STATE BOARD OF HEALTH. 
327 
posed and ov^er-taxed men, and says its influence was much superior 
to alcoholic stimulants. These facts are important, for there could 
be no better test of the value of this beverage than m men subject¬ 
ed to intense cold and great hardships. Coffee is prepared for use 
by roasting, a process that is called “ torrification,” before it is 
made into an infusion. The roasting should be made slowly and 
continued until the grains acquire a chestnut-brown color. During 
this process the grains are considerably swollen and they lose about 
sixteen per cent, of their weight; also develop a peculiar aromatic 
principle. The roasting must not be pushed toa far or the agree¬ 
able flavor will be lost, and a bitter, acrid taste will result. An in¬ 
fusion of fifteen hundred grains by weight, of roasted and ground 
coffee in a quart of boiling water, made after the French manner 
by simple percolation, is the best method of making the beverage. 
There are numerous varieties of coffee, but the best in the market 
is the Arabian Mocha. In the countries where coffee is grown, the 
leaves of the shrub are roasted and made into a beverage as we use 
the berry. The effects on the system are the same, and the natives 
are said to prefer the leaves to the berry. 
The dried and prepared leaves of the tea-plant made into an in¬ 
fusion are probably as extensively used as coffee, taking into ac¬ 
count the enormous quantity used in the countries where it is grown. 
Its effects are almost the same as coffee, in fact the active principle 
of the two substances has been found to be chemically identical. 
Two kinds of tea are found in our markets; the green and black 
teas. The manner of their production is somewhat of a mystery; 
whether they are the product of the same plant taken off at differ¬ 
ent periods of their growth, or whether they are grown on two dis¬ 
tinct species of plants, is not known with certainty. The black tea 
is the stronger, yielding about three per cent, more soluble matter 
than the green. Tea is prepared for drinking by rapidly making 
an infusion with hot water; boiling destroys the aroma. Three 
hundred grains to a quart of water is the best proportion. The 
leaves are first covered with boiling water and are allowed to 
steep ” for ten or fifteen minutes in a warm place, when boiling 
water is added to the quantity desired. 
Chocolate is made from the seeds of the cocoa tree, roasted, de¬ 
prived of their husks and ground with warm rollers into a pasty 
mass with sugar, flavoring substances being sometimes added. It 
