308 LIQUIDS. 



warming the body in cold weather ; it is also cooling in warm 

 weather by stimulating the action of the skin, though not so much 

 so as tea. It has been found beneficial to those weary from travel- 

 ing in the heat and suffering from want of food, also in diarrhea 

 from overwork with anxiety. If taken in excess it produces fever- 

 ishness, palpitation, anxiety, deranged vision, headache, wakefulness 

 and nervous excitement. Taken on an empty stomach it often 

 causes stomach catarrh. It relieves headache, soothes nervous 

 excitability and when given strong counteracts the effect of alcohol 

 and of opium. 



For ordinary dietetic purposes it is advantageous to make both 

 an infusion and a decoction. The infusion, made by pouring boil- 

 ing water on the recently ground coffee, extracts the volatile arom- 

 atic principle: the subsequent boiling of what has been infused 

 extracts the remaining ingredients ; this decoction free from grounds 

 when poured in a boiling state over the freshly ground coffee, takes 

 up the aroma; a decoction can be made of the grounds from which 

 the aromatic principle has thus been removed. Soft water acts as 

 an extractive better than hard. A most important point in making 

 good coffee is to use a sufficient quantity of the powder. The mini- 

 mum that should be allowed is 1J ozs. t'o a pint of water. The cafe 

 noir of the French contains a larger proportion than this. Cafe au 

 lait consists of a decoction of strong coffee, to which an equal quan- 

 tity of hot milk is added. It is especially necessary to remember 

 that the full qualities of coffee are not obtained if water is used at a 

 temperature lower than that of the boiling-point. The particles of 

 ground coffee are often found suspended in the liquid and isinglass 

 or white of egg is sometimes used to refine it. Nothing, however, 

 is required beyond pouring a cupful out and returning it to the pot 

 to effect the necessary clearing. 



The addition of boiling milk, in the proportion of one-fourth 

 part, adds greatly to the flavor and virtue of the coffee. Lastly, 

 when coffee is taken daily, an enameled saucepan should be used 

 for this purpose exclusively. 



In the choice of coffee, the best is from Guatemala (said to be 

 from Mocha), in the form of small, round beans. In the preparation 

 of it, the best plan is to purchase the beans whole, with the aroma 

 still clinging to them, roast them, grind them and add chicory to 

 taste. When made, the coffee should not be kept boiling or the 

 aromatic oil will be lost. After securing a proper quality of coffee- 

 beans, the next very important object is to know that the process of 

 roasting, on which the agreeable flavor of coffee very much depends, 

 has been properly done. If roasted too little, the oil and burnt- 

 smell constituents are not developed, or on the other hand, if done 

 too much, they may be destroyed. Dr. E. Lankester states that 

 coffee-beans, when roasted, may have three degrees of shade red- 

 dish-brown, chestnut-brown and dark-brown, and when a full-flavored 

 coffee is preferred probably the darkest is the best. After roasting, 



