in a year. The Chinese plant grows in cooler climates and has a
smaller, tougher, and darker leaf, which is more delicate than that of
the Assamese and is usually made into green tea. The Chinese tea plant
yields only four or five flushes a year. About 40 per cent of the tea
used in this country comes from Japan and 50 per cent from China. The
tea industry of India and Ceylon has developed rapidly in late years,
and is now second only to that of China. Tea has been raised upon a
small scale in the United States. The quality or grade of the tea
depends upon the leaves used and the method of curing.

214. Composition of Tea.--Black and green teas are produced from the
same species of plant, but owe their difference in color as well as
flavor and odor to methods of preparation. The same plant may yield
several grades of both green and black tea. To produce black tea, the
leaves are bruised to liberate the juices, allowed to ferment a short
time, which develops the color, and then dried.[73] For green tea the
fresh leaves are roasted or steamed, then rolled and dried as quickly as
possible to prevent fermentation. The smaller leaves and the first
picking produce the finest quality of tea. The characteristic flavor and
odor of tea are imparted by a volatile oil, although the odor is
sometimes altered by the tea being brought in contact with orange
flowers, jessamine, or the fragrant olive. There are also present in tea
an alkaloid, theine, which gives the peculiar physiological properties,
and tannin, upon which depends largely the strength of the tea infusion.
The composition of tea is as follows:

===========================================
|ORIGINAL| GREEN | BLACK
| TEA | TEA | TEA
-------------------------------------------
Tannin, per cent | 12.91 | 10.64 | 4.89
Theine, per cent | 3.30 | 3.20 | 3.30
Ash, per cent | 4.97 | 4.92 | 4.93
Fiber, per cent | 10.44 | 10.06 | 10.07
Protein, per cent | 37.33 | 37.43 | 38.90
(all insoluble) | | |
===========================================

It will be noticed that green tea contains twice as much tannin as black
tea; during the fermentation which the black tea undergoes, some of the
tannin is decomposed. There is a large amount of protein in tea, but it
is of no food value, because of its insolubility. About half of the ash
is soluble. The tannin is readily soluble, and for thi