles Ts charted c:n a map. As fast as conditions change fresh data will be added to keep tbe compendium"always up) to date.

AVlion tea consignments are required for retailers in tbe different parts o 7 the country, the chart is consulted, ami all. grades of tea can be blended to suit local conditions.

Stronger teas need to be sent to some districts, while others demand- tlio weaker blends, the chemical constituents of the different waters acting on the leaves so that the ten when brewed is almost the same in both places.

Years ago. before this system was adopted, blending tea to suit a certain locality, was merely a matter of chance, and resulted in numerous failures. A tea. that tasted delicious in Middlesex proved rank and hitter when brewed and drunk in certain parts of Yorkshire and Derbyshire. Likewise a. tea that suited Brighton was an utter failure when brewed in Kent. To-da.v tea blenders leave nothing to chance. Even where A district is not charted because of its smallness a blend of tea can be made to "fit.” Samples of the water are first obtained and analysed and a new blend of ten is built, up step by step until all the finer flavour of the leaf is brought out. 'There is one rule which, if closely observed hv a buyer, will always .safeguard getting the right blond. And that is, buy your tea only in the locality where you intend to use it.