styled "English breakfast tea," is a
compound of Chinese black teas; and into this (the
percentage very small, for all received will give
no more) is sometimes put a little Indian. Bad as
it is, 'tis better than the Java beverage, but, as
compared with the general tea sold in England
to-day, which is more than one-third Indian, it is
a tasteless mixture.

In two words, I conceive all, or nearly all, the
Indian tea sent to the States has been used up in
New York, and consequently it would be strange if
it were known elsewhere.

I travelled much in America, south to New Orleans,
west to San Francisco. I asked as to Indian tea in
many places. I found it in two only. At a
tea-store in San Francisco (excuse the word
"store," there are no shops in America) I found
one kind, an inferior Souchong, with much red
leaf. Still it was very drinkable, and I used no
other while on the western coast. It had come, I
was told, from Bengal, across the Pacific.
Ordinary as the tea was, the store-keeper told me
he sold much of it.

The only other place I got Indian tea was at
Denver, the capital of Colorado. But it was in a
shop kept by an Englishman named Cornforth. He had
a large and very successful grocery business and
made tea a speciality. He knew all about Indian
tea, and had some of the very best, a high-class
Pekoe Souchong, said to be from Assam. I was some
weeks in Colorado (I bought a ranch there for my
sons) and drank Mr. Cornforth's tea all the time.
I used to give it to the Americans who came to my
house, and they invariably liked it. Mr. Cornforth
sells much of it in Denver, and many, his manager
told me, drink it pure. Shortly, my experience
leads me to believe that Indian tea could be
easily introduced into the States.

Were it done, think of the result. The Americans
drink individually far more tea than we do. As a
rule, they are a sober race. When they drink
alcohol, it is a big drink, lasting two or three
days, and then for weeks nothing but tea and
coffee, but far more of the former. I have not the
statistics handy, but I doubt not for "tea per
head" the denizens of the United States equal the
New Zealanders, who I had previously thought the
largest consumers on earth. Then,