=Formosa Oolongs=—Also known to trade as “Tam-suis,” from being shipped from that port, are unique in leaf, and flavor differing widely in character, possessing a rich, natural bouquet entirely unknown to any other variety. The dried leaf is dark greenish-yellow in color, evenly and artistically curled, crisp and “crapy” in texture, small, shapely, uniform, and green when infused, generally “tipped” with a brownish edge, the result of fermentation. The liquor is bright, clear, and golden in the cup, body round and mellow, ripe and rich and aromatic in flavor. A really choice Formosa tea when drawn will fill a room with a delightful aroma peculiar to itself, difficult to describe, but variously pronounced as “jessamine,” “cowslip” or “primrose” odor, but still totally unlike that of any other plant or flower in the vegetable kingdom, having a “Formosa flavor” pure and simple, attributed to the soil, and absorbed by the plants during growth, and to preserve which it has to be continually cultivated in new places. Unlike other varieties the later pickings of Formosa teas are heavier and stronger than the earlier gatherings; though sweet and fragrant, are light-bodied and evanescent. The medium and lower grades are dark-brown in color, somewhat rough in style, not being as well cured or curled as the finer sorts. The infusion is also darker in draw, fuller in body, but not near as fragrant or aromatic in flavor, the finer grades improving as it cools, the former deteriorating under the same circumstances and revealing a slightly “herby” taste. Formosa Oolongs are cultivated by native farmers who have small gardens, some of whom do not raise over one hundred pounds at a picking, but have from three to five pickings in a season. Unlike other varieties, the first picking of Formosa is the poorest, the second crop being better and the last or autumn crop is best of all. This inversion is due to climatic causes, the island being visited with heavy rains during August, after which the warm weather of September causes the plant to grow luxuriantly, filling the leaf with sap, added to which the moisture of the atmosphere causes the leaves to ferment quickly during the process of curing, allowing the manufacturers to cure the leaf without exposing it to the sun. The great strength of the leaf enables the manufacturer to fire the leaves longer; the longer they are fired the longer they will keep, the third crop, or “Autumn teas,” that have been well-fired improving with time after exposure to the air, the action of the atmosphere bringing out the fragrance of the tea, the toasty flavor at the same time disappearing.