Of the Excellent Qualities of Coffee. 629 



tised, that of putting the ground coffee into a coffee- 

 pot with water, and boiling them together, must be 

 very defective and must occasion a very great loss. 



But that is not all ; for the coffee which is prepared 

 in that manner can never be good, whatever may be 

 the quantity of ground coffee that is employed. 



The liquor may, no doubt, be very bitter, and it 

 commonly is so ; and it may possibly contain some- 

 thing that may irritate the nerves, but the exquisite 

 flavour and exhilarating qualities of good coffee will 

 be wanting. 



A decoction of Jesuit's bark is also very bitter, 

 and it is sometimes irritating ; but nobody ever found 

 it to be exhilarating. Custom might perhaps render 

 the taste of it agreeable, for even the taste of tobacco 

 becomes agreeable to those who are in the habit of 

 chewing it; but it would be difficult to persuade me 

 or any other unprejudiced person that coffee is good 

 which has nothing to recommend it but a strong, bit- 

 ter, austere taste. 



Coffee may easily be too bitter, but it is impossible 

 that it should ever be too fragrant. The very smell of 

 it is reviving, and has often been found to be useful to 

 sick persons, and especially to those who are afflicted 

 with violent headaches. In short, every thing proves 

 that the volatile, aromatic matter, whatever it may be, 

 that gives flavour to coffee, is what is most valuable in it, 

 and should be preserved with the greatest care ; and that 

 in estimating the strength or richness of that beverage 

 its fragrance should be much more attended to than 

 either its bitterness or its astringency. 



Nobody, I fancy, can be fonder of coffee than I am. 

 I have regularly taken it twice a day for many years ; 



