The semi-weekly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1879-1882, 1881-09-08

DC pal otC II hANhLkN
HISTORY OF COFFEE. = As coffee
is in daily use in most every house
hold in civilized lands, and in many
heather countries, its history cannot
but be of interest to all our readers.
In the course of four centuries
berry has made its way through the
whole civilized world, which was be-
fore known only as an article Of lux
ury or food to the few savage tribes
on the boarders of Abyssins. Bruce
tells us that "the Galle, a wandering
nation Of Africa, being obliged to
traverse immense deserts in their in
cursions to Abyssinia, carry no pro-
vision but coffee roasted till it can be
pulverized, and then mixed with but.
ter to consistency that will suffer it
to be rolled up 10 balls, one of which
about the size of billiard ball, is said
to be sufficient to keep them in health
and spirits, during a whole days
fatigue, better than a loaf of bread or
a piece of meat"
It is said that an Arabian shiek,
who visited Abyssinia, introduced the
coffee berry into Arabia on his return,
and Arabian keepers of coffee houses
worship him as their patron. 1t was
sometime after, however, that the
drink called coffee was first made, the
berry previously being eaten as a food.
In what manner the idea of using cof.
fee for the preparation of the we'll
known agreeable and refreshing drink
came into existence is not known.
One version Of it, however, is as fol-
lows
'In the valleys of Yemen, in Ara
bia, lived a Dervish who excepting
poor cottage, possessed nothing but a
few goats. He had often perceived,
with great surprise, that these ami
mails were extraordinary cheerful and
merry on their return from the
meadow. Very anxious to know to
what cause this phenomenon was to
be ascribed, he followed on certain
day the traces of his goats, and pre-
ceived that they were eating most
eagerly the twigs aud leaves Of
shrub which was heretofore unknown
to him. He determined to follow
their example, in order to know by
experience what would be the effects
Of the use Of the plant on himself; and
the consequence was that he also felt
an extraordinary liveliness and gaiety,
which made him SO very laxative
that he excited the surprise Of all bis
neighboring fellow-hermits who ate of
it also, and afterwards used it as a
drink" .
The ancient Greeks and Romans
were entirely u1acquainted with coffee.
The famous Ritter 10 his essay on the
coffee berry says:
"We do not precsiye that any ma
tive writer Of Arabia, or any traveller
there, has ever mentioned this pro-
duct, even curiously, either in the
times of classical antiquity, or in the
period Of Is 'amism, before the fifteenth
century of the Christian era, nor is
the name Of coffee mentioned 10 any
description Of the Indo- Egyptian
trade. All of sudden, however,
this country appears in the fifteenth
and sixteenth centuries as the only
fatherland Of coffee"
The first mention of coffee in the
west of Europe is BY Rauwolff, in
1873. In France is 1860, several
bales were imported from Egypt, and
in 1911 coffee house was opened at
Marseilles. In 1862 a merchant
brought to England Greek servant,
named Pasqua, who understood the
method Of preparing and roasting COZ
fee. This man was the FIRST who pub.
licly sold coffee in England. Prior
to that time the English at their
meals drank home-brewed ale, or
beer.
The coffees which now come from
Java, Brazil and elsewhere, all owe
their origin to the Abyssinian coffee
which had been transplanted in those
countries. The whole coffee is SUP.
posed to be derived from Kaffa, an
African town In Arabia the coffee
tree rises to the height Of thirty odd
feet, in the West Indies it seldom
reaches eighteen or twenty feet, while
in Java it is from twelve to fifteen
feet in height. When the flowers
with which the tree is covered wither
and fall down, they leave in their room
the fruit, which needs nearly hall 8
year to obtain its fun maturity.