The new Northwest. [volume] (Portland, Or.) 1871-1887, 1874-10-23
A Cup of Coffee.

| There are about one hundred millions
of people on the face of the globe who
would regard the loss of their daily cup
of coffee as one of the greatest privatiOns
they could endure, although it is only
for the last two hundred years that coffee
has been generally kown to the civil
/ ICED world.
I Coffee is popularity supposed to have
been first used by the Arabians, but
/ careful research leads US to the knowl-
edge that the Ethiopians and Abyssin-
! ians knew Of its strengthening and in
vigorating qualities for many years be-
fore the natives of Arabia used it. 1t is
said that the savages of higher Ethiopia
pounded the parched bean as they
would grain, making coarse flour from
1 it which they mixed with grease and
separated into little balls. Two or three
of these balls would support a man
whole day, and were, therefore, as they
took up little room, in high favor with
/ the warriors while out on marauding ex-
peditions.
Arabia, however, has the honor of
first introducing il to the civilized
Persiaus, who had procured it from the
Ethiopians. The city of Alden was the
first place where it became popular as a
beverage. From there it spread rapidly
over Arabia and Turkey, and led to the
establishment of the eoffee-houses which
are to be found in almost every part of
the world.
The coffee plant is an evergreen, and
if allowed, would grow to a height of
sixteen or seventeen feet, but in extern
sive plantations it is topped and stunted
to about five, so that the berries can be
picked with greater convenience. The
NrN. Il. Nzv,
fifteen inches in circumference, and the
bark whitish and somewhat rough,
while the leaf is long and graceful, COW
cred with silvery furze on the under
side, and resembling in general appear
ance that of the citron tree. When full
grown it looks like a small apple tree.
When the tree begins to grow old the
lower branches bend and extend them
selves in a round form somewhat like
an umbrella. AS on the nutmeg tree,
blossoms and green and ripe fruit may
be seen on each shrub at any season of
the year.
When the blossoms fall off, there
springs from under it small fruit, first
green, but becoming red as it ripens.
This is very like a cherry, and quite
pleasant to eat. The pit of this cherry
is the coffee of commerce. We are wrong
though in calling il pit; it is rather a
bean inclosed in a thin skin which holds
the two halves together. When the
bean is perfectly ripe, the cherry or
fleshy outside, which was before good to
eat, dries and forms a deep brown pod
for the berry, which is then ready to
pick.
The coffee berry, when ripe, is, in the
West Indies, Java, Ceylon, and South
America, prepared for maI ket by a ma
chine process called pulping and wash
ing, which greatly expetlites matters,
AMI gives a quality of coffee much pre-
ferred by dealers, as il makes clearer
and brighter bean. IL is a fact not gen.
orally known To consumers, however,
that the old Fashioned process of cutting
as IL is done in Persia and Arabia, Is
much superior, aud the same quantity
of coffee that is cured in the pulp by the
action of the sun will produce much
stronger decOctiou than that which has
been pulped aud washed, for the mucil-
aginous substance which Is washed of
by the pulping process Is absorbed by
the bean when cured the other way.
This gives strength to the product and
enhances its aromatic flavor.
Another fact not generally known
about here is, that the leaves contain
the same essential principle as the berry,
aud that a beverage made from them
is equal, if not superior, to the infusion
of the berry itself During visit to
: Sumatra, some years since, we had a
hunting expedition into the interior of
the island. While stopping at village
. we observed a native making an infu-
! sion of some dried leaves, and curious to
, see what beverage he was eOncocting,
! we tasted it, and found to our surprise
that it was most excellent coffee. Fol
q small piece of tobacco we bought sew
, eral pounds of the dried leaves, and used
them entirely during the remainder ol
the expedition, as we found they made
much superior coffee to the beans we
, had brought with US, besides being less
trouble to prepare.
The consumption of coffee in the
United States is nearly double that o
! any country in the world, and the in
creasing consumption throughout the
world threatens to make the demand
more than the present sources OF pro-
duction can supply. For some years
t past Mexico has exported a small guam
: tity of a very superior article, anC
through our wonderful State of Califor
r mia wild coffee shrubs are plentiful anC
? pronounced by experts to be capable o
producing under cultivation a very su
{ perior grade of coffee.-ADlericoll Grocer
=