The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1898-04-23
COFFEE MAN TALKS
Continued from First Page.)

from another, due to conditions as II
have already explained. Moreover
this test would be decided on the judg-
ment of professional coffee tasters, and
not habitual drinkers, as you would
infer by your criticisms. 1t is the
same in the case Of tea and wine; and
if the experts, especially in the latter,
were TO consume all the samples placed
before them in the course Of day,
their judgment as to values would be
on a par with the 40 year coffee drink
er.
In your issue of the 25th March, you
say, Out of 1000 pounds Of berries
picked from the trees only limited
percentage is rated prime and sold at
the highest price. There are several
grades, each grade with less value.
The lowest grade may bring only
cents per pound. What the tender
foot ought to know, and what we, who
wish to pu5 the industry on firm
basis, must tell him, is what the aver
age price of ali the grades will BRING
This has not yet been done. We I'M
derstand that in this town there are
number of very discOuraging &C
counts of coffee sales in San Francis
co. These represent the value OF the
average grades and not the highest"
Now, Mr.. Editor, i do not know
who your authority may be for the
above statement, but he decidedly does
not belong to the class whom you
would like to see eXterm1nated. He
evidently does not know much abOud
coffee berries, or he would not talk
such nonsense; or perhaps he may re-
Of
| I am not familiar; if so, thank heaven,
if has not as yet found its way into
this district.
In the first place what you say has
not been done, I can prove 10 the
contrary by the quotations I append
| herewith. For your information, and
| that of your learned friend, it may
he as we'll to state that there are real
| w only two defined species of the
coffee tree. viz: the arabian and
'fSiberian;'' all the other coffees are
merely varieties of the former, and so
| far as [ am aware of, produce cherries
| in similar manner.
Out of 1000 tons of berries picked
| from the trees anywhere, they will be
found to contain only four kinds, or
| grades as you term it, of bean, viz;
| Pea berry, sound parchment, malform-
| ed beans and light coffee. What the
percentage of uniformed beans might
| be in a sample of KOna coffee, 90 not
| know. as have never had occasion TO
| separate them. What the percentage
| of pea berry and light coffee are now
| ever, l do not know. The former, as
rule is considerably greater than any
thing / remember in CeylOn, and tine
| latter is small, but this will vary with
| the conditions of the season during
time of harvest. In any case as this
last is of no value, it reduces the klnd
| of beans in a coffee cherry to three;
| of which l should say, under favorable
conditions. the malformed beans would
form a very small percentage.
You will perceive therefore, in place
| of half a dozen, or more grades OF
coffee, ranging in price from II CTS. 10
G cts. per pound. coffee tree under
cultivation, will produce only two
qualities, not grades, Of coffee, VIZ
pea berry and fat bean.
OF course, through Ignorance OF
carelessness, it is quite possible, in the
process of pulping, washing ana Ter
menting, ETC., to SO smash up and dlS
| color the bean, that the percentage
left which would realize II cts. Pc
hound. would be very small, ana th'
balance. would range all the wa!
down to 6 cts per pound. Please re
member however, Mr.. Editor, that TIL
co11Ld never happen in the hands o
the ever present experienced man.
The word grade is a wrong term t
use in connection with plantatlol
coffee. as it designateS one quality III
ferior to another. After the parcn
ment has been subjected to the hu
ling and polishing process, 1t IS passe
through what is known as separaUlh
machine. which Classics the Gomez az
cording to size; very different thin
from grading it.
One of the most improved anu MOO
ern machines for this purpose MAKE
the following classihcatlons, VIZ
Dust. small and broken beans, SInd
= pea berries, large fiat beans, large pe
berries and malfOrmed beans.
Leaving out the dust, broken an
uniformed beans we would have tW
sizes of pea berry and Two sizes
fat bean: but one classification for pc
berry is all that would be necessar
Now all the above samples would i
nresent coffee Of a superior quallt
and there could be no such thing
drop from II cts. to cts. per pour
, for any one of them. They would a
command top prices provided they
sent to the proper markets, as sha
shortly Illustrate.
The word grade therefore, sign
flying an inferior and superior GUAM
of coffee cannot be applied to Pa.
=. tation."
= If you were to pick up so bags
Kona coffee from various ports aIol
this coast, then your argument Won
hold good for you would probably III
N as many grades in the true sense
the word; from the fact OF the hume
Gus and varied methods employed
their preparation.
. A coffee tree therefore, proauc
sound and unsOund beans; ana not
YOU would infer, like a chlIds ChTls
mas tree, loaded with an assoI Ille
? hOnTe