GKINDING THE OOFFEB. 31 



and a closer control as regards fine or coarse grinding. When 

 dependent upon the store for ground coffee it is best not to buy 

 at one time more than a supply adequate for two or three days' 

 consumption. Another consideration in favor of consumers buy- 

 ing coffee in the bean is that there can be no suspicion of adulter- 

 ation with chicory, groimd peas or other substances, with which 

 grocers are sometimes unjustly charged, and the satisfaction is 

 thus greater on all sides. 



As individual tastes differ, it frequently occurs that no single 

 variety of coffee exactly suits certain consumers, and therefore 

 they seek to gratify their palate by either blending two sorts or 

 mixing with one variety some vegetable substance. "While some 

 kinds of coffee possess a rich aroma they do not give to the infu- 

 sion that " body " which is requisite to make the perfect cup of 

 coffee. It is a very common practice to blend Java and Maracaibo 

 in the proportion of eighty pounds of the former to twenty pounds 

 of the latter, selling the mixture for straight Java. The addition of 

 fifteen to twenty per cent, of Marcaibo to Padang coffee imdoubt- 

 edly improves the latter for the majority of those who are fond of 

 Old Government Java, as it lends to the Java the essential quality 

 which is lacking. 



Another popular blend is to take one-third Mocha and mix with 

 two-thirds of fine old Mandheling Java, taking care that the two 

 kinds have been roasted separately. Others dislike either of the 

 above blends, and choose a mixture of Java and Kio. No definite 

 rule can be given for combining two kinds of coffee together. 

 The dealer should study the requirements of his trade, observing 

 its peculiarities, and experiment until he is certain that he has 

 found a combination that exactly meets certain wants, and once 

 found he should adhere to the formula, being careful always to 

 select as nearly as possible the same grade of coffee in the primary 

 market. If conscientious in this, low prices and bargains will 

 never be an inducement to take hold of some other variety which 

 some anxious seller is sure possesses drinking qualities fully equal 

 to that which he has been using. For mixed or adulterated coffee 

 I have no liking. It has always been a mystery to me how persons 

 who profess to be lovers of good coffee can satisfy their appetite 

 with a decoction made of coffee and chicory, or coffee and various 



