The Pascagoula democrat-star. (Pascagoula, Miss.) 1878-1920, 1894-10-12
Chr1rmurrat-S Star
ADULTERaTIOy OF COFFEE.
How the Fake" Bsan3is Manufactured for
Use,

L Nv uAllilii aAiNi va ltb' W Nl'N'N
days on keen competition and cheap
production has given rise TO a peculiar
industry, which, in spite OF its claim
oflegitimacy, is shrouded with nearly
rs much mystery as the work Of the
alchemist In the dark ages, says the
Philadelphia Inquirer.
The new industry is the manufact-
ure Of coffee compound, or artificial
coffee.
The compound is manufactured
in the shape of coffee beans, made to
initiate as closely as possible the nat
ural article. It,is sold to wholesale
dealers and is mixed with the com
mo~nercgrades Of; coffee. The bogus
coffee is sold at about one-third the
price of the natural product, and this
allows a big margin Of profit when the
compound" is mixed with the genu-
inc article. Molasses, rye -four, chick
DRY and other ingredients enter into
the composition of the bogus coffee,
and it is claimed that it contains moth
ing injurious to health. The secret
ofithe preparation, "howeycr, is Jeai-
ously guarded.
The manufacture Of the bogus coffee
berry is commenced on the third floor
of the factory, otherwise known as
the mixing room. I At one end Of the
big,room a huge tub is located, where
the different ingredients are thorough
ly beaten, up-the mixture looking
very much like Children's mud-pie
batter. 1t is next placed in a sort of
grinding machine, over which a young
girl presides. Her work is to see that
the preparation is thoroughly ground,
and to look after the long, brick
shaped'caksOas ,they come from the
machine.
The putty-like substance is now
ready to for the next machine, which
merely rolls lit out in thin sheets,
similar to pie-cruSt. A third con-
t~rivance cuts these sheets into long,
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 mo-
lasses, and is slightly bitter. The
next process is the stamping of lifelong
strips into beans. The machinery
that does this work Ia very intricate.
There are a number of wheels about
six inches in diameter, and encircled
by a brass band. At ven intervals
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
fashion.
The long, thin strips are run into
this machine and aredivided by knives
into two or three strips, the exact
width Of the bean. In running through
the wheels the beans are stamped out
with bewildering rapidity, falling into
square sicves placed directly beneath
the machine.
The beans are carried to the floor
beneath, where the drying-rOom is
located. A long double tier of closets
extends from one end Of this room to
the other. Inside Of these closets are
steam pipes. The sleeves containing
the stamped coffee beans are placed in
the closets and the steam lis turned
ON. One hundred and thirty degrees
is the temperature required, and the
bean is left ror several hours to thor
oughly dry.
The bean is, of course, still very
rough, and would easily be detected as
spurious were it not smoOthed down.
For this process a dozen revolving
sleeves are required. The bean is
taken from the sleeves, and is smOOthed
and polished by friction. In the bot
tom of each sieve there is a funnel
shaped trap through which the beans
fall into a receptacle on the floor
below.
The compound now tastes like coffee
and were it not for a slight molasses
flavor it would be almost impossible
to distinguish it from natures pro-
duct. The final process is to roast
the bean in the same name as the
genuine article. Any desired shade
can be obtained in roasting, thus imi-
tating the various brands of coffee.
The entire process of manufacture
occupies about two days.
Story Of a F%lnaneier.
The following story is told of the
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