COFFEE. 



Coffee. as that liquor is found to have lost its peculiar flavour, 

 ^""V^"' and also its exhilarating quality, it is inferred, that both 

 these qualities must undoubtedly depend on the pre- 

 servation of those volatile parts which so readily escape. 

 If the liquid were perfectly at rest, the particles 

 which could escape from its surface would be incom- 

 parably less in quantity than would escape by agitation, 

 which would continually present new portions of the 

 fluid to the air. But since all fluids, while heating or cool- 

 ing, by partial communication, are known to be agitated, 

 the Count endeavours to shew by what means the heat 

 of the liquor may be uniformly kept up in all its parts : 

 for the consequence being, that the parts will, in those 

 circumstances, be at rest, the motions by which the aro- 

 matic parts might have been dissipated, will not take 

 place. 



By pouring boiling water on the coffee, and surround- 

 ing the containing vessel with boiling water, or with 

 the steam of boiling water, the coffee itself will be kept 

 permanently at the same heat, and will not circulate, 

 or be agitated. 



The common method of boiling coffee in a coffee pot, 

 is neither economical nor judicious. A large quantity 

 of the material is wasted in this method, and more than 

 half of the aromatic parts, so essential to its good quali- 

 ties, are lost. 



One pound of good Mocha coffee, which, when pro- 

 perly roasted and ground, weighs only fourteen ounces, 

 will make, by pr> per management, fifty-six full cups of 

 the very best coffee that can be made. 



If it be not ground finely, the surfaces of the particles 

 only will be acted upon by the hot water, and the 

 waste will be very great, from the large proportion of 

 coffee left in the grounds. 



The size of a coffee cup in England usually answers 

 to 8y cubic inches, but the Count considers the sill 

 meaftire as a proper standard for a cup of coffee, which 

 he therefore adopts. This will fill the furmer cup to 

 seven eighths of its capacity, and a quarter of an ounce of 

 ground coffee will be fully sufficient to make a gill of 

 the most excellent coffee. 



It is well known to chemists, that any solvent already 

 in part charged with a substance intended to be taken 

 up, will be less disposed than before to take up any ad- 

 ditional quantity ; and upon this is founded the process 

 of percolation or straining, as is practised in brewing and 

 other arts, and has been for some time recommended and 

 used in making coffee. To this the Count gives his ap- 

 probation. He finds, by experience, that the stratum 

 of ground coffee to be laid upon a perforated metallic 

 bottom of a vessel or strainer, ought to be about two- 

 thirds of an inch thick, and to be reduced by pressure 

 by a piston or flat plate of metal (after levelling it) 

 to less than half an inch. From the data he infers, 

 by a chain of observations, that if the height of a cy- 

 lindrical vessel or strainer be taken constantly at 5^ 

 inches, the diameter of its bottom must be To make 

 1 cup of coffi-e = 1^- inch ; 2 cups = 2|- ; 3 or 4 cups 

 = 2J ; 5 .r 6 = 34 ; 7 or 8 = 4 ; 9 or 10 = 4f ; 11 

 or 12 = 5. 



These strainers are to be suspended in their reservoir* 

 or vessels for containing the coffee, and the whole in- 

 cluded in another vessel called the boiler, which is to con- 

 tain boiling water kept hot by a lamp, or otherwise. One of 

 thecoffr-ep' ts recommended by the Count is a porcelain or 

 earthrn jug, with a tubular spout, not unlike those which 

 we call milk jugs, except that these commonly have a lip- 

 spout (which would answer nearly as well.) Into the 

 mouth of this is fitted a tin vessel, which fits and dtsccuda 



a little way down. It has a flat bottom perforated with Coffee. j 

 many holes, and a good close cover ; and it would be "V^ 

 well to have a round plate or rammer, to compress the 

 coffee on its bottom, and defend it from the stream of 

 hot water, when poured in. These several parts are to 

 be dipped in boiling water before using, and the differ- 

 ence between coffee made by this simple and cheap ap- 

 paratus, of which the mug may also be applied to other 

 uses, and that made by the most perfect machines, will 

 scarcely be distinguishable." 



We shall now conclude this article with the follow- Quantity of 

 ing Table, shewing the quantity of coffee exported at CU O **A*'~ 

 different times from Arabia, and the English, French, from did*, 

 and Spanish colonies. rent places. 



Cheribon in Java, exported in 1753 1,200 000 



Jaccatra & the Preanger lands 1752 1 ,200,000 



Ditto do. 1768 4465,500 



Isle of Bourbon 1763 2,535,100 Raynal. 



Surinam exported in .... 1775 15.387,000 Do. 



Martinico 9,688,960 



Guadaloupe 6,302,002 Do. 



Cayenne 65,888 Do. 



St Domingo exported in . 1767 12.197,977 Do. 



Ditto do. in 1775 45,933,941 Do. 



Ditto do. in 1783 445,734 quintals. 



Ditto do. in 1788 762,865 Do. 



Ditto immediately before! , rca , o-r v j j . 



the French revolution J 71,663,187 Edwards. 



St Lucia in 17.52 5,000,000 Raynal. 



Porto Rico in 1778 1,116,325 Do. 



Grenada in 1776 1,827.16(3 Edwards. 



Do in 1787 987,00* Do. 



St Vincent in 1787 71,011 Do. 



Dominica in 1787 2,032,778 Do. 



Do. in favourable years 3,000,000 Do. I 



Jamaica in 1768 400,300 Do. 



Do in 1774 6.50,700 Do. 



Do in 1787 716,315 Do. 



Do in 1790 1,783,740 Do. 



Cuba in 1804 12,000 quintal?. 



Caraccas in 1804 5,000 Do. 



The Islesof France and Bourbon annually 45,000 Do. 



Arabia furnishes annually to 7 , rnn nnr> 



the European companies J 1,500,00 



Do Persian* 3,500,000 



Do. fleet from Suez 6,500,000 

 Do. to Hindostan, the MalO 



dives, and the Arabian colo- > 50,000 



nies on the coast of Africa, J 



Do. to the Caraccas 1 .000,000 



Total from Arabia 



474 

 272 



6,060 



10,720 



4,360 



12,550,000 



Value in dou- 

 Quintals. ble piasters. 



Imported from the Spanish colonies') ,,,, 

 in America into Mexico, in 1802, J ' 

 Imported from do. to do. in 1803 . . 

 Exported from Mexico for Spain ii, 



1802 



Quantity produced in eastern Terra 

 Firma, independent of what ib 

 used for domestic consumption, 



Humboldt computes, that the quantity of coffee an- 

 nually consumed in Europe is 53 millions of kilogrammes, 

 or 1 16,971,000 pounds av iiidupois ; that the consump- 

 tion of France is 230 000 quintals ; and that the con- 

 sumption of Mexico, wlifre the population is one-tilth fff 

 that of France, is only 400 or 500 



l.OOO.OOOpound*. 



