The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1898-05-19
HOW COFFEE IS VALUED
EXPERIENCES OF PLANTER AND
BUYER.
Interchange of Views aud Opinions
That Should he of Value to the COT
fee Industry.

In the general interchange of views
and experience that must take place
before the best and fullest knowledge
concerning the care of coffee and its
preparation and handling for market
will become so thoroughly disseminat-
ed as to give the best results for Is
land coffee. the following correspon-
dence between a practical and pro-
gressive planter and an experienced
dealer will be of value:
Enterprise Coffee Plantation.
John L. Motley.
Olaa, May Il, 1898.
Mr.. F. Souza.
Dear SIR Knowing that you have
had many years of experience in
planting, cleaning. buying and sell
ling coffee, for the benefit of myself
and other planters, | wish you would
please tell me your method of buying
coffee.
| always understood that coffee was
valued according to it's. quality and
the moisture it contained and the
price paid was accordingly.
In the Spring of 1898 | was visiting
n friend in Caracas, Venezuela, who
bought, cleaned and roasted coffee.
One morning a native came with two
bags of coffee to sell. 1t was a nice
color and thoroughly dry. My friend
paid 25 cents per pound for it, AZ
forwards came negro with one large
bag to sell. 1t was nice large coffee.
but it was not one-quarter as dry as
the natives. But my friend bought
it according to its value. and this is
the way that he tested it: He had a
box that he kept for the purpose: = it
was one foot square. inside measure
ment. He filed it with coffee from
the natives bag and then leveled it
off flush on top with a board; then
emptied it into his scales. 1t was in
the parchment and it weighed 24b
pounds. He then did the same from
the Negroes bag. also in parchment,
and ii weighed 80 pounds He told
the negro that he would pay him nv
cents per pound, but would deduct
| cent per pound for drying it, which
he would have to do before he could
roast it, paying the negro 1917 cents
for his coffee. OF course that was in
their native coin.
You see | know little about coffee
but ! am not like some. know so much
that they can't learn any more, be-
cause | feel that | can't learn too
much of anything that | am interest
ed. But there are some here planting
coffee that never saw it until four
years ago. and if you were here. in
stead of them asking you how to pre-
pare and care for coffee, they would
tell you how you ought to do it, and
how you ought to buy it also
] feel that ii is so important for the
general coffee interests of these Is
lands that correct information on
these points should be widely dissem-
mated. that | will ask you to secure
the publication of this letter and
your reply in the Hawaiian Star.
Yours respectfully.
JOHN l.. MOTLEY.
Honolulu, May IS. 1898.
Mr.. John l.. Motley, Enterprise Coffee
Plantation, Olaa.
Dear Sir: In response to your ia
vor of the 18th inst, ! am pleased to
say that when buying coffee, | have
governed myself by the quality and
the moisture it contains.
The general rule is to fix the price
of standard grade, and from that
reduce the value OF the lower grades.
One of the essential conditions. es-
pecially for coffee in the parchment,
is that it should be perfectly dry, be-
cause otherwise there is a considerable
loss of weight
Any buyer will make difference
in the price between perfectly dry
and not well dried coffee.
The coffee has to be washed before
using it for its final purpose, and the
loss in weight from the roasting will
be in proportion to the amount of
moisture it contains
The dealers generally test the
amount of moisture by roasting a
sample and the loss in weight is con-
sidered in the valuation.
What you have seen in Venezuela,
that is, the use of a container with
the known capacity of perfectly dry
coffee produced in a given district to
estimate the loss in not well dried cof-
fee of the same district, is also very
much used in other countries.
Complying with your wish 7 will
hand your letter and this answer to
Mr.. a. T. Atkinson, editor of The Star.
Respectfully yours,
II