History. A Paris manuscript mentions the use of
coffee in 975 b. c. It was used in Abyssinia and Ethi-
opia from time immemorial. About 1500 a. d. it was
brought to Arabia. The legend of its discovery is
as follows. " A poor Arabian dervish noticed evening
after evening that his goats returned home in a re-
markably happy humor. He watched them closely
to find out if possible the cause of their joyfulness,
and discovered that they ate largely of the leaves
and flowers of a beautiful unknown tree. He tried
the effects of them on himself, and was so exhilarated
that his neighbors accused him of drinking wine,
forbidden to them. But when he told of his dis-
covery, they agreed with him at once that it was a
plant sent by Allah as a substitute for the forbidden
wine."
Composition of Coffee. An oil called Caffeine
is the active principle of coffee. This oil is formed
during the roasting, resulting from the action of
heat. Coffee has a mixture of several fats; some
of these fats are like oil. The amomit is affected
by roasting.
Value of Coffee. Coffee is a stimulant, usually
producing wakefxilness; it helps one to endure fatigue,
gives heat and there is no depression following the
use of coffee. Unlike tea, it does not cause perspira-
tion. It has a slight food value.
70 DOMESTIC SCIENCE
As it stimulates the heart action, and the heart
is most inactive in the morning, it is a better break-
fast than evening drink — except in the case of
after-dinner coffee (black), which is so often taken
to assist in digesting a full meal.
Tea, coffee and cocoa were introduced into Europe
about the same time. Tea was brought by the Dutch
from China and cocoa by the Spanish from South
America.
Description. The coffee plant belongs to the natm-al
order of Cinchonaceae, the same family as the Peru-
vian bark from which quinine is made. The botanical
name for the plant is coffee arabica. The tree grows
about 20 or 30 ft. high, but it is pruned to 6 ft. to
facilitate the gathering of the berries. It is an ever-
green and the leaves, which spread opposite to each
other, are smooth, shiny, oblong and leather}'.
It has numerous beautiful, fragrant, white flowers
which grow in the axis of the leaf upon short stems.
The fruit is red when ripe, resembling the cranberry.
In size and shape it resembles a small cherry.
Cultivation. The seeds are planted in nurseries
and transplanted when IJ years old. Thej' are set
at intervals of 8 to 10 ft. apart in rows the same
distance apart.
Picking. The picking is done largely by women and
children. The coffee tree flowers eight months of
the year and the fruit is of imeven ripeness. The
time of picking depends upon the locality. In
Java, it is from January to April; in Ceylon, the
chief crop is from April to July with a small crop of
young coffee from September to December; in Brazil
from April to September.
COFFEE 71
Roasting. The roasting was once done in the house
in an iron pot or over a fire. It was then pos-
sible to secure fine freshly-roasted coffee, and more
of the aroma was kept. However, on account of the
lack of skill and crude appliances, the results were not
uniform. Since then the roasting has been done in
factories on a large scale in large cylinders, turned
by machinery. The first complete roasting and grind-
ing apparatus was used in New York on Wooster
Street, opposite Washington Square, and was brought
from England by James Wilde in 1833. The apparatus
consisted of two cylinders and an engine of sufficient
power to run the roaster and a mill for grind-
ing.
Page 27
Presented as published in 1911. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
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History. A Paris manuscript mentions the use of
coffee in 975 b. c. It was used in Abyssinia and Ethi-
opia from time immemorial. About 1500 a. d. it was
brought to Arabia. The legend of its discovery is
as follows. " A poor Arabian dervish noticed evening
after evening that his goats returned home in a re-
markably happy humor. He watched them closely
to find out if possible the cause of their joyfulness,
and discovered that they ate largely of the leaves
and flowers of a beautiful unknown tree. He tried
the effects of them on himself, and was so exhilarated
that his neighbors accused him of drinking wine,
forbidden to them. But when he told of his dis-
covery, they agreed with him at once that it was a
plant sent by Allah as a substitute for the forbidden
wine."
Composition of Coffee. An oil called Caffeine
is the active principle of coffee. This oil is formed
during the roasting, resulting from the action of
heat. Coffee has a mixture of several fats; some
of these fats are like oil. The amomit is affected
by roasting.
Value of Coffee. Coffee is a stimulant, usually
producing wakefxilness; it helps one to endure fatigue,
gives heat and there is no depression following the
use of coffee. Unlike tea, it does not cause perspira-
tion. It has a slight food value.
70 DOMESTIC SCIENCE
As it stimulates the heart action, and the heart
is most inactive in the morning, it is a better break-
fast than evening drink — except in the case of
after-dinner coffee (black), which is so often taken
to assist in digesting a full meal.
Tea, coffee and cocoa were introduced into Europe
about the same time. Tea was brought by the Dutch
from China and cocoa by the Spanish from South
America.
Description. The coffee plant belongs to the natm-al
order of Cinchonaceae, the same family as the Peru-
vian bark from which quinine is made. The botanical
name for the plant is coffee arabica. The tree grows
about 20 or 30 ft. high, but it is pruned to 6 ft. to
facilitate the gathering of the berries. It is an ever-
green and the leaves, which spread opposite to each
other, are smooth, shiny, oblong and leather}'.
It has numerous beautiful, fragrant, white flowers
which grow in the axis of the leaf upon short stems.
The fruit is red when ripe, resembling the cranberry.
In size and shape it resembles a small cherry.
Cultivation. The seeds are planted in nurseries
and transplanted when IJ years old. Thej' are set
at intervals of 8 to 10 ft. apart in rows the same
distance apart.
Picking. The picking is done largely by women and
children. The coffee tree flowers eight months of
the year and the fruit is of imeven ripeness. The
time of picking depends upon the locality. In
Java, it is from January to April; in Ceylon, the
chief crop is from April to July with a small crop of
young coffee from September to December; in Brazil
from April to September.
COFFEE 71
Roasting. The roasting was once done in the house
in an iron pot or over a fire. It was then pos-
sible to secure fine freshly-roasted coffee, and more
of the aroma was kept. However, on account of the
lack of skill and crude appliances, the results were not
uniform. Since then the roasting has been done in
factories on a large scale in large cylinders, turned
by machinery. The first complete roasting and grind-
ing apparatus was used in New York on Wooster
Street, opposite Washington Square, and was brought
from England by James Wilde in 1833. The apparatus
consisted of two cylinders and an engine of sufficient
power to run the roaster and a mill for grind-
ing.