=Hop Tea=—Is a species of tea now being prepared from common hops in the Kent district in England, prepared and cured by the “Sirocco” process, after the manner of India tea, and used chiefly to blend with the ordinary teas of commerce, the combination resembling a mixture of Virginia smoking tobacco and a rough-leaved Assam tea. It is claimed to be healthy and wholesome, from the fact that the _lapulin_ of the hops counteracts or neutralizes the excess of _tannin_ contained in the India teas, but nearly doubles it in price. PARAGUAYAN TEA. =Yerba Maté=, or “Paraguayan tea,” which although not entering into general use or commerce, is yet deserving of notice in this work from its extensive consumption among the inhabitants of South America. It is prepared from the leaves and stems of the _Ilex_, a species of holly found growing in a wild state in that country. In size and appearance it closely resembles an orange tree, having a whitish bark and leafy, tufted boughs, with leaves four inches long when full grown, dark-green in color, thick, glossy and crenate at the edges, pale on the lower surface and containing the same active principle, _Theine_, so characteristic of China tea. The flowers or blossoms are small and white, hanging in clusters at the angles of the leaves, the fruit or berries being red, smooth and similar to those of the common holly. So closely does it approach the tea of China in effect, that many authorities claim it to be a species of that plant, yielding a liquor similar in many respects. But while not containing as much volatile oil as the latter, owing to the primitive manner in which it is prepared, it nevertheless yields a most agreeable and refreshing beverage, enjoyed by many and forming the staple drink of millions of the inhabitants of Paraguay and other South American countries.