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MARKETS FOR INDIAN TEA IN THE of the Tycoon to enter into “ the comity of the UNITED STATES AND CANADA. nations.” Our first taste of the amber-coloured, burnt Our readers will have noticed that Messrs. Doane flavoured tea, which is such a favourite with our & Co. of Chicago estimated the consumption of tea in Yankee cousins was in Paris, a good many years the United States at 72,000,000 lb. Mr. Sibthorp’s ago. It was provided for us as a treat by the then calculation is not so high, his figures being a little correspondent of the Daily News, but we could not under 70,000,000 lb. The population of the United honestly say that we admired it. Taste in regard States being fully fifty millions, it follows that the for tea is, however, very much a matter of educa­ consumption of tea is considerably under 1J lb. per tion : some people do not take kindly to Indian caput. In Britain, the consumption of tea last year tea at once, and a few persons are so depraved in taste exceeded 160,000,000, lb., which, for a population of as not to admire even the Ceylon leaf, until the second thirty-five millions, gives, for each individual, over or third time of tasting. The extreme cold of the 4£ lb. In regard to coffee, the position of the two climate in Canada and parts of the United States, countries is more than reversed ; for the pe?ple of may, perhaps (?) account for the preference given to Britain have been so thoroughly cheated and disgusted highly -fired and green teas, which have almost ceased in the matter of coffee, that they do not now consume to be used in Britain and which, recently tried on anything like a pound a head of this beverage. England the Melbourne market, found but scant favour. The is as eminently a tea-drinking country as the United “ Japs ” are an enterprizing race, and they'are strain­ States people are coffee drinkers; but, unhappily, ing every nerve to push their peculiar teas and their while it can be said that in the United States the imitations of China and Indian produce. India, how­ consumption of tea is increasing, of England it must ever, (including Ceylon) is likely to take, ere long, be confessed that her consumption of coffee—that is first place in the tea markets of the world. Ad­ of true coffee is decreasing. Mr. Sibthorp shews that mirers of the American ladies must grieve to learn the Canadians in adhering loyally to Britain have that they are not good, honest, orthodox tea drinkers preserved to a good extent the national predilection and tea dispensers, like their English sisters, but for tea. Canada with a population of only 4£ millions that they take the infusion of the fragrant leaf in consumed last year 13,400,000 lb. of tea, or, as nearly the shape of an iced drink! If it be true, as stated, that as possible 3 lb. per head. In Canada, however, the the people of the United States,and especially the female consumption of tea is not now increasing at the same portion, are of defective physique, it ought to be rate as prevails in the United States ; but, if Indian matter of serious consideration whether improvement teas are “ pushed,” which they never yet have been, might not be secured by abandoning the limited aud Mr. Sibthorp believes that Canada will afford a perverted use of tea and consuming it as it ought splendid market for them. It may be interesting to to be consumed in large quantities and after the see what the consumption of tea by the leading orthodox fashion ! It is a maxim amongst chemists countries inhabited or colonized mainly by the British that the degree of civilization to which a country has race (Anglo-Saxon, Celtic. &c.,)amounts to. We have attained can be tested by the quantity of sulphuric not the exact quantity for Australia now beforeus, but as acid it uses. A still better test, we submit, would the figures were 15,000,000 lb, a couple of years ago and be the aggregate consumed by the population of such the imports in 1880 were over 22,000,000 lb., we do “ diffusive stimulants ” as tea, coffee and cacao, to not think we can err greatly in taking the consump­ the displacement of alcoholic drinks and narcotics. tion by 2| millions of population in 1881 at 18,000,000 It is evident that during last year an exceptionally or 6£ lb. per head. If, as we believe, we are near the large proportion of low class, inferior aud positively mark then we get for exhausted or deleterious teas were shipped from China, The United Kingdom ... 160,000,000 lb. to the markets, not of Europe and Australia merely, The United States ... 70,000,000 ,, but to those of the western continent. The result Australia ... ... 18,000,000 ,, Canada ... ... 13,000,000 ,, was for a time, to lower the standard of prices of Indian as well as China and Japan teas; but the Total ... 261,000,000 lb. Indian article has at length asserted its superiority Figures, these, which are capable of great expansion, if the beyond all doubt, and the shippers of the cheap peace of the world can be preserved and its progress rubbish from China could not have acted better if in population and wealth allowed to go steadily on. their direct object had been to promote the sale and There ought to be no stronger opponents of the consumption of the superior tea. Such is ever the wicked war spirit than producers of articles which result of “ways that are dark and tricks that are enter larger into the food of human beings. China vain ” as opposed to honesty, which is the best policy still supplies the vast proportion of the tea con­ in trade as it is the right course in morals. For sumed beyond her borders as well as about 1,200,000,000 the present it is Japan tea as against China, which lb. said to be used internally. But Japan and India, is finding increased favour in the United States (al­ are competitors with the Celestial Empire, the pro­ though last crop is complained of as inferior) but gress of the latter, in the western as well as the when Indian teas are really “ pushed ” as they are eastern world being clearly destined to be great and about to be in the United States as well as Canada, rapid. Why the Americans should have taken so the superior quality of the new candidate for favour specially to Japan teas, which may be described will be recognized in America, as it has been in literally, as “ all-fired” teas, we scarcely see, unless Britain and is daily more and more the case in the it be as atonement for having compelled the land British colonies of the south. As to America grow. 137 ing her own tea, no doubt that vast country has year, but which the Trade Review accounts for suitable soil, if not climate ; but unless the working in the following words :—“ The statistics given show an apparent decrease in consumption from the Port of New classes abandon their attachment to good wages and York during 1880 of about 8,500,000 lb. but, in analyz­ their hatred of the “ Heathen Chinee”—welcoming ing these figures in connection with the general course hordes of the latter to their land and their bosoms— of trade throughout the year, and the indications of con­ the question of cost of labour stands an impassable tinued prosperity in the country, to say nothing of in­ barrier in the way. The wages of 10 cents per creased population, it is impossible to adopt the con­ diem, which the American journalist mentions, is, of clusion that there has been a falling-off in the consump­ tion of this article of food. The distribution in pro­ course, composed of cents of a Spanish dollar. It gress during the year has developed the fact that very is, therefore, whether applied to wages or the prices considerable quantity of stock, withdrawn from first of tea, somewhat more than twice the value of two hands during the year 1879, under the influence of the of our cents : say 1 American cent = 2J Ceylon cents, “ boom” which led to such an inflation of the volume of Will experts in tea, excusing our ignorance, inform busin'ss, as well as of values, had not been consumed us what is the precise meaning of “ basket fired” on the 1st January as was th-n supposed, but was in reality carried over, and formed an important part of teas and whence their superiority ? We should also the actual available supply for the year under review. like to know if any considerable proportion of tea In other words, the sudden spirit of speculation infused planters or tea experts in Ceylon have abandoned during the Autumn months of 1879 led to an extensive the old idea that the special fumes of charcoal are stocking-up by second-hand dealers and small traders essential to the good quality of tea, and accepted the throughout the country. The sluggishness of the dis­ tributive demand all through the year has made this conclusion that teas dried by “ Sirocco” or other fact more and more apparent, thereby demonstrating machines, or by mere artificial heat, without charcoal that the business, which ordinarily should have been fumes, are as good or better than teas roasted over spread over six months, was, in the prevailing excitement, charcoal fires crowded into as many weeks.

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