The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1867-01-30
The Preparation Of Coffee.

In the weekly papers a great deal has
been said and written cflate on the prepare
ton Of and almost indispensable beverage
coffee bot the remarks have been con-
fined to the treatment of the ground coffee
beans-that is to say, the preparation of
the extract--while greater attention should
be paid to the preparation Of the beans for
this process. For all methods OF preparing
this beverage, the beans should at first be
assorted by hand, in order to remove foreign
substances, as chips ofwood, feathers, black
and spoiled beans, all of which, if roasted
with the coffee, in even small quantities,
materially injue the flavor Of the beverage.
Very dark colored beans are generally
colored artifcially, and ought to be washed
in a small quantity Of water and dried in
cloth before roasting. This latter opera
ton is Of the most vital importance to the
quality of the beverage. It ought to be
carried only to such point that the coffee
beans lose their horny appearance, and may
be ground easily on sharpened coffee mill.
Coffee contains crystalline body, called
cafein or them, because it is also an es-
sential part Of tea, which is volatile, and be-
comes dssipated if the roasting is done too
rapidly at too great a heat, or If the roasting
is carried too far. The beans, after roasting,
ought to possess light brown color. In
dark brown coffee no more caffein is con-
tanned, andif the roasting is continued un-
til the beans are black, the beverage made
from them does not deserve any more the
name of coffee. The roasted beans lose
their aroma by keeping. through the in-
.luence of the air, which permeates them
consequent upon their great porosity,
created by roasting, and oxydizes the VIOLA
tile aromatic oil. This deleterious change
may be obyiated by throwinga small quaint
ty of powered sugar into the roasting drum.
Halt an ounce Of sugar for every pound of
coffee is sufficient quaEtity. The sugar
melts and forms coat of caramel around
the beans, impenetrable to the air. The
beans then look bright, like vanished !;
lose their oder entirely, which, Of course,
reappears upon grinding Where this is
not done, it is better to roast but d small
quantity Of coffee Immediately before using
it. After roasting, tie beans ought to be
spread out In thin layer, so as to cool
rapidly. If they remain piled up while hot,
they will heat rapidly by absorption Of air,
and sweat or even ignite. The roasted
beans must be kept In q dry place, as the
caramel coating easily absorbs moisture.
By roasting to a chestnut brown color, the
beans lose fifteen to sixteen per cent, of
their weight, while the extract prepared
from the same amounts to twenty or twenty
one per cent, Of the weight Of the raw
beans. In roasting to d dark brown, or
black color, the loss in weight increases
considerably. While the weight diminishes,
the volume of the beans increases greatly by
roasting. OH an average one hundred
volumes ofraw BEATS gives from one hun
dred and fifty to one hundred and sixty
volumes Of roasted beans. After roasting,
the beans are ready for the preparation Of
the extract by maceration, infusion, or boil
ing. One ounce Of the ground coffee gives
about FIVE cups of beverage Of moderate
strength. 1t ought to be brown, hot black,
and should be turbid. This property is
chiefly caused by fat contained in the coffee,
which is partly destroyed BY roasting, but
may be removed by isinglass. The coffee
ought to have the favor Of the bean, in
order to have the beneficial effect Of pro-
moting digestion generally ascribed to it.
If by excessive roasting or boiling this be
destroyed, the beverage will be no better
than that prepared from tie various coffee
substitutes. JOSEPH HIRsCH.H