Elements of the theory and practice of cookery

The coffee grown at Mocha is so fine in quality that, although none of it is exported, it has given its name to a certain kind of high-grade coffee the world over, — any small, dark, yellow, roundish bean being termed '' iMocha." Java and East India coffees are pale yellow before being roasted ; C'eylon, West Indian, and Brazil- ian coffees, greenish gray. A good mixture is one part of Mocha coffee to two parts of Java. Ground coffee is in many cases mixed with other clieaper materials. 496. Test for adulteration in coffee. — Pour on to about a tablespoon ful of ground coffee a cupful of cold water. BEVERAGES: TEA, COFFEE, COCOA 313 If the coffee floats and colors tlie water very slowly, it is pure ; but if any of the " coffee " sinks to the bottom or stains the water quickly, chicory or some other adulterant is present. 497. Value of coffee. — Coffee, like tea, contains tan- nin and theine (generally called caffeine in coffee) ; it acts, therefore, much as tea does upon the body, and requires similar preparation. The difference in flavor and odor between coffee and tea is caused by a differ- ence in the aromatic oils they contain. Moderately strong coffee in moderate quantities seems to be not harmful to grown persons in good healtli, but it is unsuitable for boys and girls for the same reasons that tea is. It relieves fatigue, and enables a person to work for a short time harder than his natural strength would permit ; but habitually to stimulate the nerves in this way is both unwise and wrong. A woman or girl who cannot '' get along " without tea or coffee is as much the slave of a drug as a boy with the "cigarette habit " or a man who drinks liquor to excess. Much ill-health among Americans is caused by drinking too much or too strong tea and coffee. Substitutes for coffee, made of roasted grains, if not adulterated with cheap coffee, are liarmless to children and wholesome for any one. 498. How to have good coffee. — 1. Buy freshly roasted, unground coffee, and grind it at liome as needed; or buy it freshly ground every two or three days. The longer it is kept after roasting, particularly 314 THEORY AND PRACTICE OF COOKERY if ground, the more of its aroma does it lose. 2. Keep in an air-tight can or jar. 3. Use an enamelled or earthen coffee-pot that is scoured clean, not omitting the spout, after each using. 4. Either filter the coffee, or boil it not longer than three minutes. 5. Have coffee powdered for filtering, finely ground for boiling. 6. Serve with hot, but not scalded, milk. Directions for making Coffee 499. 1. Boiled Coffee. — Use two heaping tablespoon- fuls of coffee to one pint of boiling water. Put the coffee into the pot, pour on the water, and let it come again to the boiling-point. Set it away from the heat, and stir in tiuo tahlespoonfuU of slightly beaten egg. Let it boil for one minute to clear it ; then keep it hot, where it will not boil, for five minutes before serving. 2. Filtered Coffee. — Use a French coffee-pot. Put two heaping table spoonfuls of powdered coffee into the bag. Pour over it one pint of boiling ivater. Cover the pot and let it stand in hot water till the water poured in has filtered through. Pour it out, and turn it through the filter again. This makes black coffee, suit- able for serving in small cups after dinner. Make breakfast coffee less strong.