The Brookhaven leader., 1884-04-10
Coffee. Making.


Coffee. Making.
The question of coffee has been raised
by an English 5 :ientist in lecture that
S. ems to have attracted much a'ten-
ton, which, it is to be hoped, may fol-
low the subject on this side of the At
lanlic. We use Tor wdste) more coffee
than any other nation in the world, and
yet it is aim st impossible to get a de-
cent cup of that (when properly made)
healthful rs we'll as grateful beverage
in any restaurant or ho.el in the United
States; and very rarely even in private
families is it known The articles
used in imitation or adulteration o.
coffee include all the cereals and the
! bread bake from some of them, acorns,
| date-stOnes, ch:cory, decayed wood and
prOhaJly numerous articles not invento
rit d or catalogued by coffee merchants.
In fact, il seems a c. IN non superStlt on
in Ameri an households that a ho', ht-
ter drink is all that is wanted, and the
name of coffee is applied TO anything
furnished to supply this want, while as
to the hotel and restaurant keepers,
they ente tain generally the most SUI
preme indifference TO the taste of custo-
mers, and are careless alike of the source
and of the sanitary value of the drink.
And what is still more depressing is the
fact that in families or hotels. where
real coffee is secured as the basis of the
beverage. it is wasted in the treatment.
Now. coffee properly made is an I'M
ortant brain stimulant, and used at
proper times and in reasonable quanti-
! -; L., ail 20 IL ic
not, in the asst, to be replaced by chic
DRY or any of the ingenious limitations
date coffee, etc. which have no other
value than that of hot drinks contain
| ing sugar and milk, while the real cof-
| fee berry. treated as i, is in most Ameri-
can families, roasted to carbonization,
and boil d to vaporization of what may
rema of the aroma, is simply Bit
ter deceit.
! he Orientals, who use coffee to a
much greater extent than we, a care
full in their select on and preparation Of
it. The varieties preferred are Mocha
and Mart nique mixed, and the roast ng
is performed every day; the pnlveriza
t on when wanted. This is done in a
mortar; the berry, roasted to a light
brown, to the point at which. with a
strong pressure between the thumb and
forefnger, it will break crisply without
any tendency to pulverlze, is pounded
to an impal pable powder, placed in a
| little copper vessel called an tbrt',, and
boiling water poured on it. The tbrjk
then being replaced for a moment on
the fire to r>s.ore the heat taken up by
the metal, the fluid is poured into the
cup and drunk, 2 'Ounds and all. If
thoroughly prepared, tie coffee should
be in condition rather res milling
cho olate than the beverage we pre-
pare; but even so it is doubtful if the
method known as the Turkish is as
| good as the French manner of an in
| fusion.
To prepare this properly the same
care must be employed not t. over
roast the co zee. Some people do that
Systematically, suppOsing that the bit
terness added to the inf sion COR decoc-
ton, as it is generally is more coffee,
while it is really only more SCOT, the
coffeine being decomposed and the finer
elements vaporized by the excessive
hea., as may be perceived in the aroma
of coffee di fused through the house,
while it ought to rema IN in the berry
tlll "dhtCu. HC Sicdl oCCICt VI SOONi
coaee is in tbs roasting point, which
must be marked by perfect equality of
color and the moderate brown which
simply indicates criSpness. If too little
roasted, it clogs the mill; if too much,
it goes to powder and will not settle
clear.
When properly roasted, = heaping
tablespoonful for each cup to be maze
should be placed in a bigg n provided
with filter, and the re iusite quantity
of water, freshly boiled, poured on it
and allo we'd to filter through. The
iineness of the powder will be indicated
by the time occupied in filtering, and
the b'ggin should be kept where the
temperature of the infusion will be
maintained at near the boiling point. 1t
may b. poured back to filter the second
time. If it runs through rapidly it may
be tasteless and require several mes
passing through. If too slowly, the
co1ee cools be ore it is made. This
point little experience will determine.
Under no circumstances should the
coffee be allowed to boil even for a
IN mute. THIS, while it seems economy,
is utter waste, as tie essential portions
of the cosee are thus driven off in
vapor.-M. Y. EreninJ Post.