COrFEE. 



79 



injurious to the quantity of the fruit or berry unless removed ; and 

 when this superabundant foliage can be converted into an article 

 of consumption, as hitherto the case in Sumatra, the culture must 

 become the more profitable ; and it is clearly the interest of the 

 planters of Ceylon to respond to the call of Dr. Grardner, and by 

 supplying the leaf on reasonable terms, to assist in creating a 

 demand lor an article they have in abundance, and which for the 

 want of that demand is of no value to them. It ought to be 

 mentioned also, that the leaves which become ripe and yellow on 

 the tree and fall olf in the course of nature, contain the largest 

 portion of extract, and make the richest infusion ; and I have no 

 doubt, should the coffee leaf ever come into general use, the ripe 

 leaf will be collected ^dth as much care as the ripe fruit. 



The mode of the preparation by the natives is this. The ends 

 of the branches and suckers, with the leaves on, are taken from 

 the tree and broken into lengths of from twelve to eighteen inches. 

 These are arranged in the split of a stick or small bamboo, side 

 by side, forming a truss in such a manner, that the leaves all appear 

 on one side, and the stalk on the other, the object of which is to 

 secure equal roasting, the stalks being thus exposed to the fire 

 together, and the leaves together. The slit being tied up in two 

 or three places, and a part of the stick or bamboo left as a handle, 

 the truss is held over a fire without smoke, and kept moving about, 

 so as to roast the whole equally, without burning, on the success 

 of which operation the quality and flavor of the article must 

 depend. AVhen successfully roasted, the raw vegetable taste is 

 entirely dissipated, which is not the case if insufficiently done. 

 When singed or overdone, the extract is destroyed and the aroma 

 lost. When the fire is smoky, the flavor varies with the nature 

 of the smoke. The stalks are roasted equally with the leaves, 

 and are said to add fully as much to the strength of the infusion. 

 By roasting the whole becomes brittle, and is reduced to a coarse 

 powder by rubbing between the hands. In this state it is ready 

 for use, and the general mode of preparing the beverage is by 

 infusion, as in the case of common tea. 



That it would soon become a most valuable article of diet 

 amongst the laboring classes, and on ship board particularly, if 

 once brought into use, there can be no doubt. The coffee-tree 

 can be grown to advantage for the leaf in the lowlands of every 

 tropical country, where the soil is sufficiently fertile, whilst it re- 

 quires a different soil and climate to produce the fruit *, 



Dr. Hooker, in the Jury Reports, observ^es upon the prepared 

 coffee leaves, submitted by Dr. Grardner, of Ceylon, to be used as 

 tea leaves, that they are worthy of notice as affording a really 

 palatable drink when infused as tea is ; more so, perhaps, than 

 coffee is to the uninitiated. That this preparation contains a con- 

 siderable amount of the nutritious principles of coffee, is evident 

 from the analysis ; but as the leaves can only be collected in a 



* Correspondent of the Singapore Free Press, December, 1852, 



