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On the hawking of tea
Until about eight or ten years ago, tea was extensively hawked - from house to
house almost - “on tally”. The tally system is, that wherein “weekly
payments” are taken in liquidation of the cost of the articles purchased, and
the trade is one embodying much of evil and much of trickery …
The branch of the tea trade closely connected with the street business is that
in tea leaves. The exhausted leaves of the tea-pot are purchased of servants or
of poor women, and they are made into “new” tea.. One gentleman - to whose
information, and to the care he took to test the accuracy of his every
statement, I am bound to express my acknowledgements - told me that it would be
fair to reckon that in London 1,500 pounds (weight) of tea-leaves were weekly
converted into new tea, or 78,000 pounds in the year! …
The old tea-leaves, to be converted into new, are placed by the manufacturers on
hot plates, and are re-dried and re-dyed. To give the “green” hue, a
preparation of copper is used. For the “black” no dye is necessary in the
generality of cases. This tea-manufacture is sold to “cheap” or “slop”
shopkeepers, both in town and country, and is almost always sold ready mixed.
… The trade is anything but agreeable, and the customers are often
exacting. They seem to fancy, however cheaply and well they may be supplied,
that the tea-seller is under obligation to them; that their custom will be the
making of him, and, therefore, they expect some compliment in return. The
consequence is, that very often, unless he be willing to be accounted a “shabby
man”, the tea-dealer is obliged, of a Saturday night, to treat his customers,
to ensure a continuance of their custom. Other customers take care to be absent
at the time he calls. Those who are anxious to run up bills, perhaps, keep out
of the way purposely for two or more successive nights of the dealer’s
calling, who, notwithstanding, cannot very well avoid serving such customers.