Domestic science (1914 text-book)

They must pass through several processes before they are ready for market. When the berries come in from the field, they are soft. If the pulp is removed, a white, quite hard skin will be found under it. If this is cut away, the two beans, pale green in color, will be found lying within it with their flat sides toward each other. Before the beans can be roasted, they must be freed from the surrounding pulp and skin. This is done by machinery. The berries are carried to the factory by cars, by wagon, by muleback, or by chutes down the mountain side. To get rid of the pulp, the berries are run through machines which crush them without injuring the seeds. The resulting mush is carried away over a cylinder in which there are holes through which the beans surrounded by the skins, drop into large vats. In the vats these are scoured by a large screw operated by machinery so that they come out white as snow. Outside the factories, large cement floors have been built. The berries are taken out to these floors and left in the sun for weeks until they are perfectly dry. During the night they must be protected from'the dew, which is harmful to them, and they must also be carefully guarded from theft, for they are valuable property. Digitized by Google When the berries are thoroughly dried, they are passed through some more machinery which removes the two layers of skin. Before they are shipped they must be graded. This is done by passing the coffee over a series of graduated sieves by means of which the berries of the same size are gathered together and run out through the same pipe and into bags ready for shipping. Before the coffee can be used, it must be roasted. Formerly this was done entirely at home in an iron pot over the fire or in the oven. Now it is done almost entirely in factories in large heated cylinders which are turned by machinery. In this way a more uniform roast can be obtained than by the old method. It takes about one hour and forty-five minutes to roast coffee; if it is left in the roaster too long, it will be spoiled. After roasting, it is ground or left whole and sealed in packages. ;' Lesson LXIV Tea Materials used: 1 tp tea; milk 2 c boiling water (water cream freshly boiled) sugar, slice of lemon Utensils needed: Teapot, preferably of china teaspoon measuring cup cup and saucer Work to be done: 1. Scald the teapot with a cup of boiling water; when the teapot is thoroughly heated, empty it. Let stand a moment on the hot stove to dry. 2. Put 1 tp tea into the hot teapot. 3. Pour 1 c of boiling water over the tea. 4. Let it stand five minutes covered on the hot stove, but do not allow it to boil. 5. Serve the tea immediately. Digitized by Google Principles: Tea owes its value in the diet to a substance known as theine. This substance has a stimulating effect on the nerves, and prevents tissue from wearing out. Theine can be drawn out of the dried tea leaves only by the use of' boiling water. If the water is not boiling, the theine will not be dissolved, and the tea will not have that agreeable flavor given to it by this principle (the term applied to theine in chemistry). When water is boiled a long time, the air is driven out of it, making it taste flat and insipid. This is the reason why briskly boiled water should be used in making tea. Besides theine, there is another substance in tea known as tannin, the same that is found in coffee. This is a very bitter substance, and if boiled out of the tea leaves would give the tea a very bitter taste. It has been found that boiling the tea or letting it steep a long time will extract this tannin. Hence it can be seen how very important it is not to boil the tea or allow it to stand more than a short time before serving it.