IMITATION COFFEES. 915 
' The fruit of the wax palm (Corypha cerifera [., or Copernicia cert: 
fera, Mart.), which yields carnauba wax, is used in Brazil for the prep- 
aration of a coffee substitute, for which purpose it is roasted in the 
usual way. Chemical investigation of samples of this fruit procured 
from Brazil, by Konig, gave :— 
Raw. Roasted. 
Per cent. Per cent. 
RE re a ee ena ie na meee 9. 37 3. 76 
be gece ee ee ee ae 6. 54 6.99 | 
DE err a ee _ 5.82 6.14 
ak (pune esaretely- = tee ee eee 10. 57 14. 06 
| Sean EE EEE 2 eae ae ata ai Oe == = 1. 67 1.25 | 
Sapna. nese 8 Oe 2S 8 oe os A eee - 2. 47 5. 46 | 
Non-nitrogenous extract matter. ....---.------- 23. 01 27.79 
Lit Or ee ee eee Se 2 ae ae eee 44.31 38. 45 
ES ee 2. 06 2.24 | 
, LS | le ee ee eee . 63 - 69 | 
EST Dg ae el een eee eee . 42 45) 
Maa Pn oe ee es a an ns ee Poe 41 ,43 
ae oni Witieer = =o —. 2 oe Ss 1217 13.50 | 
In the raw state the fruits have a stony consistency. Starch could 
not be detected and, if present, was in very slight quantity. The sub- 
stance presented in the table as starch was obtained by treating the 
mass, after extraction with water, with diastase, then heating three 
hours in a Soxhlet pressure steam oven. The mixture was then fil- 
tered, the filtrate inverted with HCl and precipitated with Fehling’s 
solution. The fat from the fruit has apparently a different constitu- 
tion from the wax from leaves (carnauba wax). 
Only a slight amount of water soluble substances are found in the 
roasted fruit, as is the case with acorns. 
IMITATION COFFEES. 
Within two or three years the coffee markets have been flooded with 
imitation coffees. The first official action toward suppressing this fraud 
in this country was probably that of the New Jersey officers. It is 
claimed that these fraudulent coffees are no longer to be found in the 
markets of that State. Reports from dealers in various parts of the 
country indicate that the sale of imitation coffees has been very general. 
On the the following page is a list of the imitation coffees examined in 
connection with this report, together with a description and statement 
of their probable composition. 
! J. Konig, Central-Organ. f. Waarenkunde und Technologie, 1891, 2, 1; Chem. 
Ztg., 15, 19, Aug., 1891. 
20393—N 0. 13——4 
