ADtJLTEEATIOir OF COFFEE. 167 



It may not be amiss, in connection with the subject of coffee 

 adulteration, to say a few words here of what is termed " glossing " 

 roasted coffee. The " gloss," which is made of various starches, 

 glues, and mosses, is applied to the coffee while hot, giving the 

 coffee an even coating which hardens as it cools. It is claimed 

 that the gloss fills up the pores of the coffee, retaining its strength 

 and aroma, besides having a tendency to clear it when the coffee 

 is boiled. I am inclined to think that these benefits are over- 

 rated, that they are more apparent than real, and that the practice 

 tends to prevent that crispness of the coffee, which is desirable in 

 grinding. On the whole, it tends rather to injure the flavor 

 than to improve it. 



Many good judges of coffee, however, dissent from this opinion, 

 and so great has been the demand for the glossed roasted coffee 

 that a patent has been claimed for the process, and an interesting 

 discussion of its validity, in the shape of an extract from the 

 Americwn Orocer, will be found in the Appendix to this work. 



After expatiating on the prevalence of adulterants in ground 

 coffee, it is proper to state that the consumer has it usually in his 

 power to solve, by several simple and practical experiments, the 

 question as to whether a sample of groimd coffee is adulterated or 

 not, although, of course, the best way is to buy the coffee in the 

 bean, and thus avoid all suspicion. 



The following tests are suggested by Dr. Hassall, in his work 

 on " Food : " 



1. Notice whether the ground coffee "cakes" when pressed 

 between the fingers or in the paper in which it is folded ; if so, 

 there is good reason to believe that it is adulterated, probably with 

 chicory. 



2. Place a few pinches of the suspected coffee upon some 

 water in a wine-glass ; if part floats and part sinks, it may be pre- 

 sumed that it is adulterated either with chicory, roasted grain, or 

 some analogous substance. Ground coffee is enveloped in an oily 

 substance which prevents its imbibing the water, while the other 

 substances absorb the water and gradually subside to the bottom 

 to a greater or less extent. 



This test, however, sometimes gives imperfect results, as occa- 

 sionally lard or similar stuff used in roasting the chicory will 



