Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 05.djvu/150

* COFFEE. 118 COFFEE. coffee, coflee-houses arose almost everywhere. The first in Europe was established at Constanti- nople in 1551. In London the lirst cofl'ee-hoiise was opened in Newman's Court, Cornhill, in 1G52, by a Greek named Pasqua. This Greek was the servant of an English merchant named Edwards, who brought some cotTee with him from Smyrna, and whose house, when the fact became known, was so thronged with friends and visitors to taste the new beverage, that to relieve himself from annoyance, Edwards established his servant in a coffee-house. The first coffee-house in France was opened at Marseilles in 1071, and in 1072 there was one opened in Paris, which soon had several conipetitors. In the East coffee is not usually prepared as a beverage in the same way as in Euiope, except by Europeans. A decoction of the unroasted seeds is there generally drunk; and Tor the "Sultan's coffee,' the pericarp, with the dried pulp roasted, is employed. The great demand for coffee has led to the employment of a luunber of cheaper substitutes, of which chicory (q.v.) root is the best known. Of others, dandelion root, carrot, the seeds of the conmion yellow iris, cereals, and sweet pota- toes may be mentioned. They are prepared by roasting like coffee. The seeds of Astragalus liiBticus are known on the Continent of Eu- rope as Swedish coffee, and are said to be the best substitutes for coffee yet discov- ered. But all the substitutes lack the most important constituent of true coffee, viz., caf- feine (q.v.), and are therefore very different from it in their qualities. Coffee is subject to great adulteration, most of the articles specified as substitutes being employed for this purpose. The chief substance of mixture is chicory, the use of which is not injurious, however. The chief effect of adding chicoiy is to deepen the color. A variety of coffee known as Liberian coffee, a na- tive of Western Africa, is being introduced into some countries, particularly in Ceylon. It is a much coarser variety, but thus far it has with- stood the ravages of the leaf disease that had nearly destroyed the coffee plantations of that country'. The leaves of the colTee-trees are used in the western part of Sumatra instead of the seeds. They are prepared by quick drying in a manner similar to that in which tea-leaves are prepared; and in this state contain even a larger proportion of caffeine than the coffee-beans of our shops. It seems not improbable that the use of the cof- fee-leaf may yet extend very much. Unroasted coffee has on an average the follow- ing percentage composition: water, 11.2; protein, 12.1 (including caffeine. 1.2); fat. 12. .3; nitro- gen-free extract, 42. .3 : crude fibre, 18.2; ash, 3.9. Roasted coffee contains per cent.: water, 1.1; protein, 14.0 (including caffeine, 1.2); fat. 14.5; nitrogen-free extract. 4.'>.8 ; crude fibre, 19.9; ash, 4.7. Of the total material, some 25 per cent, is soluble in water, half of this being nitrogen-free extract. When the beans are roasted till they assume a reddish-brown color, they lose 15 per cent, by weight, and gain 30 per cent, in bulk; when roasted till they become chestnut -brown, they decrease 20 per cent, by weight and increase 50 per cent, in bulk; while if the roasting is continued till the beans become dark-brown, they lose 25 per cent, in weight and acquire 50 per cent, in bulk. The beans should never be darker than a light-brown color, which is quite suflficient to bring out the excellent aroma and other qual- ities of the coffee; when the roasting is carried further, more or less charring is the result and a disagreeable burned smell is produced, which tends to overcome the natural pleasant aroma. The improvement in flavor by roasting is prob- ably due, in part at least, to the formation of caramel. Coffee does not retard the action of the bowels, as strong infusions of tea tend to do, partly because there is less of the as- tringent principle, and also owing to the pres- ence of the aromatic oil which tends to move the bowels. The important offices which coffee fulfills are, to allay the sensation of hunger; to produce an exhilarating and refreshing eft'ect ; and possibly to diminish the amount of wear and tear, or waste of the animal frame, which occurs more or less at every minute. (See Jvu- TRITION.) The grounds of coffee are nutritious, containing consideralile protein, and some of the Eastern nations take advantage of this. The coffee is ground very fine and alloed to remain in infusion, being consumed with it. In most re- spects coflee possesses properties similar to those of tea (q.v.). An endless variety of apparatus has been con- trived — some of them of great complexity — for preparing coffee for the table. The chief object aimed at by Western nations is, to obtain the liquor free from all sediment. In France and elsewhere a very popular beverage is prepared known as cnfc an Init. Coflee and milk are boiled separately and mixed in equal proportions im- mediately before sei'ving. In the so-called French coffee-pot, boiling water is poured very slo«ly upon the freshly and finely ground coffee, and then allowed to drip through two strainers into the bottom of the pot. This process makes ex- cellent coffee, but is rather slow. Another and much quicker method, used by the Germans, is to infuse coffee like tea, and this has the advantage of bringing out the flavor. In using the Vienna coffee-pot, the water is poured through a pipe into a lower compartment of the pot. A drum with a strainer at the top is then fitted over the pipe, and in this drum the coffee is placed. A glass cover is adjusted over the pot. which is then placed over an alcohol flame. When the water boils, it rushes through the coffee and through the strainer and pours over the sides of the dnim into the upper compartment of the pot, from which it is poured into the cups. The glass cover acts as a condenser of the steam and pre- vents the aroma from escaping. The nations of the Orient, generally, either follow the usage of the Turks, who drink their coffee thick with sedi- ment ; or the nomadic Arabs, who ma]<e it from the dried pul]i. in much the same manner as tea is ])repnrpd in Occidental countries. A more curious mctliod is that of the Somali, who boil the berries in oil, and soak maize in the mixture. The trade in coffee is of great importance. Brazil leads in its production, exceeding all other countries combined. Large e.xportations are also made from Mexico, Central America. .Lava. Suma- tra, India. Ceylon. Arabia. Hawaii, and the West Indies. The exportation of coffee in 1898-99 was 891.000 tons. Of this amount, Europe consumed 525.000 tons. The annual consumption of cof- fee in the United States is above 367.000 tons. The importation into the United States during the years 1805-99. inclusively, averaged 734.558.- 810 pounds, of the annual value of .$70,502,265.