The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1890-02-06
Flour Coffee Beans.

New YORK, Jan 3l-The genius tba
led to the manufacture ofwuoden nuLmegs
some years ags-a genius tor making
money by filing ones fellow men with
sawdust, like children's dolls-bss broker
loose again. This time -four, water and
some unknown Ingredient like mucilage
take the place of wood, and instead o
nutmegs, cofee-genuine Rio, Java, Mo
cha, or any desired brands manufac
tured. .
The manufacture of this adulterant has
been going on successfully for some time
at certainly two places, Philadelphia aud
Trenton, New Jersey. But the original.
ing genius may be neither a Philadelphiau
nor Jerseyman. His nationality ia in
fact unknown, and diligent search car.
ried on for weeks has failed to locate the
manufacture of ofspurious coffee beans.
Some of the wholesale grocers down
town have quantity of these manufac.
tured coffee beans. In size. shape and
color they are close imitation of the
bean imported from Rio, which is so pop.
ular in the Eastern part of the United
States. 1t is a small, rather fat bean OF
bluish.gr slate color tint, aud rather
smaller than some of the coffees that are
imported into this country. The CHIEF
faults of the imitation are that it is tri-
Ae too heavy and lacks the small fibre that
is almost always seen on the fat side of q
coffee bean in the little crease that almost
divides the bean. Still, the imitation is
pronounced excellent by experts who have
examined specimens of the Philadelphia
coffee.
The secret of its manufacture is un.
known. No analysis has been made as
yet to determine all of the ingredients. 1t
is only known that -four and water are
used in making the beans. The form Of
the coffee bean is of course taken from a
mould of an actual bean. How it is col.
cred is mystery.
While the raw coffee is an excellent
imitation, the roasted imitation is almost
perfect, when examined casually even by
coffee experts. In color and general ap-
pearance, everything but taste, in fact,
the roasted coffee that co1nes from Phila.
delphia and Trenton is equal to any coffee
in the market. 1t tastes like dough that
has been allowed to stand century in a
retired spot, where il could harden as
dough naturally does harden after a
time.
Several grains of the Philadelphia
"cof'ee" we're taken by representative of
the Commercial around among the coffee
brokers down town. Few of them had
never heard of it before, but pronounced
itan excellent imitation. One we'll known
broker said, pointing to small pan near
ly full of unroasted coffee, that in color
and size the made bean seemed identical
with the real coffee.
"Still," he added, ':put four beans in
that pan and mix them we'll with the
genuine, and I will wager $40 gold
piece I caa pick them out in three min
utes."
The four Philadelphia beans were
placed in the pan and mixed with the
genuine Rio while the brokers' back was
turned. Then the pan WAS handed to
him. 1t contained about four hundred
coffee beans. In two minutes the broker
had picked out four beans. a close
examination showed that one bean was
genuine and three we're the made beans.
He afterward found the bad Philadelphia
bean in the pan. he explained his mis-
take by saying he was nearsighted.
The coffee representative of Thurber,
Whyland & Co. said: tits a fair imita-
ton Of the Rio coffee, but an expert can