North Melbourne Advertiser (Vic. : 1873 - 1894)(about) |
Previous issue
Friday 5 June 1891
Next issue
Previous page
of 4
Send to:
|
No corrections yet
TEA-DRINKING. TaE .custom of tea-drinking is so universal all over the colonies, at all hours, in season and out of season, and "the cup whichcheers,but not inebriates," as said Cowper in an unhappy moment, is supposed to be the solace in the great calamities and crises of feminine life, and a panacea for all woes under the sun, and tea is accordingly offered at every opportunity. Beyond a slightly stimu lating effect tea has no great virtue in itself. Twice a day in moderate quanti ties it exerts no harmful influence except upon certain nervous temperaments, where commonsense contra-indicates its - use. One woman goes to see another, and-immediately tPv is introduced, and so' instances might be. multiplied ad infinitum. The habit of constant tea drinking is to be deprecated. Large breakfast cups are generally usedat each meal, and these are filled.perhaps, three or four times, almost invariably twice. At home (in England and elsewhere) tea cups of smaller size than breakfast cups are in general use, and more than two cups are rarely taken.. The common practice, too, in the colonies, of drinking tea with hot meat is a fertile source of that plague of existence-indigestion in all its forms. It must be admitted, however, that a cup of tea often serves to fill an awkward gap in conversation or to bridge a social chasm. The best quality of tea is injurious taken to excess. What then must be said of inferior kinds? They increase the ill ten-fold. Another common prac tice is to have a tea-pot constantly stand ing on or near the fire place, and the tea from long standing simply becomes steced, and the bitter tannic acid (which forms part of the composition of tea) is extracted. Green tea is either natural, or coloured with indigo, Prussian blue, or other deleterious substances. Good tea should be fragant to smell, and neither bitter in taste nor dark in colour. It ought also to be drunk shortly after infusion. Tea, -like other articles of diet, is often adulterated. The edges of •a tea leaf are serrated almost to the stalk, and the primary veins run out from the midrib nearly to the border, when they turn in, leaving a distinct space between them and the .edge or border. These two features distinguish it from all other leaves,