Tea in Natal, 1899
A look at the tea industry in South Africa under the Indian indenture system.
Note: This article has been excerpted from a larger work in the public domain and shared here due to its historical value. It may contain outdated ideas and language that do not reflect TOTA’s opinions and beliefs.
“Tea in Natal,” by J.G. Stowe, from the Monthly Consular and Trade Reports, Volume 60, 1899.
Tea in Natal
On my recent visit to the South African exhibition, I took pains to post myself on the present tea industry of the colony of Natal. I think the time may not be far distant when steamers from the United States will be able to obtain return cargoes, instead of going, as at present, to the Far East, or being forced to return from South African ports in ballast.
With an assurance of return cargoes, it is said, freight from the United States here would be cheaper.
To Mr. William R. Hudson, of the Clifton Tea Estate, the credit of the present tea industry is due, and the estate now comprises 3,000 acres on the Nonoyoi River, 55 miles from the city of Durban, the river furnishing the necessary water power...The present factory building is 200 by 80 feet, three stories high, and is fitted up with the latest machinery. All the chests are made on the premises; a coolie will make 40 chests, each capable of carrying 60 pounds of tea, or 60 boxes, each holding 14 pounds of tea, in a day. A “chest" measures 19 by 22 by 11 inches, the wood being three-eighths of an inch thick. A “box" is 12 by 10 by 11 inches, the wood being the same thickness. A chest takes 32 nails, and a box 24 nails.
These figures will give some idea of the amount of skill and labor required to attain the results mentioned. A male adult Indian's labor, on an average throughout the year, costs 25 cents per day. The Indian's indenture lasts five years, after which term his services can again be secured for a further period of three years, on terms agreed to between master and man.
The picking season in Natal commences generally early in September and goes on till about the end of the following May. The months of June, July, and August are taken up with digging and manuring the land and pruning the plants. The tea is picked by the coolies, mule carts in different gangs collecting the leaf. Men and women are employed in the picking process. The tea leaf is taken down to the factory, where it is “weighed in." When that is done, it is spread out thinly on frames covered with hessian, for the purpose of “withering," in a temperature of 85° to 90°. In the course of twelve hours, the leaf has become perfectly soft, and produces the same sensation to the touch as a silk handkerchief.
The leaf is then passed through shoots into the machine room, where it is ''rolled," the object of this process being to break up the juice cells in the leaf and to give the leaf that peculiar twist characteristic of the tea seen in ordinary commerce.
When the rolling is finished, the sappy, juicy mass is sent down into the cooling chamber, where it is spread out and submitted to the action of the air at a temperature of from 60° to 70°. This is the critical stage in the manufacture of tea. The eye of the experienced manager is required, to see that the fermentation is arrested at the exact time, or the tea would lose quality and would acquire an undesirable flavor.
The rolled leaf is then passed to drying trays, in which it is spread out thinly and submitted to a temperature of about 250°, the excessive heat staying fermentation and taking all moisture out of the leaf. The now manufactured article is sent on to the sorting department, where the different grades of Golden Pekoe, Flowery Pekoe, Pekoe Souchong, Souchong, and dust are separated by machinery, which consists of a huge revolving screen cylinder, the meshes gradually getting larger toward the outer end, so that the “dust" falls from the separating machine first and the coarsest leaf, the “Souchong," last. It should be pointed out that the smallest leaves on the twig, when picked, make the finest tea.
The tea is then put into air-tight bins, where it is allowed to remain for from two to three months to mature. After this, it goes to the packing department, where it is put into packets or boxes for the trade. This year's output of tea from the estates in Natal is estimated at from 300,000 to 400,000 pounds, for which there is a ready market; and it is estimated that the next crop will yield 1,250,000 pounds of tea.
J. G. Stowe,
Cape Town, January 4th, 1899. Consul-General.
Stowe, J.G. “Tea in Natal.” In Monthly Consular and Trade Reports. Volume 60. United States Bureau of Manufactures. 1899.
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