The Saint Paul globe., 1899-03-20

other conditions that affect fruits in general.
The Coffea Arabica, as it is known to science,
is a shrub from four to eight feet high with
leaves little broader than those of the COM
mon Brazilian native plant The Conea
Liberica is tree in size and appearance and
often reaches the height Of thirty feet. Tho
plant can be grown anywhere beyond the
reach of frost and where there is not ex-
cessive dryness moisture 1t thrives best
on the steep slopes of mountains, about l.000
feet above the sea level 1t has thrived, on
the other hand, on the Brazilian plains and
other lands that are properly drained for
the purpose.
The planter has to wait from three to five
years before his young trees begin to bear to
any extent. The richness Of the ground in
which the plant is placed Is important
factor as to this. The trees, If properly cared
for will bear good crops for twenty or thirty
years, and even longer in many places. In
many of the coffee-producing countries the
average tree yields only little more than a
pound to crop. In Brazil the average yield
of tree is anywhere from three to six
pounds. The advantage of the Brazilian
growers if this statement is accepted, is evil
dent The comparison nade by the writer Is
| given here:
.sThe rapid decline of coffee planting in the
| West Indies' says the article, land its total
| failure in Ceylon and many other parts OF
| the East, leave Brazil with but few strong
| competitors. Brazil now produces two-thirds
of all the coffee in the world
When one reads of coffee and Its market one
| finds many confusing names used to desig-
| nate the different kinds of the berry. These
! names refer to the place from which the berry
| is shipped. Practically all the coffee in the
market belongs either to the Liberian or the
! Arabian class The Brazilian government has
! spent much time and money in the effort to
| Introduce into that country the best plants
| and there are now large plantations in Brazil
where nothing is grown but pure Java coffee
| from imported seeds, and others where moth
| ing but the pure Bourbon OF the pure Mocha
| is produced.
| Adulteration of coffee Is a common prac-
tice among merchants An almost endless va
| riety of ingredients. none OF harmful ma
| ture is used to cheat the buyer. Among the
! ingredients used are chicory. which Is the
| best known; carrots, dandelion root, barley
! buckwheat and corn. These ingredients do
| not contain the caffeine. or theme. the par
| ticular chemical part of the berry that is
| pleasing and beneficial; they found, tOo
| only in the ground coffee, although some dis
| cIp1e OF the wooden nutmeg way of doing
| business did actually counterfeit the green
| berry, during the recent reign of high prices.
| by moulding a mass of some unknown in
| and then aavoring it with extract of the real
| article Low prices. however, do away with
| adulteratlon
The writer gives high praise to the health,
| full qualities of coffee This is what he says:
| LAS a beverage, coffee Is valuable for its
stimulating influence upon the system; 1t
| produces buoyancy Of feeling with NO un.
pleasant reaction, lessons the sense OF fatigue
and sustains the body under prolonged mus
cular strain. Coffee contains less tannic acid
than tea. and does not disturb digestion; IL
refreshes and stimulates. while 1t retards
tissue. If the seed Is roasted to q reddish
brown it loses 16 per cent In weight and
gains in bulk 80 per cent. If the roasting Is
carried on until the berry is dark brown
it loses about 20 per cent in weight and gains
30 per cent in bulk. In roasting the per-
centage Of caffeine Is lessened and the aroma
increases This aroma Is a neeting quality
of the coffee, for it fades away quickly If
the berry is kept long after being roasted,
and to preserve this quality the roasted cof
fee of trade is covered with some substance.
such as the white of eggs.
In Brazil the host tenders to a visitor the
cup of coffee. as In Japan and the East tho
cup of tea is offered. This coffee is ground
and roasted on the spot every time 1t is
served. The Brazilians know how to prepare
the drink, too. Instead of sleeping it or boil
a conical bag and pour two draughts of boil
a real cup of coffee.
fee growers in many instances have been ad-
dicted to furnishing quantity rather than
quality to the consumers. and also that the