COFFEE IN JAVA. 49 



whether new or old coffee is used ; but there are epicures among 

 the rich planters of Brazil who keep the coffee destined for their 

 own table five or six years in the hull. It is claimed by good 

 judges that there is no coffee in the world superior to old Eio pre- 

 served in the hull until mellowed by age ; it develops thus a rich- 

 ness, and at the same time a delicacy of flavor not found in any 

 other variety of the bean, but for this I cannot personally vouch. 



COFFEE m JAVA. 



In Java and Sumatra the natives roast the leaves of the coffee- 

 tree, and make with them an infusion which they prefer to the 

 beverage extracted from the bean. The preparation is said to 

 possess a delicate flavor, not unlike that of tea — a resemblance 

 accounted for by the presence in both plants of the same chemical 

 principle, caffeine or theine. The coffee leaves appear to be rich 

 in caffeine. 



The use of this coffee-leaf tea, however, is confined to the 

 aborigines. The following recipe, which I procured from an old 

 resident when in Batavia, describes the process of coffee-making 

 as practised by the Dutch settlers in Java : 



" Take a coffee-pot composed of two detached parts, the lower 

 one a reservoir, and the upper one a sort of top-story filterj the 

 bottom of which is pierced with very fine holes. Over the bottom 

 of this filter a double piece of flannel cloth is placed so as to cover 

 it entirely, fitting well all round. A sufficient quantity of well- 

 ground coffee being then filled in and fimily tamped or rammed 

 down, cold water is slowly poured over it, after which the whole 

 is allowed to stand still until the water has passed through the 

 coffee into the reservoir underneath. The passing of the water 

 through the coffee should occupy at least four to five hours, in or- 

 der to extract the fuU strength and flavor of the substance. For 

 that reason, care must be exercised to press the coffee very tightly 

 into the filter — an operation facilitated by this part of the coffee- 

 pot being separable from the other. The filter should also be 

 high and narrow to retard the passage of the liquid, and large 

 enough to contain the required quantity of both coffee and water ; 

 to pour in a subsequent supply of water is not to be recommended." 

 4 



