MY FRIENDS POMONA AND CERES. 89 



The coffee {Coffea Arahica) is not, like the cacao, 

 a native of the West Indies, but was brought here in 

 the last century from Africa. Its cultivation was 

 almost abandoned in the flourishing period of sugar 

 and slavery times, but is now being taken up again 

 with profit. The Mocha variety requires an elevation 

 above the sea of from one thousand to two thousand 

 feet for the best results, but there is a variety called 

 the Liberian which will grow at a lower altitude, and 

 in many respects is superior. 



My coffee was from some old plantation Mocha, 

 run wild years ago. This kind grows best in rich, 

 deep soil, and likes to nestle in deep crevices among 

 the rocks of a hillside, where the warmth and col- 

 lected moisture promote its growth. The berries are 

 red as a cherry when ripe and must be gathered as 

 soon as matured. 



Inside the pulp is the coffee bean, which must 

 be removed by a process called pulping. Machines 

 are provided for that purpose on the estates, but 

 I removed mine by rolling the berries between 

 two boards, as there was but a small quantity, and 

 after that I soaked them in water for twenty-four 

 hours to ferment and remove the mucilaginous sub- 

 stance adhering, and then spread them out to 

 dry. 



Even then there remained the parchment or hull, 

 which I brayed off in a rude mortar hollowed out of 

 wood, and winnowed in the air. As I had no coffee 

 grinder or mill, I had recourse to a most primitive 

 process by putting the coffee, after it was roasted, 



