Artistic Blooming Tea

TEA IS FROM A GRANT TREE IN THE SOUTHERN CHINA.

The tree may grow from one or two feet to as much as twelve. In the rivers and gorges of the Province of Si Chuan , China there are trees whose girth is such that it requires two men to embrace them. Those trees must be felled for plucking.

Its trunk is suggestive of the gourd and its leaves of the gardenia. The flower is like that of the wild red rose turned white. The seeds are like those of the coir palm. The leaves have the fragrance of cloves while the roots are as those of the walnut.

The character for tea, which we call Cha, is sometimes made with ''herb" as the significant element, sometimes "tree" and sometimes both. Its common name is varied with Chia, She, Ming or Ch'uan.

Tea grows best in a soil that is slightly stony, while soil that is graveled and rich is next best. Yellow clay is the worst and shrubs that are planted there will not bear fruit.

In planting and transplanting tea, the same techniques apply as for the melon, but the tea may not be picked until the plant's third year. Tea that grows wild is superior; garden tea takes second place. Whether grown on sunny slopes or in shady groves, the best leaves are russet. These are superior to the green leaves. Tea from the young and tender shoots in the plant's first flush is better than that from the buds. The best leaves are those which are tightly curled. Leaves that are open and unrolled are of second quality. Tea picked on the slopes or in the valleys of a sunless mountainside is not worth the effort.

Tea is of a cold nature and may be used in case of blockage or stoppage of the bowels. When its flavor is at its coldest nature, it is most suitable as a drink. If one is generally moderate but is feeling hot or warm, given to melancholia, suffering from aching of the brain, smarting of the eyes, troubled in the four limbs or afflicted in the hundred joints, he may take tea four or five times. Its liquor is like the sweetest dew of Heaven.