=Gunpowder=—Termed by the Chinese _Choo-cha_ or “Pearl tea,” so named from its small, round and “shotty” form. It is generally prepared from the smallest and youngest leaves of the tea plant, its quality corresponding to the picking and district of growth. The product of first crop is sometimes known as “Pinhead,” from its extremely small, globular and granulated appearance. That prepared from the second crop is larger and not as hard rolled, while the third and fourth pickings are respectively still larger and more irregular in form, but, while darker and heavier in liquor, they are not near as delicate or fragrant in flavor. =Imperial=—Derives its trade name from being the make or style of tea used in the Imperial household and the wealthier Chinese. That exported is prepared from the larger and older leaves of the respective pickings and rolled in the same manner as the former, from which fact it is sometimes called “Big Gunpowder” and “Pea-leaf.” But while larger and bolder in make it possesses much the same drawing and drinking qualities, excepting that it is heavier and darker in liquor and not as delicate or aromatic in flavor. The true Imperial tea, known in China as “Flower tea,” not because it is prepared from the flower or blossom of the tea-plant, as is erroneously supposed, but from its being considered the “perfection of tea.” This variety is never exported owing to its limited production and being also very lightly fired in curing, it is very susceptible to moisture, the damp of a sea voyage tending to greatly impair its delicate properties. =Young Hyson=—Is a corruption of the Chinese term, _Yu-he-tsien_ or “Early spring,” from being picked early in the season. In make the leaves of the finer grades are extremely small, firmly, if not artistically twisted, and almost wiry in texture, being prepared from the youngest and tenderest leaves just expanding. The leaves of the later pickings are correspondingly larger and looser in make and appearance, and relatively inferior in drawing and drinking qualities to the earlier pickings. =Hyson=—Known to the Chinese as _He-tsien_, “Flourishing spring,” from being gathered in the full spring-time is a large, loosely-curled leaf, prepared from the older leaves of the respective pickings which cannot from their size and lack of succulence be either rolled or curled. They bear the same relation to Young Hysons that Imperials do to Gunpowder, and preserving the same characteristics in a relatively minor degree.