366  Coffee:  Its  History  and  Commerce.  {Ai55S.iSb™ 
are  smaller  than  the  common  two-seeded  variety  and  many  of  them 
pass  through  the  pulping  and  other  processes  without  change, 
because  the  machinery  is  gaged  for  larger  fruits.  On  many  plan- 
tations  the  sorting  is  done  entirely  by  hand,  or  first  by  the  sieve 
and  then  by  hand.  The  work  is  entrusted  to  women  and  children, 
and  so  painstaking  are  they  that  nearly  every  grain  is  separately 
handled,  and  the  beans  in  each  of  the  various  grades  into  which 
they  separate  the  coffee  are  remarkably  uniform  in  size,  color  and 
shape.  The  sorting  and  inspecting  really  begins  with  the  picking 
of  the  fruit  and  is  continued  through  all  the  processes.  At  every 
stage  defective  and  inferior  fruits  and  beans  are  removed  whenever 
noticed. 
(8)  Shipping. — The  coffee  is  bagged  and  sent  to  the  nearest 
exporting  point.  The  means  of  transportation  used  include  all 
kinds,  from  the  most  primitive  up  to  steam.  Each  coffee  country  has 
one  or  more  principal  coffee  ports  or  markets,  as  for  instance  Rio 
and  Santos  in  Brazil,  Laguayra  and  Maracaibo  in  Venezuela,  Vera 
Cruz  in  Mexico,  Kingston  in  Jamaica,  Aden  in  Arabia,  Batavia  in 
Java,  etc. 
(9)  Roasting. — This  important  process  develops  the  volatile  oil  to 
which  most  of  the  taste  and  aroma  are  due.  The  oil  is  not  present 
in  the  raw  bean;  but  in  roasting,  it  develops  to  the  extent  of  one 
part  of  oil  to  fifty  thousand  parts  of  coffee.  The  roasting  is  impor- 
tant also  for  making  the  coffee  brittle,  so  that  it  may  easily  be 
ground.  The  roasting  causes  an  increase  of  30  to  50  per  cent,  in 
bulk.  The  decrease  in  weight  amounts  to  about  18  per  cent,  when 
the  coffee  is  roasted  chestnut  brown,  or  from  23  to  25  per  cent, 
when  it  is  nearly  black.  Various  types  of  roaster  are  in  use.  Per- 
haps the  most  common  is  that  in  which  a  perforated  cylinder  slides 
in  and  out  of  the  furnace  on  an  iron  rod,  on  which  it  may  be 
revolved.  The  turning  of  the  cylinder  insures  equal  roasting  and 
prevents  burning.  Some  roasters  are  spherical  and  have  a  com- 
pound motion  which  tumbles  the  coffee  about  in  all  directions. 
After  roasting,  the  coffee  is  spread  in  thin  layers  for  rapid  cooling. 
If  piled,  it  steams  or  sweats.  Some  roasters  strew  sugar  over  the 
coffee  while  it  is  still  hot  to  give  it  a  glaze,  which  will  keep  the 
aroma  from  escaping.  Various  other  glazing  materials  are  in  use. 
Raw  coffee  improves  with  age.  Roasted  coffee  rapidly  loses  in 
quality. 
