But for this popular error respecting the colour of Tea, I should scarcely have trenched on the precincts of the Tea-table--that forbidden ground, where the housewife is universally regarded as the very model of perfection, and where her power, for the time being, is admittedly supreme. The Chinese, whatever may be the character of the nefarious arts to which they resort to make the best of a bad commodity, can and do send us supplies of good Tea. But then a fair price must needs be paid for it. Such consumers of the beverage as are willing to procure genuine Tea, and not lay out their money upon redried, rerolled, and “doctored” Tea-leaves, would do well to exercise judgment by selecting only those descriptions of Tea that have been carefully plucked in the early spring, when the leaf is small and imbued with the richness of the shrub-juices. Let but such a commodity be supplied perfectly uncoloured, and the perfection of human art is attained. When the foolish fashion of the age required Tea pretty to look at, then the Chinese, in deference to the public desire, and for the increased profits of those concerned, coloured or “faced” the leaf. In conclusion, I may honestly aver that it is owing to the efforts of Messrs. Horniman that this reprehensible practice is fast falling into disfavour with the public. The enormous sale of the Firm’s pure Tea by some 4,000 Chemists, at once testifies to the high approval it has realised for its combinedly strong, delicious, and invigorating qualities. Transcriber’s Notes Punctuation, hyphenation, and spelling were made consistent when a predominant preference was found in the original book; otherwise they were not changed. Simple typographical errors were corrected; two unbalanced quotation marks were found and remedied. Illustrations without captions are decorative head- and tail-pieces. End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Tea, by Samuel Phillips Day