In color, flavor and character, Japan teas are totally distinct from any and all other varieties, the finer grades being exceedingly delicate, rich and peculiar to themselves. They yield a light-colored liquor, very fragrant in flavor, but apt to deceive the casual drinker, as after continued use they are found to possess greater strength and pungency than most China teas, their effect on the nervous system being very soon perceptible. They are classed commercially as Yama-shiro, Uji, Kioto, Yedo, Eisyie, Suringar, Hatchoji, Nagahama, Nagasaki, Tosia and Bancha, grading in value in the order named, and converted into Pan-fired, Sun-dried, Basket-fired, Nibs and Siftings, with occasionally small lots of Pekoe, Congou, Oolong, Imperial, Gunpowder and Young Hyson makes. =Pan-fired=—The finer grades have a long, well-curled, natural green leaf, presenting an unbroken appearance, sinking immediately to the bottom of the cup on infusion, uncurling rapidly and showing more or less perfect leaves in the infused state. It yields a clear, bright liquor, which remains unchanged in color and flavor until cold. The flavor is delicate and fragrant in odor somewhat like that of new-mown hay. The medium grades are correspondingly rougher in make, darker in liquor and duller in flavor, while the commoner ones are coarse and unsightly in style, varying from a greenish to a mottled blue in color, and possessing a “brassy” or metallic taste, due to the cosmetic or artificial coloring-matter used in their preparation. =Sun-dried=—As the name implies, are steamed and dried in the sun before firing, in order to fix their color permanently. The leaf is olive-green, well fired, compactly curled and “toasty” in the cup, owing to their thorough fermentation before firing, and although not as well appreciated as the Pan-fired, are much superior in drinking properties, their extra fermentation destroying the “grassy” flavor so characteristic of many Japans. The lower grades range from a yellowish to a dull-green, indifferently rolled and often “fishy” in flavor, said to be contracted from the use of fish manure in the coast districts. =Basket-fired=—So named from being cured by the “basket process,” and in contradistinction to those fired in pans. The finer grades are long, dark and exceedingly well twisted or curled, entirely free from stems, dust and other extraneous matter, clear and bright in liquor, and mellow or “mealy” in flavor, the latter quality making them a very valuable sort for blending purposes. The commoner grades are rough, and uncouth in style, brownish-black in color, thick and heavy in liquor, but lacking in “grip” and flavor. =Kumo=—Or “Spider-leg” Japan, is in reality only a finer grade of basket-fired; long, narrow, black, and “wirey” in leaf, and elastic in texture. It is of the Pekoe order in make, but still retaining all the properties of liquor and flavor of a Japan tea pure and simple.