The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1875-07-08
Coffee.

49, Coffee.
Acorrespondcnt of the Times addresses
Ms and our readers upon the subject of
coffee. Now, coffee is a subject not to bc
treated lightly, as many a wife knows
and many husband. For, docs it, not
come home to mems breakfasts and
bosoms? We should think it does, and
when it comes regularly in the form that
it ought to have; and with the warmth
that properly pertains to it, it brings
solace and great comfort. But if, on the
contrary, it comes too soon, and so loses
some of its aroma and some of its heat,
and perhaps begins to take faint Of acid.
ity, or too late, SO that the hurried and
lower, then are muttcrings shcard; then,
on some occasions, not TOO rare, do storms
break forth, shrill echoes of which are
afterward heard in the regions below. Our
correspondent does not cXaggeratc tho in
tcrcst Of his communication, so far as its
relation to the daily comfort of many poo
pie goes and we shall cndeavor to supply
the information that he asks for so far rs
it is within our power to do so.
lie is quite right, in the first place, in
saying that real coffee has become almost
extinct, and he Is partly right in attribut-
ing its disappearance to adultcration. No
substance sold at the groccr's, except white
vinegar (Which is almost always iniuri
Ously mixed with acills), is so much and
SO frequently adultcratcd as coffee. At
an analysis of spirits made by order of the
Board of Health it was found, somewhat,
it was confessed to the surprise of that
body, that, although the specimens were
procured from all sorts of out-of-thc-way
places all over town, there was little or no
adultcration found IN any one of them, and
that nearly all of them were absolutely
pure. Bad rum and bad whisky there
were enough of and to sparc-vile stuff
that would consume any but a coppcrcd
throat and stomach but it was not adulter-
atcd; it was merely unmitigatcd bad
spirits. But coffee is adu'rratcd with
all conceivable and uncomfortable sub
stances; and not only so, it Is
actually made of paste cast in a
mold to look like the roasted bean, and,
this being mixed with enough real
coffee to give it smell of tho real thing,
is sold as fine old Java" The substance
most commonly used for the adulteration
of coffee, as most housckccpcrs know, l.;
chiccory, the succory of which the sue
cory-water SO much in favor with our
great great grandmothcrs was made. This
is a harmless and clean as well as Il
plcasant-flavOrcd substance, and the addi-
ton of a little of it to pure coffee is re-
gardcd as advantageous by some cpcurcs,
particularly among the French. But of
the "bcst ground Java" coffee now sold
by many groccrs the greater part is chic
cory, which is rather too much of good
thing. Beans, carrots, dried and roasted,
and many refuse articles, needless and I'M
pleasant to name, are used for the adulcr-
alton of coffee, and chiefly, of course, in
that which is sold ground. The propric
tors of certain mills within fifteen or
twenty miles round about New York tell
strange stories Of the substances which
are brought to them in barrels to be ground
up coarscly, and which they have good
reasons for believing arc sold as coffee.
But adultCration is not the only reason
for the disappearance OF II al coffee from
our tables. 1t is one. but there isanothcr of
at least equal Importance. The art of max
ing coffee seems to be lost. Seems to be,
we say, but it is not. The housckccpcr of
the period knowcth it not, or, at least, she
doth not practice it; and yet it is prac-
ticcd by few, and is easily attained by
all. Our mothers used it, and our fathers
had, therefore, good coffee to their break
rasts. This condition of things is implied
in the very terms Of our. correspondents
letter. He complains of the disappearance
of good coffee, which he says has become
not absolutely, but almost, extinct. Plain
ly, he and the men of his gcncration-say
those who were boys twenty-five or thirty
years ago-had good coffee once and have
- " Nrn 4.}1 a,
reason. 1t is because the coffee is not
not properly prepared for the table. And
prepared they will see from recipe that we
Shall give them, which, if strictly followed,
we are willing to warrant, under reasonable
penalties, will never fail to produce as good
coffee as man ever drank. 1t is recipe
which was in common use with our moth
ers and grandmothers.
First find hOusckccper who has been
SO brought up that she knows good raw
coffee when she sees it, This part of the
recipe is all important. Next, let her
buy good coffee; not send an order to the
grOcer's for it, but personally examine and
buy the coffee. fit is convenient for her
to buy bag that will be better, for coffee
improves by age, and it is best to have the
bag standing unopened while the other is
in use. Next, let the coffee be roasted as
often as once week, under the personal
superintendent of this housekcepcr. She
need not sit upon the rooster, but she GER
tainly should personally see that whoever
roasts it does it gradually, and
not too much or too little; to do
which it will be seen that she should
know the color and the perfume of
propcrly-roasted coffee. The roasted
beans should then be put into glass jars,
tightly stopped. Then about fifteen min
utcs, and not longer, before the coffee is
needed the beans should be taken out and
ground, and the grist go directly from the
mill into the coffcc-po otherwise some of
the much-prizcd aroma and flavor will
pass off. Thus made, in almost any sort
of pot, coffee will surely be good-as good
as it used to be when our mothers made
it, for this was their recipe. As to buying
ground coffee or even roasted coffee in
the bean, which lies open to the air, or
even grinding up lot of coffee at home
and keeping it in a big box, which may
be open or may be shut, and then expect
ing good coffee, why, fair laIics, you
might as well look for sunbecms from
cucumbers!-N. Y. Times.
Summer BOnnets.
WHITE chip bOnncts are more univers-
fnc H.