The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-10-07
ADULTERAr1oN OF COFFEE.
How the Fake" Bean Is Manufao-
tured for Use.

From the Philadelphia Inquirer
The adulteration of food in these days
of keen competition and cheap produce
ton has given rise to a peculiar industry,
which, in spite of it's claim of legitimacy,
is enshrouded with nearly as much mys-
terry as the work of the alchemist in the
dark ages.
The new industry is the manufacture
of coffee compound, or artificial coffee.
The compound" is manufactured in
the shape of coffee beans made to imi-
tate as closely as possible the natural
article. 1t is sold to wholesale dealers
and is mixed with the commoner grades
of coffee The bogus coffee Is sold at
about one-third of the natural product,
and this allows big margin of profit
when the compound is mixed with the
genuine article. Moasss, rye, flour,
chickory, and other ingredients enter into
the composition of the bogus coffee, and
it is claimed that 1t contains nothing in
furious to health The secret of the prep
aration, however, is jealously guarded.
The manufacture of the bogus coffee
berry is commenced on the third floor of
the factory, otherwise known as the mix
ing room. At one end of a big room a
huge tub is located where the different
ingredients are thoroughly beaten up
the mixture loking very much like chill
in a sort of grinding machine, over
which young girl presldes. Her work
is to see that the PREPARATION Is thorough
ly ground and to look after the long,
brick-shaped cakes as they come from
the machine.
The putty-like substance Is now ready
for the next machine, which merely rolls
1t out in thin sheets, similar to pie-crust
A third contrNance cuts these sheets into
Ions, narrow strips about an inch In
width
Up to this point the composition has
not the slightest resemblance to coffee.
1t tastes very strongly Of molasses, and
is slightly bitter The next process is the
stamping of the long strips into beans
The machinery that does this work is
very intricate. There are a number of
wheels, about six inches in diameter, and
encircled by a brass band At even in
tervals there are indentations just the
size and shape of the convex side of the
coffee bean. The fiat, grooved side of
the bean is formed by another BRASS
banded wheel, stamped In a similar fash
ion.
The long, thin strips are run into this
machine, and are divided by knives into
two or three strips, the exact width OF
the bean. In running through the wheels
the beans are stamped out with bewilder-
ing rapidity, falling into square sleeves
The beans are carried to the floor be-
meath where the drying-room is located
A long double tier Of closets extends from
one end Of this room to the other. In
side Of these closets are steam pipes. The
sleeves containing the STAMPED coffee
beans are placed in the closets and the
steam is turned on. one hundred and
thirty degrees is the temperature required
and the bean Is left for several hours to
thoroughly dry
The bean is, Of course still very rough
and would easily be detected as spurious
were II not smoothed down. For this
process a dozen revolving sleeves are re-
quired. The bean Is taken from the dry
ing closets and dumped into the sleeves,
and is smoothed and polished by friction
In the bottom of each sieve there is a fun
nel-shaped trap through which the beans
fall into n receptacle on the floor below.
The compound now tastes like coffee,
and were It not for a slight molasses fla
vor II would be almost impossible to dis
tinguish II from natures product The
final process is to roast the bean In the
same manner as the genuine article. Any
desired shade can be obtained I'm roasting
thus initiating the various brands OF
coffee. The entire process Of manufac-
ture occupies about two days.
a petrified cat has been discovered I'm