The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1888-08-01
A CUP OF COFFEE.
HOME OF THE BERRY AND HOW
EFT is CULTIVATED.
The Coffee Tree an Everereen-Its
Natural Growth S:untcd Arti-
ficially-Preparing the
Berry For Market.

How many persons slipping their after
dinner cup of coffee have ever given a
thought to the various hands through
which it las passed prior to that moment,
or how many 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 Constantinople in 1854; Venice 1915,
and in London, England, the first coffee
house was opened in 1862. The culture
was introduced from Arabia to Java in
1890, and from that date on extended
throughout the East Indies. In Ills
Louis XIV. received from the magistrates
of Amsterdam 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 height of
twenty or thirty feet, but cultivated
plants are pruned down low so as to be
more easily plucked when the fruit is
ripe. There is, like on most tropical
plants, a 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 cherry and grows in
5 clusters close to the stem. 1t has a
sweet pulp which is palatable, 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
J, 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 con-
sists of various patterns. Some use an
/ upright cylinder, in which revolves
another with 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 contrived 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 SUI. 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 with it, as
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, and SO dry
their coffee more quickly and save much
.rehandlirg. After the berries are thor
oughly dried they are run through
another machine which crushes and
bruises up the now brittle skins sur
rounding the seeds. They are then
run through tanning mill which carries
of the fragment of shells and sticks and
other impurities and leaves only the clean
coffee seed behind. These 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
cargo for Europe or the United States.
The process of harvesting and curing diff.
/. fers somewhat in various countries and
where coffee is largely raised, as in Brazil,
where it is the great staple, new machin'
: cry is constantly being introduced to save
labor and simplify the manipulation.
=; In the island of Java the coffee is
placed after it is cleaned on fiat shelves
made ofmats sheltered only from above by
a matched roof, and leftto 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 Coffee Exchange which to a
certain extent regulates the values. Cof-
fee comes to US of all varieties and
grades, but by far the largest quantity
comes from Brazil, of whose entire crop
we consume the greatest part. To sim
plify matters there have been adopted
certain standards, which range from No.
4 prime down to No. 10 common. 1t is
/. usually sold by first hands in cargo lots,
so many bags at certain fixed price.
These large lots contain different quail
ties, but the purchaser pays one price for
all, and afterward 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 bust
ness of roasting coffees and putting them
up in packages, from one pound up.
wards, has grown to be vast industry,
and has revolutionized the coffee trade
in this country. Coffee seems to be an
American beverage. Foreigners who
used tea exclusively in their old home;
across the water soon acquire taste for
coffee and drop tea 1t is cup that
invIgorates but does not intoxicate.-
New York Graphic.
N