142 OTHER VARIETIES. 



in Java, which, climbing the trees, selects the ripest and 

 richest of the berries, feeds on them, swallowing both 

 pulp and beans, the latter being left in the jungle and 

 afterwards collected by the natives. It is analogous to 

 the " Monkey coffee" of Brazil and the "Jackal coffee" 

 of India, the excellent qualities of which is due to the 

 chemical process which the beans undergo in the 

 stomach of the animal that has stolen them, the appreci- 

 ation of such stercoraceously deposited beans by the 

 natives being an undoubted fact. The bean is large and 

 bold, but whitish in color, heavy, round and creamy in 

 body, exceedingly fragrant and aromatic in flavor and 

 not excelled by that of any coffee grown or known to 

 commerce. 



At the time of shipment all Java coffees are of a light- 

 green shade unless — as in the case of government and 

 other coffees — they have been previously stored for the 

 purpose of seasoning or to await a better market. Dur- 

 ing the long voyage through the tropics the bean gradu- 

 ing changes to a deep-yellow, and finally to a dark-brown, 

 particularly if the voyage be materially lengthened, as it 

 frequently is ; the darker the color becomes the more val- 

 uable the coffee on arrival. This distinctive feature being 

 characteristic of Java coffees only, no other variety 

 acquiring this color except by artificial means. Color is 

 the standard of value and the principal consideration in 

 appraising its price in the American market, there being 

 a wide difference made in the values of " Pale," " Yellow " 

 and " Brown " Java coffees in favor of the latter. As stated 

 before, by being stored for a certain length of time, Java 

 coffees improve in quality, the bean becoming browner 

 and the flavor more mellow, probably in the same manner 

 as wine. The moisture evaporates from the bean and the 

 aciduous, astringent taste of the young, new bean is 



