Lancaster gazette. [volume] (Lancaster, Mass.) 1828-1830, 1830-01-05
COFFEE.

There are probably many house keepers
who will be interested in the following sim
pie rules for the preparation Of an import
ant item of domestick luxury. 1t is some
what remarkable that an infusion which
may be made with great ease and in very
short space of time, is in many families the
cause of more vexation and complaint, than
all the other petty annoyances Of the house
hold put together. The suggestion below,
which we copy from the Virginia Literary
Museum, may be the means Of soothing the
diurnal irritation of many an unquiet spirit:
Boston Daily .Advertiser.
LIST. The raw coffee should be round and
small grained, free from dirt, and of light
colour. Ii should have no appearance Of
mouldiness, and be quite free from any
strong smell. 1t should net be long kept in
sacks with other provisions, as there is no
substance more apt to obtain strong and
disagreeable odours from the presence Of
its neighbours. Rum iujures it /; and Miller
even goes so far as TO state, thai afew bags
of pepper, on board q ship from India, upon
one occasion, spoiled the whole cargo.
2nd. When the grains are large, fiat, and
of green colour, they should be kept on
hand, in dry situation, long time before
use. Every West-India planter knows this
fact, although his interest too often induces
him to send the article to market before it
is old and dry enough.
3D.. Roasting coffee is by far the most
difficult operation of the house-keeper
when carried far enough, an aromatic oil is
formed by the heat and forces itself out up
on the surface ofthe grains, giving them a
glossy appearance and an odour which is
considered their perfection yet too little
roasting prevents the aroma from appearing
and too much completely volatilizes it, leav-
ing nothing but fiat. bitter taste. The
heat should be strong and the operation
shortened as much as possible, without
burning the grains. The roaster should be
close or well covered all the time, and,
in order to improve the looks and favour,
small piece of butter may be added to the
coffee, while parching.
4th. When thus prepared, coffee may be
preserved for use in large quantities, with
out losing much of its freshness, provided
the vessels, containing it, be kept we'll COW
ered
9Th. An infusion of coffee is better than
decoction, simply because the heat, in the
last case, being stronger and more lasting,
drives off more of the aromatick oil. It is
better, therefore, to grind the coffee very
fine, and then TO expose it by means of
bag or strainer, to the action of boiling wa
ter than to boil it for any length of time.
Heat, although unavoidable, injnres the fla
YOUR, and the best coffee, | remember to
have tasted, was made by exposing the pow
der to pressure of cold water; tea
spoonful of this extract, thrown into cup of
hot water is sufficient. 1t is not bad method
to allow the ground coffee to lie in cold wa
ter between meals, and then to prepare it by
adding hot water. Just in proportion to the
continuance of heat in this and the last ope-
ration, the fragrance disappears, and is re-
placed by strong bitter taste which, &C
cording to the experiments of Chenevix, de-
ponds upon the presence of tanning ire
sembling that in tan bark). Roasting, be-
sides forming this bitter substances, de-
prives the coffee of its nutritious qualities.