CHAPTEE lY. 



THE SELECTION OE THE BEAIT, 



How to determine quality from the appearance of the bean is 

 a question of great importance to every interested party, from the 

 export merchant at the place of production to the buyer for con- 

 sumption. 



Between these two parties usually come the import merchant, 

 the wholesale grocer, and the retail merchant, on whose parts re- 

 spectively, care and knowledge are necessary, yet often wanting, 

 to insure to the consumer a satisfactory result. 



Coffee is frequently damaged on the voyage of importation by 

 dampness, which soon renders it musty ; and when the coffee-bean 

 once becomes musty its delicate flavor is much injured, and no 

 amount of attempted renovation can fully restore it. A greater or 

 less portion of nearly every cargo is thus damaged. The renovat- 

 ing process consists of opening the bags, emptying the contents out 

 upon the floor of the warehouse, and skimming off, as well as may 

 be, the mouldy and musty beans, which usually are those next the 

 bag ; these are kept separate. If wet, they are dried, and after- 

 ward are often run through -a polishing machine to remove the 

 mould and give them a more sightly appearance. They are then 

 put upon the market and generally sold for within one or two cents 

 per pound of the price of sound coffee, although the intrinsic value 

 is much diminished. The portion which remains after the skim- 

 ming, is called " sound," and is put up in new bags and sold as 

 such, although it is far from being as good as that which has 

 never been damaged ; for the skimming process is not perfect, 

 and some of the musty beans remain, imparting their flavor, to 

 some extent, to the sound beans. This fact is lost sight of by 

 many merchants, who only look for samples which show hand- 



