JAVA COFFEES. 1 33 



from the smoke, although it does not appear that any- 

 particular kind of wood is used as fuel. On the other 

 hand, when the coffee is dried in the sun the bean 

 becomes of a pale yellowish color, is larger in size, 

 specifically lighter in weight and more pungent in 

 flavor than the former. The most common method of 

 pulping in Java among the natives is to pound the ber- 

 ries when dried in a bag made of buffalo hide, care being 

 taken not to break or mutilate the beans. A mill of the 

 most elementary construction is, however, sometimes 

 used for the purpose, but is said not to answer as well. 

 When the operations of pulping and cleaning are com- 

 pleted the coffee is then put in bags and baskets and 

 stood on raised platforms until the period of delivery 

 arrives, when it is carried to the " go-downs " or store- 

 houses, sometimes by men but more generally on the 

 backs of buffaloes and mules in strings of from 1,500 to 

 2,000 at a time. In the Sunda district there are three 

 principal depots for receiving the coffee from the culti- 

 vators — Chikan, Karang and Buitzenorg. From Buit- 

 zenorg it is either sent direct to Batavia by land in carts 

 or by way of Linkong, whence it is forwarded in boats 

 by the Chidana river, while from Chikan the coffee is 

 sent in boats down the river Chitaram and thence along 

 the sea-coast to Batavia, where it is received into exten- 

 sive warehouses and from which it is in turn generally 

 exported to the European and American markets. 



Up to a very recent period almost all coffee in Java 

 was cultivated by the natives under supervision of the 

 Dutch government, which had a monopoly of the 

 product, deriving an enormous revenue from its cultiva- 

 tion. Under this system, each family was compelled to 

 cultivate, pick, dry, hull and deliver the coffee at the 

 nearest government warehouse for transport to the port 



