174 COFFEE. 



Holland. From July 1, 1878, to June 30, 1879, there were im- 

 ported 4,002,566 pounds of chicory, valued at $144,688 ; during the 

 same period the coffee imports amounted to 877,848,473 pounds, 

 representing $47,356,819. In other words, supposing the ratio of 

 consmnption to importation and stocks to have been similar, for 

 every one hundred pounds of cofEee only 1.06 poimd of chicory 

 was consumed. This furnishes additional evidence of what I 

 have already stated with regard to the adulterants employed by 

 our manufacturers of patent coffees. They have at hand an abun- 

 dance of the cheapest materials, and resort but very sparingly to 

 the comparatively expensive article of chicory. 



If I have allotted so much space to combating the claims of 

 chicory, it is because these claims have obtained a certain cur- 

 rency, in spite of their apocryphal character, and also because, by 

 reducing the very stronghold of plausible adulteration, the minor 

 positions fall as a matter of course. The sooner the tampering 

 with the purity of coffee is divested of all hypocritical pretences 

 and given its proper name — sheer adulteration — the better it wUl 

 be for the great consuming public. 



The nutriment pretended to be derived from an infusion of 

 roasted cereals is infinitesimal, the starchy matter of which they 

 are mostly composed being reduced into charcoal during the roast- 

 ing, and " a single mouthful of wholesome bread contains more 

 nourishment than half a dozen cups of a beverage made from 

 roasted com." 



The subjoined analysis of coffee, raw and roasted, is given by 

 Professor Hassall : 



Baw. Boasted. 



Water 8.26 0.36 



Cane sugar 8.18 1.84 



Caffeine 1.10 1.0^ 



Fat 11.42 8.30 



Gluten 10.68 12.03 



Extractive (caramel) gum, tannin. 14.03 26.28 



Cellulose, etc 42.36 44.96 



Ash 3.97 5.17 



100.00 100.00 



