The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram., 1919-05-12
By WILLIAM r. sANsoRN

Vh66teAm us 0AN0OnN
If you happen to be under thirty
two years old you can tell your
friends that plain, everyday coffee is
selling for more money in Richmond
this Monday afternoon. than on any
previous date during your lifetime.
Now. We win admit that this isn't
very comforting thought: stiIl. IT
might be worse-and the deuce OF 1t
is that the worst" IL still to be ex-
pected. Just how much OF an adj
vance on present prices may be scor-
ed during the balance Of the year we
shall not venture to predict. but
there are men In the coffee importing
trade who are looking for another
good bulge" In prices.
Coffee Highly Speculative.
Not everyone knows that coffee is
highly speculative product and that
on the Coffee Exchange in New York
trading covers full year from day to
day. That is to say a lot OF coffee
was sold on the Exchange today for
delivery in May, 1920: the seller hav-
ing until the last day Of that month
to make delivery. Not only Is this
true but sales were made for delivery
during every month of the coming
twelve, all at varying prices as to the
month of the option Millions of
dollars annually change hands through
this style of trading and it is mat
ter of record that one of the other
wise most successful and widely known
hotel men in America died last year
owing one firm of coffee brokers
1852. 900 on an old speculative coffee
account, and his executors stated that
he had lost millions in period Of
years"
As a matter of fact speculation in
coffee ranks with speculation in
stocks or grain. This does not mean,
exactly, that speculation adds to the
price of coffee, as rule, for this
simple reason: If one buys coffee at
So per 100 pounds and makes so cents
bag on it, he is just as well OF as
If he bought at SIS per 100 pounds
and made the same amount of money
But in either case he is guessing, y
no matter how well posted, for no
man can tell what the weather will
do to coffee crops, nor how world con.
ditions may affect prices year away
Why Coffee is So High.
Your first thought will be, and nat
urally so, that coffee is so high be.
cause it is scarce. But that is only
true in part-it is relatively scarce
in the United States just now, and
scarcer still in most of Europe. But
there is a great supply of coffee in
coffee countries; enough and to spare
indeed, under normal conditions. Take
the supply of Mild coffees in the East
India Islands, for instance-the Javas
and Sumatra. There must ineNi
- fnt
the one simple reason that they have
been able to export but little for four
long years, and will be unable to dc
do SO in a large way for months to
come, for lack of vessels. There real
ly have been extremely heavy accu
mutations in all producing countries
Arabia, the home of the exquisite
Mocha, excepted.
But the East Indies do not supply
all of our Mild coffees. Our OWL
South American countries-that Is te
say the Central American states are
= liberal growers of coffee cherries =
for Cherry it is, with twin seeds, il
you please And from the coffee
cherry one may distill a very strong
sweet brandy and from the fruit it
self obtain caffeine, the active prin
bean Some of the finest mild co
fees of the world are grown in Mexico
a hundred miles or so out of Vers
Cruz, on the uplands, and these
are known as CordoVas and naturall!
came into this country freely eve
since our border troubles with tina
country passed into history. But thu
Mexicans drink strong coffee ant
what they can spare us amounts t
but little in our gross consumption
Our own Porto Rico, and the Islant
of Jamaica, owned by England. pro
duce coffee in quite large way ant
much of the famed Blue Mountain
coffee of Jamaica comes to this coun
try. We receive almost all the cofe
raised in Porto Rico and considerabl
of the small crop of Haiti, the thir
of the West Indian group OF islands
which produce coffee.
What we are all interested In, a
coffee drinkers, is Good" coffee-an
good coffee by the way Is the coffe
which best suits our individual tastes
according to our own private 5udt
ment. But that isn't the way tn
trade judges coffees or buy and Sc
them, either There is really vas
difference in coffees from variou
countries and, as rule, the mos
palatable and satisfying cup is mad
from, or by the blending, Of variou
groWths, a matter of lifelong stud
and experience.
The Worlds Best coffees
The most pungent, aromatic coffee