The Plant World 



A MONTHLY JOURNAL OF POPULAR BOTANY. 



Vol. in. JULY. 1900. No. 7. 



COFFEE GROWING AND DRINKING 



liy Alice Carter Cook. 



( Conchided. ) 



To attain the best results the beans should not be roasted until 

 they are required for use; not only beeause the volatile oil to which 

 the drink owes its agreeable properties disappears readily, but also 

 because the quality improves remarkably by keeping. This is true to 

 such an extent that Brown declares that "the worst coffee produced in 

 America v.ill, in a series of years not exceeding ten or fourteen, be as 

 good, parch and mix as well and have as high a Havor as the best we 

 now have from Turkey if properly kept in a dry place. " Roasting, 

 however, requires long experience, and therefore, is as a rule done by 

 the merchants. 



After being roasted, the beans are often glazed, ostensibly to pro- 

 tect them from the atmospheric oxidation, preserve the aroma and 

 clarify the liquor in the making; but in reality, the object in most 

 cases is to disguise defects. " The egg glaze sometimes used is not 

 ol)jectionable, but too often the substance consists of glue, purified 

 petroleum oil, gum arable or other equally undesiraljle ingredients. 



The commercial value t)f coti'ee depends upon the form, size, color, 

 ilavor, smell, age, uniformity and purity of the beans. "Large, shin- 

 ing berries may have an aroma decided!}- inferior to that of insignifi- 

 cant ones." Color, besides being an index of maturity, is a local 

 peculiarity, and is often altered by staining or i)olishing. A taste and 

 oder test should always be apj)lied, but l)iilli require long experience. 

 The mixing of diiferent varieties secures combinations of properties 

 suited to the tastes of individual consumers, and is also practiced for 

 the less praiseworthy object of disguising the flavor of inferior sorts 



