p. 187 | Tea Poisoned by D. M. Canright

The Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · May 12, 1863

Tea Poisoned.

By D. M. Canright

MR. DAVIS who lived in China about twenty years, and wrote the history of that empire, gives some interesting particulars with regard to the process of preparing tea—interesting to tea drinkers, as they should be acquainted with all the excellent qualities of that health-promoting herb.

He says: Upon reaching the opposite side of the river, and entering one of these laboratories of fictitious Hyson, the parties were witnesses to a strange scene. In the first place large quantities of black tea, which had been damaged in consequence of the floods of the previous autumn, were drying in baskets with sieve bottoms, placed over pans of charcoal. The dried leaves were then transferred in portions of a few pounds each, to a great number of cast-iron pans, imbedded in mortar, over furnaces. At each pan stood a workman stirring the tea rapidly round with his hand, having previously added a small quantity of turmeric, in powder, which of course gives the leaves a yellowish or orange tinge; but they were still to be made green. For this purpose some lumps of a fine blue were produced, together with a white substance in powder, which from the names given to them by the workmen, as well as their appearance, were known at once to be prussian blue and gypsum. These were triturated finely together with a small pestle, in such proportion as reduced the dark color of the blue to a light shade; and a quantity equal to a small teaspoonful of the powder being added to the yellowish leaves, these were stirred as before over the fire, until the tea had taken a fine bloom of the color of Hyson, with very much the same scent. To prevent all possibility of error regarding the substances employed, samples of them together with specimens of the leaves in each stage of the process were carried away from the place. If the tea has not highly deleterious qualities, it can only be in consequence of the coloring matter existing in a small proportion to the leaf (the prussian blue being a combination of prussic acid and iron is a poison); and the Chinese seemed quite conscious of the real character of the occupation in which they were engaged; for on applying at several other places where the same business was carried-on, we were refused admission.

Then he states that there were several experiments made by which it was proved that even the best green teas contain more or less poison.

Thus it will be seen that aside from all other considerations, all our teas contain a deadly poison, which tea drinkers are constantly taking into their systems.

D. M. CANRIGHT.