Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-08-10
FACTS CONCERNING CoFFEE.
Some Things Every DPinker of Coffee
Ought to Know.

a
Ought to Know.
In spite Of the unquestionable facts that
the choicest coffees in the world are
abundantly imported into England, that
the berry in it's integrity is procurable
without difficulty, and that its use is so
general as to stand second only to tea, says
the st. James Gazette, we have learned to
tolerate the abiding existence of warm
brownish liquid-fiat, feeble and dull
cup of which may have inspired the
suggestion of Burton, in his "Anatomy,"
that it was ''like that black broth of the
Lacedamonians, and perhaps the same"
The horse bean has been unjRstly ira
duced as contributing to the ''body'' of
this strange decOction, but, in fact, if
weight may be given to the assertion of
an eminent vegetarian, there is Just now
a call upon the nourishing bean as
''base'' in the manufacture of beef tea
and other forms of condensed" meat.
SuppOsing, however, the make-weight Of
''miXed' coffee to be of no baser sort than
chIccory itself, this substance is totally
destitute of the eXhilarating and restora-
tive properties of the former. How valu-
able these are is a matter very insult
who probably used coffee long before the
Persians or Turks, still make a compost
ton of butter and the pounded berry,
which in travelling they find more sus-
tanning than either bread or meat. In
Central Africa the bean is persistently
chewed by the natives, and it is no I'M
common custom in the East for the
grounds of prepared coffee to be swal-
lowed after the liquid.
GhnIIl6 TPQlIZn
fact to which the Englishman Is as rule
persistently Indifferent may be set down
as one of the vagaries of modern ciYiliza-
ton. Determined, however, to agitate in
this useful branch of reform, and, start
ing with the planters fundamental max
i'm, ''Old coffees, young teas" there is no
reason why ordinary householders should
not mature the berry in their own store
closets. 1t must be kept raw and, prefer
ably in small bulk, the piquant aroma
being due to volatile oil which is devel-
Oped in the process of roasting. The COM
mon failure of a cup of coffee to attain a
reasonable standard of excellence is due
to more than one cause. If kept too long
after roasting, the fine flavor Of
the berry is dissipated, but even
this may be to some extent revived
by carefully heating the ground
coffee before use. On the other hand, the
aroma may be entirely driven off by treat
ing as a decoction that which should be
pfe~eminently simple infusion. But
- - should coffee not be boiled, it
e eiOo Ia, not ovop :" allowed to "stand"
for any length of time. FreNsa ana Lnd
is sine QuQ non, and, again, it CT naIu-
ly be made too strong. Ude may perhat
be considered eXtraYagant in his artistic
allowance of zone cup of ground coffee
for two cups of liquid" but the great
man admitted the principle of subsequent
dilution, with boiled cream for choice,
though even hot water may be then added
without injury to the flavor. AS diges-
tive strong "black" coffee has scarcely
an equal, and it is in this form that the
cOnnOisseur deliberately approves the
daintily brewed cup of pure Mocha. 1t
must be said that this is kind of ''home
comfort most commonly accessible at
club or Well-appOinted hotel, while as
club comfort, with some trepidatiOn be it
said, transplanted to the narrower arena
of the domestic circle, it is oftener than
it might be bitter failure. Somehow or
other, lovely woman will not stoOp to the
folly of putting in whole cup Of coffee
for two people-'EnOt for anyone" Coffee
must be brewed by man for man.
But even the beverage intended for
standing use-which of course the
''bIack'' coffee par excellence is nOt-may
be made bright, fragrant and eXhilarat-
ing. Abundant, but not excessive,
strength may still be pleaded for as
"cheaper in the end" We have only to
inhale the steam of freshly made coffee of
good class, and no mistake can be made
as to its beneficent character. 1t repeat
edly acts like a charm upon headache or
mental exhaustion. and, accompanied
with tobacco in any form, viii enable
student or sentry to keep vigil to the
dawn. For ordinary domestic use, how
ever, a judicious "blend'' is to be pre-
ferred to an Individual kind. A mixture
-uncontemplated by the act-Of fine con-
ditioned Mocha, with equal parts of
'TeIlicherry'' and West Indian 'Planta-
tion," may satisfy Oriental and English
man alike,