THE ROMANCE OF TEA.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXI, Issue 9166, 14 August 1908, Page 7

THE ROMANCE OF TEA.

The romance of tea has yet to be written, and a most interesting work .it should be. One of the most instructive chapters would be the displacement of China teas by those of Ind;a and Ceylcn. New Zealand, too, would have a place in the romance, for her consumption per head is about 6£lb of tea per annum for every person, man, woman, and child, in the Dominion. Indian and Ceylon teas have made their first appearance in New Zealand nearly thirty y3ars ago, when they were introduced by Nelson, Moate and Co., who handle no other teas. So steadily has this 'firm grown that, while some of the iprincely houses of London and elsewhere have fallen behind in the trade, or given it up altogether, Nelson, Moate and Co, have never looked bark, and it is claimed that they are to-day doing the biggest tea trade, on • a population basis*, of any other house in the world. The growth ,of the business has been such a3 to necessi tate the erection of a large and specially designed premises, and these have just been occupied. They are situated in Victoria and Blair .Streets, and have a most striking appearance. ,Keinforcsd concerte has been used throughout, and, except for doors and sashes, the buildings are absolutely fire proof. They have been designed for the handling ■of four million pounds of tea annu- | .ally, which is about two-thirds of the total consumption of tea in New Zealand.

«n the course of a chat with Mr H. son, who has had 35 years' ex- ' perience of tea tasting and blending, a representative of the "Fnst" learned that taste in tea was largely ..governed by the chemical constituents of the water used. In the tasting room, yesterday, teas were seen in the process of tasting—teas from the chest, teas of various blends, teas for special purposes and special districts, were being tested for colour, strength, time of infusion, and other chaiacteristice. The electrically driven machinery was seen at v/crk, and perhaps the most interesting process was that of .leaf-breaking. When teas leave the gardens they are of various sizes of leaf, and these must be broktn down to size, in order to to effect bknding. Then the tea must be cleaned, i.e., freed from dust. When mixed, the tea is stored in great bins, whence it is taken for packing in tins, lead-foil paper—and even billies for mining communities. The packing, blending, making of tii:s, and other work incidental to the business keep a Llarge staff busily employed. Eventually the firm intends supplying the trade direct from India and Ceylon through their Wellington headquarters only, instead of having branches at Auckland, Dunedin, and Christchurch, as at present. Nelson, Moate and Co. have not only these branches, but have branches in Colombo and Hobart, and their interests in Calcutta are watched by one • of the largest of the great Indian tea -houses.' Nelson, Moate and Co. is the oldest firm engaged in the tea trade in Australasia.