The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1916-06-22

at cost or something
M@ near $76,OOO,OOO. We
~ take in the neighbor-
l-J hood of three -fourths of
a billion pounds Of this coffee ev-
cry year. They not only have
elevators for their coffee but they
have many mills, which are much
like a great -four mill. Before the
coffee can be exported it has to 60
through separators and graders;
there are number of such institu-
tions in Santos, and two of the lar
gest are owned by Americans. The
coffee is carried to the top of the
building, and it falls by gravity
through the various machines. The
mill is run by electricity, and the
machinery is such t h a t the
dirt is taken out and the beans
graded according to their size and
character. The grading is exact,
and out of the same sack will come
Mocha and Java, and almost every
variety of coffee under the sun. In
fact the most of the Mocha coffee
we use has never seen Arabia, and
almost every bit of our Java cof-
fee is grown in Brazil.
Every shipment of coffee has its
own treatment, and the value of
the shipment depends largely upon
where the coffee was raised. Some
of the regions are different from
others. Not only the soil but the
climate and elevation have a good
deal to do with the product, each
district producing beans of flavor
which is of it's own kind and quail
ty. This difference in coffee makes
it's preparation for the markets an
important element of the industry.
Every exporter has his own meth
ods of sampling the coffee and
grading it and preparing it for
shipment abroad. Coffee is graded
according to quality, and this is
tested by sight, feel and taste.
Coffee tasting is a profession and
there are men who do nothing else.
Every shipment is carefully SAM
pied, and the sample is roasted and
tasted. The result gives the grade
and this is sent with the shipment,
forming the basis of the price of
the coffee and determining as to
how it shall be sold. In going
through some of their sample
rooms | found them walled with
shelves containing the coffee re-
Gently tested. Some of the samples
were brought down and their
quality pointed out. Some of the
best coffee was labelled Mocha.
This consisted of beans as big as a
pea and much of the same shape.
The beans were of a light color
and was told that the coffee was
three years old. The coffee beans
grow better with age and the cof-
fee has finer flavor after it is
several years old. There are es-
Establishments in Brazil that make
business of polishing coffee and: as
they call it, dressing it up for the
market" have visited some of
them in Rio. Different countries
like different coffees, and some
have peculiar fancies as to taste
and color. Much of the coffee
used in South Africa is dark, the
olive green beans of Brazil are
turned around in a great mill so
that they come in contact with
colored powder that gives them
the hue of the coffee desired by
Africa. Other countries like their
coffee yellow, and others think
that the green should be brighter
than that which nature gave it.
All of this is easily regulated by
the use of little coloring matter.
As for me, l prefer the coffee as
the Lord painted it. The natural
color of the coffee is a rich olive