=Paklum=—While fuller and rounder in body than Paklin, yields a sweet
and pleasant liquor, but is inferior to that of the latter variety in
flavor and aroma. The dried leaf is also very black, fairly made and
often “tippy” in the hand.
Some Congou teas are also produced in other districts of China, being
known to trade as Amoy, Ankoi, Qui-fa, Padrae, Pekoe and Canton Congou
teas.
=Amoy Congou=—Known to trade also as “Swat-how,” is invariably burnt in
flavor, but when the crop is good, is brisk and strong in the cup. The
dry-leaf being coarse and loosely folded, they deteriorate very rapidly,
becoming wild or “weedy” in flavor as they mature.
=Qui-fa=—Is a “tarry” tea, allied to Amoy, but more evenly curled and
blacker in color. The liquor is strong and brisk, and not quite as rank
or bitter as that of the former. The infused leaf is very coarse and
irregular in form, often broken and very dark in color.
=Ankoi Congou=—The difference between Ankoi and Amoy Congou is not very
wide, the former being ranker, if anything. They are generally rougher
in make, dull-black in color, thick and muddy in the cup, bitter and
astringent in flavor, more particularly the commoner grades, which are
in addition broken, stemmy and dusty.
=Padrae-Congou=—Is a strong, high-fired tea, large in leaf, black and
“crispy” in style, and useful only for its great strength and pungency
in the cup. The lower grades are frequently “soapy” or “mousey” in
flavor, and invariably dusty.
=Pekoe-Congou=—Approximates closest to Chingwo in make and general
appearance, but are more artistically twisted and darker in color and
“Pekoe-tipped,” the flavor being sacrificed to style and finish. The
infused leaf is medium sized, regularly formed and reddish in color,
while the liquor is fairly rich, fragrant and pekoe-flavored to a high
degree.
=Canton Congous=—Are principally manufactured teas, being composed of
exhausted leaves, refired and faced with plumbago, or other
coloring-matter, and do not contain the semblance of tea in the cup.
=Campoi=—A corruption of the Chinese term _Chien-pei_, or “Kampoey,”
meaning “selected for firing;” is a particular variety of Congou,
smaller in leaf, darker in color and much better curled, but not as dark
in the infusion. It possesses a more delicate flavor, is not as strong
in body, and being limited in quantity, but little is ever exported.
=Bohea=—Is a term applied in China to a sort composed of old, broken and
inferior leaves, and the refuse of the Congou kinds. It was formerly
largely exported to England, but is now retained chiefly for home
consumption, from its cheapness, by the poorer Chinese.
NEW DISTRICT CONGOUS
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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