Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1889-08-02
TIE USE or COFFEE.
4 U,itcr Who Holds It to Be a Blessing
to. Poor aud Rich.

4 U,itcr Who Holds 1t to Be Blessing
to. Poor aud Rich.
We are persuaded from our obserya-
ton Of many years in Greece and Tur-
key, that the moderate use of pure cot
fee is, one might almost say, a blessing
to rich and poor. Excess in its use, OF
the use of it at all, except when the
decoction is made from the genuine
coffee berry, and properly made, is be-
yond any question an evil. One must
live in the East for while-or if not
there, confine himself to partalzing Of
the beverage in other countries where
the character of the cafe, or the house
where it is served, is a guarantee of the
purity-to appreciate what cup of
coffee really means. 1t is recognized
fact that the mixture drunk by the ma
jority of people i'll Europe and our own
country, under the name of coffee, is
vile, Or at the best, an adulterated
compound Of inferior berries, beans or
other substitutes, and that when occa-
sionally the genuine coffee berry is the
basis of the hot fluid served at the
hotels, railroad stations, restaurants
and even in private houses, it is not
prepared properly, and more frequently
than otherwise Injuries the digestion
AMI consequently, the health of the
constant drinker.
I In Athens, broadly speaking every
third man INDUCES in cigarette s,nol-
ing aud coffee drinking, and this to an
extent that astonishes the stranger. 1t
is an every day sight, when entering an
office or private sitting-room, and not
infrequently the family room, to see the
tobacco box, cigarette paper and ash
box lying on the table, and the visitor
is expected, without invitation, to help
himself and light his cigarette, as a
preparation tor, and companion to
conversation. Little cups of black cof-
fee follow as a matter of course, how
ever early or late the hour may be.
But the Greek does not contine his at
tentions to the coffee cup on these &C.
casions. He often takes his first cigar
cite and his first cup in bed before ris-
ing and continues the practice at inter
walls through the entire day. 1t is some
thing akin to the habit of ice water
drinking in the United States, but with
out the subtitle, injurious results that
follow an habitual use of cold liquids,
which chill the stomach, impair the
general health and produce decayed
teeth. So far as our personal observa-
ton goes, strengthened by medical
testimony, the Greeks in the condition
of their general health do not support
the theory that the habitual use of cof-
fee Injuries the system or affects the
eyesight.
The same is the case in Turkey.
There coffee drinking is universal and
continuous. The writer passed the
greater part of four years in CONSTANT
nople, where he had occasion to call
upon the officials Of the Sublime Porte
so frequently that it would be difficult
to enumerate these official visits; and
with few exceptions, when the visit was
protracted to any length, black coffee,
pure in quality and prepared with the
grounds, was regularly served in small
delicate cups. All Turks, from the
highest to the lowest, indulge in the
beverage, few swallows at time,
throughout the day, and without any
evil effects. What makes the fact more
remarkable is that neither the sedentary
habits of the Turk, nor the quick, ener-
getic temperament of the Greek seems
to be affected by the perpetual imbib-
ing of this beverage. spectacles, it
may be remarked, are as little used in
Turkey as is Greece; nor are complaints
of the eyes more prevalent, if we except
ophthalmia, which is brought from
Egypt and exists, chiefly among the I'M
clean and dissolute lower orders. An
old pasha once told us that he consid-
cred coffee to be one of the greatest
blessings vouchsafed by Allah to the
faithful, not only for its grateful aroma,
but from its health-preserving qualities.
He referred, of course, to the divine
berry" of Mocha, and not to the ques-
tionable compound served up in the
"infidel" countries of the West
Charles Z. Tuckerma71, in North
american Reuiey.
ABOUT CHS IND OTHER FUELS.
Those prophets Of disaster who have
foretold the speedy giving out of the
natural gas supply have apparently
been proven false seers. The great