244 PREPARING FOR USE. 



exhilarating and beneficial proportionately as they are 

 treated ? 



A large proportion of housekeepers purchase their 

 coffee already roasted, and many more buy it ground, but 

 if bought whole while still hot and kept in an air-tight can 

 until required and then ground, the improvement in the 

 liquor would amply repay for the trouble expended, as 

 much of the fragrance and aroma of the roasted coffee 

 is lost by laying too long, there being even a greater 

 loss when the coffee is ground for too long a time. But, 

 on the other hand, unless the roasting is done very care- 

 fully at home, the coffee will not be good, either, as a few 

 burnt beans in the roast will invariably spoil the drink. 

 So that when careful attention cannot be given to the 

 proper roasting of coffee at home, it will be better to pur- 

 chase it in the whole bean already roasted but never 

 ground, using a small mill which can be regulated to 

 grind coarse or fine as needed. 



To roast coffee at home, put the raw beans about an 

 inch deep in an ordinary dripping-pan, which must be 

 perfectly clean, and hold over a brisk fire and stir fre- 

 quently until the beans are sufficiently browned. When 

 the coffee becomes a cinnamon-brown, and begin to 

 crackle, add one tablespoonful of fresh butter, stirring 

 well at the same time, after which remove and place 

 while hot in a can, and cover closely, again heating 

 the coffee before or after grinding prior to preparing. 

 Or place one pound of raw beans in a broad dripping- 

 pan, shaking and stirring it until they begin to brown 

 and crackle, then turn the pan from end to end rapidly, 

 until they are evenly colored to a cinnamon or choco- 

 late shade. Then place the pan on a table to rest, and 

 stir into the coffee the beaten whites of two eggs and a 

 tablespoonful of fresh butter, glazing every bean, as this 



