The Portland daily press., 1880-11-05
Number of
.A.AA-

1OVdIs oO,OOO
According to the above figures there are
now being roasted in Boston $500 pounds of
coffee daily. Reckoning 300 working days in
a year. we have the enormous total of over 10,-
100000 pounds of coffee going into consump-
tion from the Boston market in year Who
will say that we are not a nation of coffee
drinkers? Why, single grocery store alone
in Boston sells from 10 to II tons OF roasted
coffee per3month. These figures of the coffee
trade certainly seem enormous, aud for that
reason we have dropped, as will be seen, co.
600 pounds from the yearly total, in calling it
100000 pounds.
But there is yet another considerable guam
tity of coffee to be taken into this estimate
all that is sold to consumers, green or un-
roasted. In the New England country trade
this is no small amount, though in Bosr on the
quantity of green coffee for consumption is
small. By actual estimates from sales at one of
the leading tea and coffee establishments here,
eleven pounds of roasted coffee to one of raw
are sold. Still it is probable that a large
quantity of these sales went into the hands of
country consumers, and it is likely that not
more than one pound of raw to twenty of
roasted is sold in the city trade proper. The
New England and western country trades take
proportionally more raw coffee; so that safe
estimate would be about one pound of raw to
fifteen of roasted. This estimate would add
over 600, 900 pounds to the yearly coffee trade
emanating from Boston, making the still more
startling aggregate of over 10000, 900 pounds of
cOHee passing INTO consumption through the
markets of Boston in year. Surely we do
drink coffee. The demand for roasted coffee,
in preference to raw, is rapidly gaining, al
though the roasted article is known to deterio-
rate or lose its aroma and strength, especially
if exposed to the air. But the ready-ground
coffee can scarcely be sold at all to people well
posted and naturally suspicious of adultera-
tions. Every store now has its coffee grinder,
and the satisfied customer can stand by and
see his pound Of Mocha or Java ground, and
be sure, by the shape of the seeds, that he is
not buying roasted beans or peas for coffee.
Indeed, the coffee fraud is virtually dead, aud
several firms who have undertaken to build
up trade in fraudulent coffee have gone out
of the business.
A great quantity of the coffee cooked in Bos-
ton goes into the western trade, and, indeed, it
is in the South and West that the greatest guam
titles of coffee are drank. The people of these
sections want it 'strong," and they take it so.
The strongest Rios suit them best. The deli
cately-fiavored Mocha or the aromatic Java is
too mild for them; ;,thev want coffee black and
strong. The consumption of Rio coffee is
wonderfully increasing in the West. What
the result will be upon the health of the
people the scientific physiologist must deter
mine. Until the question is settled, and peo-
pie become thoroughly alarmed, they will go
on drinking coffee, and, in the meantime, the
trade will continue to increase. One thing
should be said to the credit of the real coffee
roasters-those who roast real coffee they are
generally men of the highest business integri-
and men of means. The same is true of the
tleading coffee merchants.