The early history of tea is probably contemporary with that of China, although, in that country, the first authentic mention of the plant was as late as A.D. 350; while, in European literature, its earliest notice occurs in the year 1550. The first important consignment of tea into England took place in 1657. Chinese tea made its appearance in the United States in 1711; in 1858, the importation of Japan tea began. During the season of 1883-1884, the importation of tea into this country[4] was--from China, 30½ millions of pounds; from Japan, 32½ millions of pounds. Recently, numerous shipments of Indian tea have been placed upon our markets, the quality of which compares very favourably with the older and better known varieties. During the past four years the consumption of tea in this country has materially decreased; whilst that of coffee has undergone an almost corresponding increase. The _per capita_ consumption of tea and coffee in the United States as compared with that of Great Britain is as follows:--United States, tea, 1·16; coffee, 9·50; Great Britain, tea, 4·62; coffee, 0·89. In the year 1885 our importation of tea approximated 82 millions of pounds, that of coffee being nearly 455 millions of pounds. Genuine tea is the prepared leaf of _Thea sinensis_. The growth of the tea shrub is usually restricted by artificial means to a height of from three to five feet. It is ready for picking at the end of the third year, the average life of the plant being about ten years. The first picking is made in the middle of April, the second on the 1st of May, the third in the middle of July, and occasionally a fourth during the month of August. The first pickings, which obviously consist of the young and more tender leaves, furnish the finer grades of tea. After sorting, the natural moisture of the leaves is partially removed by pressing and rolling; they are next more thoroughly dried by gently roasting in iron pans for a few minutes. The leaves are then rolled on bamboo tables and again roasted, occasionally re-rolled and re-fired, and finally separated into the various kinds, such as twankay, hyson, young hyson, gunpowder, etc., by passing through sieves. The difference between green and black tea is mainly due to the fact that the former is dried shortly after gathering, and then rolled and carefully fired, whereas black tea is first made up into heaps, which are exposed to the air for some time before firing and allowed to undergo a species of fermentation, resulting in the conversion of its original olive-green into a black colour. The methods employed in the preparation of the tea are somewhat modified in their details in the different tea districts of China and Japan. In Japan two varieties of the leaf are used, which are termed “otoko” (male), and “ona” (female), the former being larger and coarser than the latter. After picking, the leaves are steamed by placing them in a wooden tray suspended over boiling water, in which