, 1889-07-11
The USE oE coEEEE.
A Writer Who Holds 1t to BE a Blessing
to Poor and Rich.

to Poor and Rich.
We are persuaded, from our observa-
ton of many years in Greece and Tur-
key, that the moderate use of pure coffee
is, n might almost say, a blessing to
rich and poor. Excess in its use, or the
use of it at all, except when the decoc-
ton is made from the genuine coffee
berry, and properly made, is beyond any
question an evil. One must live in the
East for a while, or IL not there confine
himself TO ~partaking 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 nppre-
ciate what a cup of coffee really means.
1t is a recognized fact that the mixture
drunk by the majority of people in Eu-
rope and our own country under the
name OF coffee is n vile, or, ut the best,
an adulterated compound of inferior ber-
ries, beans or other substitutes, and that
whe occasionally the genuine coffee
berry is the basis of the hot fluid served
at the hotels, railroad stations, restau-
rants and even in private houses, it is
not prepared properly, and more Ere
quently than otherwise Injuries the diges-
ton and, consequently, the health of the
constant drinker.
In Athens, broadly speaking, every
third man INDUCES in cigarette smoking
and coffee drinking, and this to an ex-
tent 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, rs n
preparation for, and n companion to,
conversation. Little cups of black cof-
fee follow a n matter of course, how
ever early or late the hour may be. But
he Greek does not confine his atten-
ions to the coffee cup on these occa-
sions. He often takes his first cigarette
and his first cup in bed before rising,
and continues the practice at intervals
through h entire day. 1t is something
akin to the habit of ice water drinking
in the United States, but without the
subtle, 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
u personal observation goes, strength
enc by medical testimony, the Greeks
in the condition of their general health
do not support the theory that the
habitual use of coffee Injuries the sys-
tenn or affects the eyesight.
The same is the case in Turkey. There
coffee drinking is universal and contin-
nous. The writer passed a greater part
of four years in Constantinople, where
he had occasion to call upon the officials
of the Sublime Porte so frequently that
1t 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, n few swallows
at n time, throughout the day, and with
out any evil effects. What makes the
fact more remarkable Is that neither the
sedentary habits of the Turk nor the
quick, energetic temperament of the
Greek seems to be affected by the per
petual imbibing of this beverage. Spec
tacles, it may be remarked, are as little
used in Turkey as in Greece; nor are
complaints of the eyes more prevalent, If
we except ophthalmia, which is brought
from Egypt and exists chiefly among the
unclean and dissolute lower orders. An
old pasha once told us that he considered
coffee to be one of the greatest blessings
vouchsafed by Allah to the faithful, not
only from its grateful aroma, but from
its health preserving qualities. He re-
ferred, of course, TO the "divine berry"
Of Mocha, and not to the questionable
compound served up in the ''infidel"
countries of the west.-North American
Review.