The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1881-02-24
At the Table-A Glimpse at the Literature
of Tea and Coffee.

~NS" Aoih cHLhS IoSt
Profound treaties have been written,
wordy arguments have been wasted,
and sarcastic expletives leveled gener-
ally about the mental as well as the
physical influence of tea and coffee up
on civilized people. The English, who
generally take to tea for breakfast, are
becoming gradually converted to cof-
fee, but they are valiant tea drinkers
yet, although it makes the flesh flabby
and skin wrinkled. The two decoctions
offered unfailing subjects for the book
writers and reviewers to quarrel over un-
til the famous Llebig with his chemical
discoveries asserted that tea and coffee
had become necessaries of life to whole
nations, but especially essential to the
poorer classes, supplying a void not
readily filled up by the limited supply
of good meats and wholesome food gen
orally.
Coffee and tea were introduced into
England like Romulus and Remus, and
were each in turn relentlessly abused,
not only by the people, but by the State.
Coffee inherited the title of ''hell broth"
Tea was called crank poison" but as a
refuge for the wits of the day from
smaller fry, the coffee houses from the
start were always enormously patron
lied. In 1860 that clever and comfort
able old body, Pepys, wrote:
Il did send for cup of tea Ca China
drink) of which had never drank be-
FORE" and six or seven years later he
again wrote: ''Home, and there found
Mr.. Pelling, the potticary, tells her is
good for her cold and defluxions."
This precious drug the good old lady
was becoming SO happy over, the pot
icary has sold her at frightful price,
at the very lowest-a crown for an
ounce; but Pepys was thereafter great
ly comforted by a hand-bill of certain
Garway of Exchange alley, who now
sold tea at so low prices as los to sos
pound. Many noblemen, physic-
ians. and surgeons resorted to his house
to drink thereof. DR.. johnson was a
most Unsuitable tea-drinker Among
his early tea-drinking day memories
was one of Garrack, who, though he
entertained an inordinatc love for the
cheering cup. when taking tea with
Peg Wellington scolded her for making
it too strong while it was so costly.
Later, pleasant tea talks of the Doctor
describes himself us "a hardened and
shameless tca-drinker. who has for many
years diluted his meals with only the
infusion of this fascinating plant; whose
kettle has scarcely time to cool; who
with tea amuses himself in the evenings
and solaces the midnight and welcomes
night Who now-a-days can fancy Il
Mistress PiOZzi making the precious
beverage for DR.. johnson at o clock
in the morning and listening to his
morning talk without Il sign of impa-
tience or feeling bored, to say nothing
nf fanlipr Slpanyp
The Germans are masters in the art
of preparing coffee, especially the Ger
man Sdr0aS. Like the French, they
take coffee without milk, at any time
during the day, assisted by cigar; es
pecially is this mode desirable for the
sedentary life. Coffee contains SUBJ
stance called theive, volatile matter
one needs to be cautious in retaining
during the process of preparation. An
ounce of good tea contains about ten
grains of thieve, quite sufficient to Gre
thing like over exhilaration, or, to place
it mildly. intoxication. Tea drinkers
can therefore calculate how much tea
to drink as from three to four grains of
theive are simply sufficient for a day,
and therefore three ounces a week is
really more than one should consume.
A friar of a monastry in Arabia no
ticed that the goats were remarkably
agile and brisk after eating of the coffee
tree, so he made his lethargic monks
try it. The success was marvellous; and
this is one of the many assigned origins
of the use of the berry, which soon
found its way to Europe.