Page:The Boston cooking-school cook book.djvu/56

32 A BEVERAGE is any drink. Water is the beverage provided for man by Nature. Water is an essential to life. All beverages contain a large percentage of water, therefore their uses should be considered: —

Freshly boiled water should be used for making hot beverages; freshly drawn water for making cold beverages.

Tea is used by more than one-half the human race; and, although the United States is not a tea-drinking country, one and one-half pounds are consumed per capita per annum.

All tea is grown from one species of shrub, Thea, the leaves of which constitute the tea of commerce. Climate, elevation, soil, cultivation, and care in picking and curing all go to make up the differences. First-quality tea is made from young, whole leaves. Two kinds of tea are considered:

Black tea, made from leaves which have been allowed to ferment before curing.

Green tea, made from unfermented leaves artificially colored.