The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1882-04-22
nestriptire artitles.
THE COFFEE DRINKERS.

The Hollanders are the greatest coffee
drinkers in the world, their annual con-
sumption being about Is lbs. per head OF
the whole population. The principal cause
is the fact that Amsterdam has long been
one of the great coffee marts of the world,
and, being admitted free of duty, coffee is
very cheap Next come Belgium and
Denmark. in which the consumption per
capita is about half that of Holland Next
come the United States, in which the CON
suption per capita in 1880 was S.S lbs, in
1881 somewhat less, being S.4 lbs. per
head. By calculation founded on the
data furnished in Mr. Thurbers book, the
present consumption of coffee in the United
States may be stated at a little over one
pound per week for each family IN the
union. In the use of tea and coffee the
people of England and the United States
present most remarkable contrast. The
annual consumption of the people of Eng
land is Just about pound Of coffee per
head. or about one-eight of that OF the
people of the United States Comparing
the consumption of tea witt; that OF coffee,
it viii be found that while the people of the
United States use about FIVE pounds of
coffee to one pound Of tea, the people Of
England use five pounds of tea to one
pound of coffee.
There are fashions In coffee, as in almost
everything. Mr.. Thurber gives many Gu
rious examples, of which we have room for
only one In his chapter Of Mocha coffee
he saws :-~At Eden and Alexandria the
coffee is carefully picked over and assorted
in compliance with the singular fashion IN
trade which creates demand in Europe
for the larger beans, while the United
States viii have none but the smaller ones.
In point Of fact. the larger beans are the
best, being fully developed and more per-
feet both in appearance and favor.
The whole amount Of coffee consumed in
the United States in 1880 was. in round
numbers, 440,0O0,O00 pounds Where
does it all come from? Probably in regard
to no question Of fact is there such wide
spread popular delasion as to this. IL all
the retail grocers in the United States were
TO be asked of what kind of coffee they sold
most. undoubtedly large majority of them
would answer. Java Mr. Thurber's
statistics. taken from the official returns Of
custom-house officers, afford the means of
answering the question correctly II We
include under the general name of Amer
icaH coffee the coffee produced in South
and Central America aud the West Indies
il will be found that in the year 1880, Of
the 40, ,000, 900 pounds entered for con-
sumption more than 300 eco, 600 pounds
or nearly tive-sixthS. was american coffee.
Of this enormous amount $4,000 600
pounds came from Brazil in other words,
more than four-seYenths Of all the coffee
used in the United States i ''Rio; but
nearly all Is sold and consumed under some
other name. Mocha coffee * very gcner-
ally considered the finest, and large guam
titles are sold under that name al priee
higher than ordinary. The whole amount
Of coffee imported into the United States
under the name of Mocha in the year Of
1880 was 1885 ,040 pounds OF this not
more than two and a quarter millions Of
pounds was genuine, she resf being coffee
imported into Arabia from other countries
and then exported to the United States as
Mocha Il viii be seen that the amount
of genuine Mocha imported into the United
States is about one pound in two hundred
Of the total import Practically this Is all
consumed IN the great seapoFis where it >
imported and in their immediate vicinity.
Thousands Of retail grocers in the United
States sell, and their customers use, what
both believe to be genuine Mocha. Netit
NAV be well doubted whether outside Of
the great seaports there are a hundred
grocers who have pound Of geauiRe Mocha
in their stores. But they may comfort
themselves with the assurance that the
coffee they sell under that name. Is, if any
thing. a little better than the genuine ar
tiele
The total amount az coffee imported un-
der the name of Java in 1880 was, in
round numbers, Al 900 000 Of pounds, less
than one-tenth Of the total import; 'tand
yet says Mr.. Thurber, ..ths fragrant Java
is the favorite berry throughout large part
of the United States, and every st0rekeeper
in sections where j: is in favor believes he
has the genuine article five deduct the
lower grades of Java imported, We discover
that very small quantity Of fine brown, old
Government Java is consumed in the nited
States. Nevertheless, the reader may en-
joy his coffee IN peace, aud comfort himself
with the assurance that the deception is in
name rather than fact, and that :he average
quality Of the coffee used, apart from adul-
teration with other substances, is quite as
good as if ii were all truly Iabelled.-New
York Ereniag Post