Accustomed as we are to think of Java as the home of coffee, it is important also to note that it has acquired some reputation as a producer of tea. The magnitude of the industry at the present time amounts to about 80,000,000 pounds a year, and the method of cultivation, which is practised, as well as the method of manufacture, may be said in many respects to be superior to those of Ceylon and India. So important is the trade becoming that there are stated intervals in Amsterdam when tea brought from Java is sold at public auction. Most of the teas produced in Java are of good quality, and many are extremely fine. According to credible historical evidence, tea was first introduced into Java from China about 1826. The Chinese varieties have been, however, of late years replaced by the seed from the Assam tea country, which is found to be very productive and more profitable. Before the war little Java tea has come to the United States, most of it going to Holland, to Australia, and especially to Great Britain. Russia takes a little over a million pounds, and smaller quantities go to other countries. In the opinion of some experts, Java teas have a quality which is distinctly superior to those of China and Japan, judging at least by the English standard of quality.

The tea factories in Java are said to be the most modern and complete of any in the world.

Many of the tea plants are driven by electric power, and have the fermenting rooms laid in white China tile.

The tea areas are subjected to heavy rainfalls, the rainy season extending from September to April. While the average rainfall is 72 inches, in some cases it reaches as much as 124 inches.

The price of the Java teas upon the London market is about the same as that of the Assam teas.

Soudanese labor is employed mostly in Java, the men being paid from 10 to 15 cents per day, and the women from 6 to 12 cents per day.

Java teas are divided into the following grades:

Orange Pekoe Broken Orange Pekoe

Pekoe

Pekoe Souchong

Souchong Dust

In addition to the above there is also produced in Java a grade known as Silver Pekoe, or white point pekoe. This is a high-grade tea, made from the top or first leaves, and is rolled by hand usually in the sun. It is not fermented previously to rolling. This brand of tea often sells as high as $1.25 per pound.