166 corrEE. 



recommendation received from persons of distinction, probably in 

 return for a gift of a box of so-called coffee. 



The root of dandelion, first dried and ground, makes a very 

 tolerable substitute for coffee, perhaps preferable to chicory, but 

 it is not used to any considerable extent. Some years ago a brand 

 of prepared coffee was put upon the market under the name of 

 " Dandelion Coffee ; " but only a small proportion was really the 

 dandelion root, the article being largely composed of ground peas 

 and rye, probably owing to the difficulty of procuring any consid- 

 erable quantity of dandelion. 



There are sold to a considerable extent, both in this country 

 and in Europe, various preparations called " Coffee Essences." 

 Some of these are in the form of liquids put up in bottles, others 

 in the shape of dry, granular particles, which are usually com- 

 pressed into rolls, or packets, which are neatly covered with foil, 

 paper, and various colored labels. These preparations are, almost 

 without exception, the veriest trash, being composed of burnt sugar 

 in its various forms, principally of the commonest " Black Jack " 

 syrup or molasses — the residuum left in the refining of sugars, 

 which is mixed with chicory, the. moisture of which is evaporated 

 and the rest of it finally roasted, or burnt, to a point where, when 

 again diluted with water, it gives a dark-colored liquid, somewhat 

 resembling, m appearcmce, strong coffee. In some of these so-called 

 coffee essences various chemicals are used to simulate the genuine 

 coffee flavor, arid in a very few of them there may be a trifle of 

 genuine extract of coffee. It may be said that these worthless 

 compoimds are principally used to beguile the laboring classes, 

 and others who are obliged to live in cheap boarding-houses, into 

 the idea that the dark-colored liquid which is put before them un- 

 der the name of coffee is a strong infusion of the genuine article, 

 when, in reality, if there is any coffee at aU in the decoction, it is 

 infinitesimal in quantity, the dark-colored material being added to 

 give it the appearance of strength. The expense of producing a 

 strong, pure, dark-colored extract of coffee has heretofore placed 

 the article beyond the purse of the poorer classes of consumers ; 

 hence, the almost universal use, in whole or in part, of substitutes, 

 which, as above shown, are in turn frequently sophisticated by 

 the use of these so-called " coffee essences." 



