SOPHISTICATION AND SUBSTITUTION 151 



tion of commercial coffee is the only absolutely positive and reliable 

 Jxnethod of diagnosis. 



Having determined that the sample is 100% coffee, it should be 

 remembered that it is of primary importance to make an infusion to 

 test the aroma and flavor, as coffee may be pure and yet possess such 

 an aroma and flavor as to render it totally undesirable for beverage 

 purposes. 



I have been convinced from the examination of samples of the 

 coffee-products from many of the leading commercial wholesale coffee 

 concerns and innumerable retail samples, that there is very little 

 substitution and adulteration of the w^hole bean by the large reput- 

 able houses, although it is still met w^ith in other concerns. The mix 

 ing of various grades is commonly detected. Glazing and facing 

 are practised to a considerable extent. Ground coffee is subject to 

 considerable adulteration, as samples from Massachusetts Retail 

 Stores contained roasted chicory root, peas, beans, bread, wheat, pel- 

 lets, oats, charcoal, etc. Chicory is, as has always been the case, 

 the chief adulterant. The chefs of certain hotels order a 10% 

 chicory content, in which case the addition is scarcely to be classed 

 as an adulterant as it adds certain desirable qualities which are highly 

 prized by some trade. 



During the past seventy-five years, thirty-eight botanical families 

 including ninety-eight genera and one hundred and twenty-three 

 species have been utilized as sources for coffee-substitutes and adul- 

 terants. 



In regard to the blending of coffee, it should be said that such 

 mixtures as that of equally choice beans of American strength-giving 

 coffee, soft Java, and the deliciously flavored Mocha, are unquestion- 

 ably an improvement over many pure type coffees. Blending is ac- 

 complished at the wholesale houses by weight, which assures a uniform 

 product. 



Bibliography : — microscopy — substitution — adulteration : — Editor 

 in Lancet 2 (1852) 137, 158. — Galtier Traite Toxicol, et Falsific. Ali- 

 ments, Boissons, etc. 2 (1855) 674. — Hassall Food and Its Adult. (1855) 

 3, 168, 527. — Graham, Stenhouse, and Campbell in Journ. Chem. See. 9 

 (1857) 36. — Ludwig in Arch. Pharm. ser. 3, i (1872) 482. — Allen in 

 Chem. News 29 (1874) 140. — Leebody in Chem. News 30 (1874) 243. — 

 Dingler's Polytechn. Journ. 211 (1874) 78. — Franz in Arch. Pharm. 

 ser. 3, 8 (1876) 298.— Moeller in Bot. Zeitg. 38 (1880) 737; in Din- 



