Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-04-24

close at the berry whether you buy it by bag
| or pound. Very often it is shipped before
| it is thoroughly cured, or it gets damp and
| hot in the vessels hold. 1t comes out all
over blue mold. But coffee broker does
not mind a trife like that. He has sort Of
winnowing machine that rubs of and blows
away such blemishes, leaving the berry
clean and sound looking as ever.
But if you know enough to bite a grain or
so in two, and look close at the severed
halves, you will easily find the difference.
Really sound coffee is grayish
green inside, of hard, solid, rather oily sub
stance, family bitter and decidedly un-
pleasant to the taste. Moldy coffee is
more brown and less green, somewhat
spongy in texture, with hard, earthly.
taste, and the faintest scent of n I'D
Sometimes damaged coffee beans are mixed
with sound ones-but if your dealer is a
thoroughly reputable one you may depend
on getting good quality if you pay a
decent price.
If fate DEGREES that you must buy ground
coffee or none, go to some dealer who has
both reputation and a conscience, ask for
half pound of his freshest roasted beans,
see them ground with your own eyes, reso-
lutely standing out against the beguilemens
of chicory or any other admixture, have the
bag doubly, trebly wrapped, and use as soon
as possible.
How to Roa st Coffee.
If you have your own range and kitchen
by all means do your own roasting. Pick
over pound of green coffee, throwing out
stones sticks and faulty grains. Wash ID
quickly through warm water and dip out
with a skinner and drain in seevc for half
an hour. Then put it into your biggest
square stone pan, shake it evenly over the
bottom, and set it inside the oven which
should be warm, but not scorching hot In
ten minutes pull out the pan, stir the coffee
we'll and return it to the oven. Repeat
until the coffee is dry through and family
brown. Then bring the oven to quick
baking heat and let it remain so for an
hour, stirring the coffee at fve-minute in
tervals, so that no grain shall burn. At
the end of that time it ought to be rich
black-brown, nearly uniform in color,
cooked through and through, but with no
hint or flavor of scorching. When perfectly
roasted, a grain of coffee should crack
crisply betwixt the teeth. If it does not,
the roasting is not thorough, and the beans
rIust be stirred continually for Is minutes
longer with the pan set on top of the
range just back from the fire. 1t is a nice
Job until you learn all about it, but
patience and practice will very soon make
you perfect. :
Where coffee Is used only at long inter-
walls it is best to keep the green berry on
hand, and roast barely enough for use when
needed. A small quantity can be done In
half an hour with very little trouble BY
putting it in hot skillet and stirring until
it browns.
How to Maks the Coffee.
Given proper coffee, properly roasted,
two other things only are essential-a clean
pot and freshly boiled water. 1t does not
at all matter what you make it in, if only
the vessel be clean and well kept. Empty
grounds as soon as possible and wash out
the inside well with soap and very hot
water, mopping the sides well. Then scald
twice, letting the water run out through the
spout, and turn upside down to drain and
drv.
Have your water kettle clean, and fill 10
freshly. While the water is boiling take
q scant tablespoonful of berries for each cup
of coffee, grind them moderately fine, scald
the coffee pot again, and drop them In, then
add cup of cold water and stir well. It
time presses, fill I'D to your requirement.
with briskly boiling water, set 1t over tho
fire, let it strike boil, then pull back
where it will barely bubble for minute.
Next, draw away to where it Will keep very
hot but not boil, and let it stand for 15 min
utes before serving.
1t should be clear, fragrant, delicious, re-
freshing beyond words, with neither dregs
nor grounds to vex your palate and distem-
per your eye.
If YOU are connoisseur, though, you viii
use cold water in place of boiling, and let
the Temperature be very gradually raised.
1t ought to take all of three-quarters of an
hour to reach the boiling point Let it stand
and settle as before, and pour into warm,
freshly -rinsed cups.
Another small secret: If sugar Is used,
pour the coffee upon it instead Of dropping
the Jumps in sfterward. If, further, you
use cream, that too should be put ia the
empty cup. Unless, indeed, it is whipped
cream, which is distinctly an afterthoughs'
"a frivolous refinement quite unworthy.
good coffee.
Mrs. McCULLocH WILL1AnA