The morning call., 1892-05-18
NICE STUFF TO DRINK.
A Chemical " What-IS-lt" in
Our Coffee.
IT Is USED HERE By THE TON.
Nobody Knows Exactly What Its In.
gradients Are.
4 Shameless Fraud on the Public - 1t
Costs but Little and Sells
Very High.
IT Is USED HERE By THE TON.

An Oakland factory turns out tons and
tons of coffee adulterant every week.
1t is filthy-looking stuff, being made of
any material that comes easiest to hand.
1t costs the coffee grinders 22 10 cents
a pound
1t is sold in ground coffee at 20 to 80 cents
| a pound.
And the inscriptions adulterators use
from 10 to so per cent of the rank stuff in
the coffee they sell.
This is one of the trickiest practices
known to the trade here, with the sole ex
ceptlOn of coffee greening. which The CALL
has thoroughly shown IN.
1t is not easy to get samples OF the crude
adulterant.
You cannot buy il anywhere liz this city.
except when it is mixed with coffee.
THE CALL, however has managed to
secure several pounds OF the vile stuff.
In appearance it is unSpeakably nasty.
1t is of various shades Of brown. running
from light to very dark
When left to stand in water 1t precipi-
tates dirty grit and colors the water a
black, nasty color.
Its use in this city is very general.
All the grocory-stores sell it-that is, all
that buy ground coffee from manufacturers.
Here is what man says who has earned
his living by mixing II with coffee and
grinding it up:
1--WE handled hundreds of tons of that
stuff. We call it coffee-com pound"
What is 1t made Off" was asked.
Now you've got me. l know few of
the ingredients, though. They go around
and buy up all the spoiled figs they can get
hold Cf-those that are so sour and wOrmy
that they wont sell i"
do they put them in the compound ?'
"Of course they do. Another thing is that
stuff they call oil-cake. 1t is made of ln-
seed after the oil has been extracted. They
don't take the kind thatthe horses eat-that
would be too expensive-but they take the
dried-out kind. the sort that the oi-cake
manufacturers can't make any use OF ex-
cept as fertilizers"
What else is used?"
Bran and screenings from fourmils;
nasty stuff that is just fit for hogs TO eat.
Do you know l would no more drink a cup
OF coffee made from the ground stuff that
the grOceTs sell than ! would take
drink from sewer. It's simply too nasty
TO think Of as e beverage"
still you fix up tons Of it for eOnsump-
ti0h by the public do you"
"Why. yes. That's what I'm paid to do.
II the boss told me TO put I'm street sweep
ings I'd do it. A poor man has to live. you
know"
Are you sure that the materials you have
named are in these samples?" asked TIE
CALL man.
''Oh. no; not at all. There may be ground
hay aud paper pulp in it for all | know.
There may be old shoes roasted and ground
up IN 1t. There may be old rags and sacks.
spoiled m0lasses, sawduSt-anything at al"
TIE CALL man showed the compound TO
several grocers who said they had never
seen anything like it before. Doubtless
they had not seen il in the crude shape, but
they had probably seen plenty oft in ground
coffee.
Where did you get that stuff" one man
asked II looks as If it might have
why. that's cut-plug tobacco. isn't it?"
asked another.
"SawdusI aud sorghum" guessed man
who felt dead sure" he had hit it.
Brown paDer ground with oats and
bran and stuck together with glucose"
haZGTded another.
'Street-sweepings, compressed and de0dOr-
led" said the man who felt most certain.
/" Dead oak leaves and molasses," guessed
Valencia-street grocer.
Ground hay, mixed with lcoTice,"
Yentured Markei-street cOffee-seller.
Wood pulp and glue" was what lead
ing North Beach grocer thought it was.
=" Bran, charcoal aud molasses, with pos
sibly a little ground stable-sweepings.
haZsrded cOal-dealeT.
Redwood bark, ashes, flax seed and
glue, guessed a notel-keeper.
Ground straw, glucose, ashes and plug
tobacco" guessed a cigar-dealer.
" Rye, roasted and ground, black figs and
mud, yentured another cigarman.
Oatmeal, sand. honey. mustard and
eucalyptus leaves" said real-estate agent.
Red clay, gum arabic, feathers and old
boots" was the guess of a railroad man.
Ground tule, molasses. adobe and print
ers' ink, thought a Montgomery
tailor.
And SO it went No two could agree on
the ingredients Of The compound, and should
you see it you would say, mo wonder"
The CALL will have the stuff analyzed.
The chemical What is 1t" which is
drunk az breakfast while you read your
CALL will be subjected to searching exami-
nation.
THE CALL will do its best to ventilate this
shameless fraud on the public.
What are our market inspectors employed
for if it is not to protect the people in such
ways as the seizure of these adulterants?
We pay city officials salaries to look out for
such things, and then we pay 30 to 40 cents
a pound for coffee" that is 20 TO so per
cent "Wha. is it."