]\l€7noir upon Coffee. 327 



France for making one. We may conceive from this that 

 their infusion of coffee, besides being well made, is nothing 

 else than water with an infinitely small quantity of the prin- 

 ciples which this roasted grain contains, and from this osco- 

 nomy necessarily results the weakness of the coffee used in 

 this country. 



The Dutch attempt to rival the excellent infusions of 

 cofiee used in France by drinking a greater number of 

 dishes, and which they draw off more frequently than we 

 do during the day : but this is ridiculous reasoning ; and 

 in my opinion it is no better than saying that, because one 

 grain of sugar sweetens six or eight grains of tea, the same 

 quantity would produce a similar effect upon one or more 

 pounds of the same liquid. 



Of the Roasting of Coffee. 



The roasting of coffee properly is a very difficult opera- 

 tion, and to which sufficient attention is not paid, par- 

 ticularly in France. Some people, under the pretext of 

 obtaining coffee which they call strong, carry the roast- 

 inff of this erain so far that they almost char it com- 

 pletely : in fact, this bad method gives a high colour to the 

 infusions, but it is easy to divine that it is always in an in- 

 verse ratio to the goodness of this liquor : it has neither 

 that aroma nor that taste which the amateurs of coffee re- 

 quire. The taste is bitter and sharp, with a very disagreea- 

 ble back taste of empyreuma; and, in one word, the inten- 

 sity of its colour proceeds only from the solution of some 

 principles which the fire has developed in coffee by the too 

 strong roasting; of which we have already spoken in treating 

 of its analysis. 



The roasting or frying of coffee generally takes place in 

 cylinders of plate iron, a kind of vessel will known in Hol- 

 land, and particularly among the grocers of Paris. They 

 also' make use of an iron kettle, or frying-pan, when they 

 have only very small quantities to roast. In Holland and 

 the Low Countries they only employ coal or earth as their 

 combustibles, and the greatest jjrecantions are taken not to 

 char the grain: for this purpose, it is constantly stirred during 



the 



