Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1888-07-07
THE CHEERING CUP.
A CHAPTER OF INFORMATION FOR
THOSE WHO LOVE COFFEE.
Where the Berry Comes From and
How 1t Fares on the Way
to the Table.

The world has grown to love the sooth-
ing aroma Of well-made cup of coffee
more and more within these late years
Out in the Western country not enough
attention has been heretofore given to the
securing of all that was appetizing and
pleasure-giving from the stomach-inspiring
cup, and so in one of the prairie town
journals something is told about the berry
and its history, and what trouble is taken
to bring it within reach of the little grind
ing mills that stand in every well-regu-
lated kitchen. Here is the story:
How many persons slipping their after
dinner cup of coffee have ever given
thought to the various hands through
which it has passed prior to that moment,
or how iany have an idea of how it grows
and is prepared for market Coffee was
first introduced into Arabia from Ethiopia
as far back as S75 A. D.; next in Constan-
tinople in 1854; Venice, 1915 and in Lon
don, England, the first coffee house was
opened in 1862 The culture was intro
duced from Arabia to Java in 1890, and
lItHl tIldl OdlC Olt GAltuOtNl klThuGllOuI
the East Indies. In l7l5 Louis XIV. re-
ceived from the Magistrates of Amster-
dam a coffee plant bearing blossoms and
fruit, and this is claimed to be the parent
stock of all West India coffees.
The coffee tree is an evergreen and
grows if unchecked to a hight of twenty
or thirty feet, but cultivated plants are
pruned down so low as to be more easily
picked when the fruit is ripe. There is,
like on most tropical plants, constant
growth of blossoms and fruit, but at two
seasons of the year the regular blows
occur, and at later periods the harvesting
is done. The ripe berry resembles a
cherry and grows in clusters close to the
stem. 1t has n sweet pulp which is palat-
able, but of no commercial value. Inside
of the layer pulp are the two fiat coffee
beans, each one surrounded by tough
skin, and these two surrounded by another
skin or hull. Sometimes it happens that
one of the beans does not fructify when in
blossom, and consequently only one seed
grows in the berry. This one, not having
any opposition, curls up round and forms
what is known as peaberry coffee. As the
berries ripen they become red and dark
purple. They are then picked by hand at
intervals during the harvest time To
prepare the seeds for market it is necessary
to remove first of all the outside pulp.
This is done by machinery, which consists
of various patterns. Some use an upright
teeth that bruises the berries as they pass
through. Running water washes away the
pulp, which is light and rises to the top,
while the seeds, being heavy, sink to the
bottom and are drawn Off
Next comes the drying process, which is
usually eontrived in this manner: There
is large space of bare ground in front of
the coffee house and here the berries are
spread out during the day and exposed to
the hot sun. At night they are raked up
in piles and covered to protect from the
dew. In raking and spreading out the
coffee small stones and Jumps of earth get
mixed up with it, us many grocer has
found out to his cost when he has ruined
his coffee mill. To prevent this the
Weather planters now use long, shallow
pans made of copper, under which steam
pipes run, aud so dry their coffee more
quickly and save much rehandling. After
the berries are thoroughly dried they are
lun through another machine which
brushes and bruises up the now brittle
skins surrounding the seeds. They are
again run through machinery which
separates the different character of seeds;
such as the peaberry from the fiat, the
large from the small, etc. The coffee is
then packed in bags and carried on mule
back to the shipping port, where it forms
part Of It cargo for Europe or the United
States. The process of harvesting and
curing differs somewhat in various coun-
tries, and where coffee is largely raised, as
in Brazil, where ii is the great staple, new
machinery is constantly being introduced
to save labor and simplify the manipula-
ton.
In Java the coffee is placed, after it is
cleaned, on fiat shelves made of mats, shell
tered only from above by matched roof
and left to cure. The hot winds sweep
through these sheds and thoroughly dry
and cure the coffee and give it that rich,
dark look which is a sign of age in Java
coffee. In New York there is a Coffee
Exchange, which to certain extent regu-
lates the values. Coffee comes to us of all
varieties and grades, but by far the largest
quantity comes from Brazil, of whose en-
tire crop we consume the greatest part
10 simplify matters there have been
adopted certain standards, which range
from No. l, prime, down to No. 10, com
mon. 1t is usually sold by first hands in
cargo lots, so many bags at certain fixed
price. These large lots contain different
qualities, but the purchaser pays one price
for all and afterwards sorts and grades
them himself and sets his own values on
them. Formerly coffees were only sold
raw-that is, green; but of late years the
business of roasting coffees and putting
them up in packages, from one pound up
wards, has grown to he vast industry and
has revolutionized the coffee trade in this
country. Coffee seems to be an American
beverage. Foreigners who used tea ex-
clusively in their old homes across the
water soon acquire taste for coffee and
drop tea. 1t is a cup that invigorates, but
does not intoxicate.-New York Graphic.