Economic Importance of Plants 265 



months into bright red berrylike cherries. When ripe, their color is dark 

 red. The coffee "cherries" each contain two seeds of coffee beans with 

 their flat sides face to face. The three coverings are removed in the prep- 

 aration process. These evergreen coffee plants grow at high altitudes 

 (lj500 to 6j000 feet above sea level) . One tree yields from one to twelve 

 pounds, depending on its size. The coffee plant is indigenous to Eastern 

 Africa and is cultivated in tropical countries, such as Brazil, Central 

 America, Java, Sumatra, and Ceylon. Coffee was probably first used 

 in Arabia or Abyssinia in the ninth century. The Arabians called it 

 "kawah" from which the names kaffee and coffee eventually were de- 

 rived. By 1696 it had reached the island of Java which was destined to 

 continue its contribution for many years. In fact, even today some say 

 a "cup of Java" instead of a "cup of coffee." 



When dried, ground, and boiled, the coffee beans contain 1 to 2 per 

 cent of a crystalline alkaloid known as caffeine which acts as a poison 

 when taken in larger doses. They also contain from 3 to 5 per cent of 

 tannin, 10 to 12 per cent of fatty oils (palmitin and olein), 15 per cent of 

 glucose and dextrin, 12 per cent of proteins. The aroma is due to a 

 volatile oil known as coffeol which is developed during the roasting 

 process. 



Tea is made by steeping the dried leaves of the tea plant {Thea sinen- 

 sis) which is an evergreen shrub or tree indigenous to Eastern Asia and 

 extensively cultivated in China, Japan, Java, Brazil, France, and to some 

 extent in the southern United States. The dried leaves contain from 

 1 to 3 per cent of the crystalline alkaloid theine and 10 per cent of the 

 astringent tannin. The flavor is due to a volatile oil developed during 

 the curing process. 



Cocoa is prepared from a dark-brown powder which is obtained from 

 the seeds of the small tree Theobroma cacao. The fruit is large, fleshy, 

 yellowish-red, ovoid, and contains five rows of ovoid seeds, ten or twelve 

 in each row. The seeds contain from 1 to 3 per cent theobromine (a 

 crystalline alkaloid), 15 per cent proteins, 15 per cent starch, 40 to 50 

 per cent of a fixed oil known as cacao butter, 0.3 per cent caffeine, 0.5 

 per cent sugar, and a red color due to the process of fermentation. The 

 aroma of cacao arises during the process of fermentation. The flavor is 

 mild, and frequently spices and vanilla are added to make chocolate. 



The cacao tree is indigenous to the countries on the Gulf of Mexico 

 and is cultivated in several tropical countries. The raw seeds are bitter; 

 a great part of the bitterness is eliminated by the process of fermentation 

 to which the seeds are subjected in preparing them for use. 



