Domestic science (Clark, Cornell home economics)

Coffee roasting in large quantities. Well seasoned oily solid berries from one to two years old make the best roast. The white beans come from imperfect or immature berries, destitute of flavor because they lack caffeine, and they change little in color during the roasting. The sour berry also harms the roast, as do the shrunken or shrivelled berries, the black bean, and the dead bean. The process of actual roasting occupies about 1 hr. 45 m., as a rule. From thirty to sixty seconds too long will spoil a roast. Time varies, because New England trade requires a light roast while Western trade requires a dark, full roast. Mocha and other small beans require less time than Java and other large varieties. As a rule, the coffee for restaurants receives a darker roast. Method. The roasters consist of iron cylinders lowered over the fire. They are perforated to allow the chaff to pass through. There are teeth inside the cylinders to produce more motion of the coffee. The roasted beans are tested by loss of the homy condition, by samples tasted, and by the aroma given off. During the roasting the coffee loses 16 to 20% of its weight. In bulk it gains 30-5% , and is chestnut brown, for gases have been generated in the development of the aroma (CO and nitrogen) in amount varying with the duration of the roasting. During the roasting also the aroma is developed, the sugar changed to caramel and the caffeine reduced. (See chemical composition.) After the roasting the coffee is cooled rapidly to prevent its " sweating; " if not cooled it might take fire spontaneously. It is cooled by air forced into banks, by a little cold water thrown into the cylinders, or by being spread on a cold plate of iron. It is then re-sacked and put into packages for shipment. Grinding. If the berries are too coarse, much boiling is required to extract the strength, but much boiling is fatal to good coffee. The degree of fineness required depends upon the manner in which the drink is prepared. For filtered coffee a fine grind is necessary, for the strength is exhausted by the water that passes through. If brought to a boil, the particles may be larger than the size of a pin-head. Varieties of Coffee — Mocha or Arabian Coffee. This is supposed to be from Arabia, but the Arabian supply is insufficient and the Arabians are choice of their coffee. It comes mostly from Brazil, East Indies, Africa, and India. There are millions of pounds more of Mocha sold than are raised in Arabia. The berry is small and of acrid flavor. The character of the berry changes when planted in Brazil, so that it re- sembles Brazil coffee. The infusion from Mocha has a heavier body than that from Java, and has a pungent acrid odor and flavor. It is regarded by connoisseurs as inferior to the best Java. Java Coffee. This comes from the Island of Java and the Island of Sumatra, which supplies nearly all of the Java used in the United States. It is as good as that from Java, or better. It is raised by the natives under control of the Dutch government. The government buys it all at a low fixed price and it then goes to the Netherlands Trading Company to be sold at public auction. The Java soil is very rich and the berry produced is large and yellowish brown. Varieties: Java, Old Government Java, Simiatra, Celebes, Singapore (Java shipped from Singapore). Adulteration of Coffee. Dandelion, chicory, turnip, carrots, peas and malt-rye are often used to adulterate coffee. Simple Test. One can detect chicory adulteration by putting a few grains in the top of water in a glass. If chicory is present, it will soon be enveloped in a yellow brown cloud. This will soon discolor all of the glass. Pure coffee will not color the water in less time than about fifteen minutes.