GLAZING. 195 



It has been the custom for some years back to coat or 

 glaze coffee with certain gluey or starchy compounds, 

 ostensibly to protect the beans from the oxydizing influ- 

 ences of the atmosphere, preserve the aroma and clarify 

 the liquor in preparation, each roaster and dealer having 

 a different compound for the purpose. It is most gener- 

 ally composed of various glues, moss and other starchy 

 substances and is usually prepared by placing the mate- 

 rials composing the compound in a cask, vat or tank 

 filled with boiling water conveyed through pipes or by 

 injecting steam, thoroughly stirring it at the same time 

 until it is mixed to the requisite consistency. After the 

 solution is prepared it is applied to the coffee while hot, 

 generally in the cylinder while revolving, which diffuses 

 the material and imparts an even and uniform coating 

 to the coffee, adhering and hardening as it cools. But 

 the claims made by roasters and others who coat or 

 glaze coffee, that large quantities of eggs are used exclu- 

 sively in the preparation of the glazing compound is 

 simply absurd, as is also the claim that it is resorted to 

 for the purpose of closing the pores, to protect and retain 

 the aroma and for self-settling purposes. The real object 

 being to conceal defects, disguise low grades and damaged 

 coffees, as well as to add weight and color to light, chaffy 

 and "quakery" coffees, the process adding all the way 

 from 5 to 10 per cent, to the weight, according to the 

 nature of the coffee and the character of the substance 

 used ; light, chaffy-bean coffees absorbing more of the 

 material than the hard and solid ones, while the softer 

 and rougher the bean the more it improves in appearance 

 by the process. 



