PREPARING FOR USE. 235 



Coffee constitutes the almost exclusive or " national 

 beverage " of the people of Brazil, particularly in the 

 regions where it is most grown. It is made there by first 

 roasting, as in this country, in small roasters, but more fre- 

 quently in iron pans, very high and dark, and is prepared 

 for use by grinding or pulverizing the beans very fine, 

 almost as fine as flour, and putting it in a muslin or woolen 

 bag placed in a pot or other vessel upon which boiling 

 water is poured, and allowed to infuse for about fifteen 

 minutes. The entire strength is thus extracted, the 

 Brazilians almost universally preferring their coffee strong 

 and "black," that is, without milk, for which reason 

 larger quantities are also used. 



Many connoisseurs maintain that the roasting of coffee 

 is best done at home, as no doubt it is, all risk of adul- 

 teration and stale coffee being avoided by this method. 



So to avoid all risks the consumer should purchase the 

 coffee in a whole state and grind it personally; but any 

 suspected sample of ground coffee may be tested by the 

 following simple and practical experiments: (i). Note 

 whether the ground coffee hardens or " cakes " when 

 pressed between the fingers, if so, the coffee is evi- 

 dently adulterated, most probably with chicory; (2). 

 Place a small sample of the suspected coffee on top of 

 water in a wineglass, and if part floats and part sinks it 

 is undoubtedly adulterated either with chicory, roasted 

 cereals or other analogous substances ; (3). If the cold 

 water in which a sample of the ground coffee has been 

 placed becomes deeply colored it is an evidence of the 

 presence of some roasted vegetable substance; (4). But 

 to more definitely detect the presence of chicory or other 

 foreign substances in ground coffee, put a teaspoonful of 

 the suspected sample on the surface of a glass of cold 

 water. If it floats for some time, scarcely coloring the 



