462 
it was some time ago, the coaanmption evidently sha- 
ping towards better quality than hitherto The quan- 
tity of Ceylon tea brought forward has again been mo- 
derate, and prices (with theexceptioa o{ tlie commonest 
grades, which, in sympathy with the lower Indian and 
China growths, are rather easier to buy) have been firmly 
maintained. The quality of the teas now comiDg for- 
ward continues to be generally satisfactory, but really 
juicy teas above Is are somewhat scarce and in strong 
demand." 
How TO Make and Dbink Cofi'eb. — The decline of 
coffee iu public favour is discussed by the British Me- 
dicaljotirnal, and the reason ascribed in some measure 
to the ignorance or apathy exhibited as to proper 
methods of making and driiiking it. Notwithstanding 
the leduotion of the duty on coffee, and the fact that 
the best coffee ia sold in Great Britain cheaper than 
anywhere iu Europe, it is steadily falling, we read, in 
cuQsamption. There are (says the authority referred 
to) many theories put forward to explain this. One 
is that coffee is more adulterated here than on the 
Continent, That is certainly not the case. It is easier 
to get pure coffee here than in France, Austria, Italy, 
or Germany. The next and most common explanation 
is that we don't know how to m«ke good coffee here. 
But that again is a fallacy and its terms a misstate- 
ment. We all know how to make good coffee, and 
there is no one who cannot make it. All coffee-dcinking 
races, that is to say, all the Latin People and some few 
of the Teatonio, understand very well that the infusion 
or the decoction of coffee (and, unlike tea, coffee may 
be and is made all over Europe almost as well one as 
the other) is not a fluid like tea, to be imbilei in 
copious draughts. A weak infusion of coffee is a taste- 
less and almost nauseous draught; it loses all its aroma 
and delicacy of flavour when dissipated in an ocean 
of hot water. The only way to drink coffee in large 
draughts is to make a small quantity of strong coffee 
and add to it an amount of hot milk ; of course, cold 
milk is out of the question. That is what we all 
drink abroad for " the first breakfast," and find it 
excellent ; but in England we miss the lesson, and 
demand of the breakfast coffee an impossibility; half 
a pint of an aqueous infusion of coffee, made still 
more tasteless very often with cold milk. So long as 
the British coffee-drinker persists in treating coffee as 
if it were tea, and swallowing it by the pint, he will 
always find that he gets something unpleasing to his 
palate. 
The Addlteration of Coffee. — Commenting on the 
remarks of the British MIedical Journal, the Daily 
Telegraph points oat, with truth, that : " in all 
probability the real causes of the falling off in the 
British consumption of coffee adverted to by our 
contemporary are precisely those which it positively 
repudiates as baseless and delusive, that is, the too 
common adulteration of the article itself with 
chicory and other even cheaper and nastier substances, 
and the prevalent ignorance iu respect to the true 
secret of efficient and palatable preparation.'' It adds : 
" Coffee-making in its every stage — from the roasting 
of the berry to its final deooctioo in the form of 
powder— is an art, by no mems difiicult of mastery, 
but the study and practice of which call for close 
attention as well as a certain measure of intelli- 
gence on the part of its votaries. This is why it 
has never been adequately cultivated in England, 
where the rough-and-ready methods of preparing all 
sorts of meals are still popular, where the foreign 
'culinary artist' rapidly beoomss demoralised and 
'forgets his cunning,' and where the rarest of hoaae- 
hold treaEures is a native cook, at once painstaking 
in Hmall matters and ambitioas to rise above the 
prosaic level of ' plain roast and boiled' and of the 
Hnsipid breakfast coffee thut ' everybody knows how 
to make,' In point of fact, it is not only with respect 
to this beverage, so delioiously prepared in Continental 
kitchens, that the ignorance and perversity of Kugliah 
cooks make themsolves daily manifest in countless 
insular households, but in relation to 'after-dinner' coffae 
an well, the native ooufeoliou of which in public and 
private ettablishmonta alike, is, for the most part 
exf ccable. Oi this deleotablo liquid— at ouoe a relish, 
stimulant, and digestive — it may with truth be said that 
only one of its varieties is known to English coffee- 
maker?, who seldom manufacture even that one 
in such sort as to make it the crowning joy of • 
succulent repast." 
Coffee Prospects, — The reaction favouring im- 
porters, noticed at the date of our last, ia well main- 
tained. The fact of the lowest; point being reached was 
sufficient to induce general buying (says Messrs. 
Wilsju, Smithett & Co.), and as stocks are absurdly 
small compared with former years, competition was 
concentrated on the little catalogued at auction. Every 
description of coffee on the spot shows a further 
improvement in price. Considerable transictions at 
advancing rates are reported in Brazil descriptions, and 
importers are strong, holders' firmness being caused in 
the first place by the smallneas of the receipts, and again 
by revolutio iary outbreaks in Brazil, which, it was 
feared, would prevent pro luce reaching the coast; 
but this disturbing element now appears less likely. 
Business ii", of course, restricSed by the dearth of 
arrival?, the trade finding extreme difficulty in exe- 
cuting orders, and the new crops of various growths are 
anticipated with some eagerness. The only new coffee 
to hand at present is Jamaica, of which growth one 
parcel was included in the auctions. The quality of 
this was better than that of the first shipment, being 
more carefully garbled, but the flavour was not satisfac- 
tory. Attention given by the planters to the careful 
curing and picking will be well repaid by the en- 
hanced sale value. Jamaica of good even bean, free 
from blacks, is in high favour with the home trade, 
and always commands competition when common 
parcels for export. Very little Costa Rica or Guate- 
mala were catalogued. More important quantities of 
Colombian were sold at extreme pricse. The rise 
duriog the fortonight is from 2s to 4?, making the 
recovery from the recent lowest point about 8s per cwt. 
The terminal markets have shewn activity, oonsi. 
derable busicess being effected, and quotttione eho^r 
an irregular advance of 2s to 53 per cwt., some posi- 
tions having arisen even more. The statihtical position 
again favours importsrs, stosks everywhere showing a 
further reduction with a decrease in the visible sup- 
ply of the world. European stocks November 1st 
(tons) : 1891, 48,784 ; 1890, 47,480 ; 1889, 85,600 , 
1888, 71,100 ; 1887. 140,180. European stocks 
October 1st (tons) : 1891, 54, 220 ; 1890, 62,000 ; 1889, 
101,240 ; 1888, 76,930 ; 1887, 150,380. A circular from 
Holland gives the world's visible supply as : — 
November Ist (tons) : 1891, 151,820 ; 1890, 128,804 ; 1889, 
175,200; 1888, 150,165; 1887, 231,869. October 1st; 
(tons): 1891, 158,730; 1890, 132,722 ; 1889, 182,400, 
1838, 138,500; 1887, 221,200.— j?. and 0. Mail, 
Nov. 13th 
THE .TARE OF TEA. 
Commenting on some remarks made in afioancial 
paper to tho effect that, by the present mode of taring 
tea packages, the Government lose £25,000 per annum 
in the shape of the fourpenny (per pound) duty, and 
that the producer or importer also suffers to the extent 
oi from 1 to 2 per cent, on the net weight, the Grocer 
says : — " Almost anything can be demonstrated by 
figures, and, in order to arrive at this sum, an isolated 
instance of a amall consignment of twenty-eight chests 
of Ceylon tea has been selected, upon which there is 
apparently a loss of thirty-six pounds on a net weight 
of 2,492 lb. ; but whether this arises from the process 
of taring alone, or from the two operations of ascer- 
taining first the grossjweight and then .the tare, is not 
even mentioned. The remedy for the present assumed 
unfair state of things is to turn out every package of 
tea, and have an account taken of each one. 
This in theory sounds just, but in practice it 
would be found almost unworkable, consider- 
ing the very large number of packages im- 
ported, and would be undesirable to buyers, and 
absolutely unjust to grocers in the country. At pre- 
sent tho Customs authorities select a certain number 
of packages iu evory parcel of tea, and if Ibey fia^ 
