Chapter 1

The Project Gutenberg eBook of All about coffee This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook. Title: All about coffee Author: William H. Ukers Release date: April 4, 2009 [eBook #28500] Most recently updated: January 4, 2021 Language: English Other information and formats: www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/28500 Credits: Produced by K.D. Thornton, Suzanne Lybarger, Greg Bergquist and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net *** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ALL ABOUT COFFEE *** Produced by K.D. Thornton, Suzanne Lybarger, Greg Bergquist and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net Transcriber's Note The punctuation and spelling from the original text have been faithfully preserved. Only obvious typographical errors have been corrected. _All About Coffee_ [Illustration] ALL ABOUT COFFEE [Illustration: COFFEE BRANCHES, FLOWERS, AND FRUIT SHOWING THE BERRY IN ITS VARIOUS RIPENING STAGES FROM FLOWER TO CHERRY (Inset: 1, green bean; 2, silver skin; 3, parchment; 4, fruit pulp.) Painted from life by Blendon Campbell] _ALL ABOUT COFFEE_ _By_ _WILLIAM H. UKERS, M.A._ _Editor_ THE TEA AND COFFEE TRADE JOURNAL [Illustration] NEW YORK THE TEA AND COFFEE TRADE JOURNAL COMPANY 1922 COPYRIGHT 1922 BY THE TEA AND COFFEE TRADE JOURNAL COMPANY NEW YORK _International Copyright Secured_ _All Rights Reserved in U.S.A. and Foreign Countries_ PRINTED IN U.S.A. _To My Wife_ _HELEN DE GRAFF UKERS_ PREFACE Seventeen years ago the author of this work made his first trip abroad to gather material for a book on coffee. Subsequently he spent a year in travel among the coffee-producing countries. After the initial surveys, correspondents were appointed to make researches in the principal European libraries and museums; and this phase of the work continued until April, 1922. Simultaneous researches were conducted in American libraries and historical museums up to the time of the return of the final proofs to the printer in June, 1922. Ten years ago the sorting and classification of the material was begun. The actual writing of the manuscript has extended over four years. Among the unique features of the book are the Coffee Thesaurus; the Coffee Chronology, containing 492 dates of historical importance; the Complete Reference Table of the Principal Kinds of Coffee Grown in the World; and the Coffee Bibliography, containing 1,380 references. The most authoritative works on this subject have been Robinson's _The Early History of Coffee Houses in England_, published in London in 1893; and Jardin's _Le Café_, published in Paris in 1895. The author wishes to acknowledge his indebtedness to both for inspiration and guidance. Other works, Arabian, French, English, German, and Italian, dealing with particular phases of the subject, have been laid under contribution; and where this has been done, credit is given by footnote reference. In all cases where it has been possible to do so, however, statements of historical facts have been verified by independent research. Not a few items have required months of tracing to confirm or to disprove. There has been no serious American work on coffee since Hewitt's _Coffee: Its History, Cultivation and Uses_, published in 1872; and Thurber's _Coffee from Plantation to Cup_, published in 1881. Both of these are now out of print, as is also Walsh's _Coffee: Its History, Classification and Description_, published in 1893. The chapters on The Chemistry of Coffee and The Pharmacology of Coffee have been prepared under the author's direction by Charles W. Trigg, industrial fellow of the Mellon Institute of Industrial Research. The author wishes to acknowledge, with thanks, valuable assistance and numerous courtesies by the officials of the following institutions: British Museum, and Guildhall Museum, London; Bibliothéque Nationale, Paris; Congressional Library, Washington; New York Public Library, Metropolitan Museum of Art, and New York Historical Society, New York; Boston Public Library, and Boston Museum of Fine Arts; Smithsonian Institution, Washington; State Historical Museum, Madison, Wis.; Maine Historical Society, Portland; Chicago Historical Society; New Jersey Historical Society, Newark; Harvard University Library; Essex Institute, Salem, Mass.; Peabody Institute, Baltimore. Thanks and appreciation are due also to: Charles James Jackson, London, for permission to quote from his _Illustrated History of English Plate_; Francis Hill Bigelow, author; and The Macmillan Company, publishers, for permission to reproduce illustrations from _Historic Silver of the Colonies_; H.G. Dwight, author; and Charles Scribner's Sons, publishers, for permission to quote from _Constantinople, Old and New_, and from the article on "Turkish Coffee Houses" in _Scribner's Magazine_; Walter G. Peter, Washington, D.C., for permission to photograph and reproduce pictures of articles in the Peter collection at the United States National Museum; Mary P. Hamlin and George Arliss, authors, and George C. Tyler, producer, for permission to reproduce the Exchange coffee-house setting of the first act of _Hamilton_; Judge A.T. Clearwater, Kingston N.Y.; R.T. Haines Halsey, and Francis P. Garvan, New York, for permission to publish pictures of historic silver coffee pots in their several collections; The secretaries of the American Chambers of Commerce in London, Paris, and Berlin; Charles Cooper, London, for his splendid co-operation and for his special contribution to chapter XXXV; Alonzo H. De Graff, London, for his invaluable aid and unflagging zeal in directing the London researches; To the Coffee Trade Association, London, for assistance rendered; To G.J. Lethem, London, for his translations from the Arabic; Geoffrey Sephton, Vienna, for his nice co-operation; L.P. de Bussy of the Koloniaal Institute, Amsterdam, Holland, for assistance rendered; Burton Holmes and Blendon R. Campbell, New York, for courtesies; John Cotton Dana, Newark, N.J., for assistance rendered; Charles H. Barnes, Medford, Mass., for permission to publish the photograph of Peregrine White's Mayflower mortar and pestle; Andrew L. Winton, Ph.D., Wilton, Conn., for permission to quote from his _The Microscopy of Vegetable Foods_ in the chapter on The Microscopy of Coffee and to reprint Prof. J. Moeller's and Tschirch and Oesterle's drawings; F. Hulton Frankel, Ph.D., Edward M. Frankel, Ph.D., and Arno Viehoever, for their assistance in preparing the chapters on The Botany of Coffee and The Microscopy of Coffee; A.L. Burns, New York, for his assistance in the correction and revision of chapters XXV, XXVI, XXVII, and XXXIV, and for much historical information supplied in connection with chapters XXX and XXXI; Edward Aborn, New York, for his help in the revision of chapter XXXVI; George W. Lawrence, former president, and T.S.B. Nielsen, president, of the New York Coffee and Sugar Exchange, for their assistance in the revision of chapter XXXI; Helio Lobo, Brazilian consul general, New York; Sebastião Sampaio, commercial attaché of the Brazilian Embassy, Washington; and Th. Langgaard de Menezes, American representative of the Sociedade Promotora da Defeza do Café; Felix Coste, secretary and manager, the National Coffee Roasters Association; and C.B. Stroud, superintendent, the New York Coffee and Sugar Exchange, for information supplied and assistance rendered in the revision of several chapters; F.T. Holmes, New York, for his help in the compilation of chronological and descriptive data on coffee-roasting machinery; Walter Chester, New York, for critical comments on chapter XXVIII. The author is especially indebted to the following, who in many ways have contributed to the successful compilation of the Complete Reference Table in chapter XXIV, and of those chapters having to do with the early history and development of the green coffee and the wholesale coffee-roasting trades in the United States: George S. Wright, Boston; A.E. Forbes, William Fisher, Gwynne Evans, Jerome J. Schotten, and the late Julius J. Schotten, St. Louis; James H. Taylor, William Bayne, Jr., A.J. Dannemiller, B.A. Livierato, S.A. Schonbrunn, Herbert Wilde, A.C. Fitzpatrick, Charles Meehan, Clarence Creighton, Abram Wakeman, A.H. Davies, Joshua Walker, Fred P. Gordon, Alex. H. Purcell, George W. Vanderhoef, Col. William P. Roome, W. Lee Simmonds, Herman Simmonds, W.H. Aborn, B. Lahey, John C. Loudon, J.R. Westfal, Abraham Reamer, R.C. Wilhelm, C.H. Stewart, and the late August Haeussler, New York; John D. Warfield, Ezra J. Warner, S.O. Blair, and George D. McLaughlin, Chicago; W.H. Harrison, James Heekin, and Charles Lewis, Cincinnati; Albro Blodgett and A.M. Woolson, Toledo; R.V. Engelhard and Lee G. Zinsmeister, Louisville; E.A. Kahl, San Francisco; S. Jackson, New Orleans; Lewis Sherman, Milwaukee; Howard F. Boardman, Hartford; A.H. Devers, Portland, Ore.; W. James Mahood, Pittsburgh; William B. Harris, East Orange, N.J. New York, June 17, 1922. [Illustration] FOREWORD _Some introductory remarks on the lure of coffee, its place in a rational dietary, its universal psychological appeal, its use and abuse_ Civilization in its onward march has produced only three important non-alcoholic beverages--the extract of the tea plant, the extract of the cocoa bean, and the extract of the coffee bean. Leaves and beans--these are the vegetable sources of the world's favorite non-alcoholic table-beverages. Of the two, the tea leaves lead in total amount consumed; the coffee beans are second; and the cocoa beans are a distant third, although advancing steadily. But in international commerce the coffee beans occupy a far more important position than either of the others, being imported into non-producing countries to twice the extent of the tea leaves. All three enjoy a world-wide consumption, although not to the same extent in every nation; but where either the coffee bean or the tea leaf has established itself in a given country, the other gets comparatively little attention, and usually has great difficulty in making any advance. The cocoa bean, on the other hand, has not risen to the position of popular favorite in any important consuming country, and so has not aroused the serious opposition of its two rivals. Coffee is universal in its appeal. All nations do it homage. It has become recognized as a human necessity. It is no longer a luxury or an indulgence; it is a corollary of human energy and human efficiency. People love coffee because of its two-fold effect--the pleasurable sensation and the increased efficiency it produces. Coffee has an important place in the rational dietary of all the civilized peoples of earth. It is a democratic beverage. Not only is it the drink of fashionable society, but it is also a favorite beverage of the men and women who do the world's work, whether they toil with brain or brawn. It has been acclaimed "the most grateful lubricant known to the human machine," and "the most delightful taste in all nature." No "food drink" has ever encountered so much opposition as coffee. Given to the world by the church and dignified by the medical profession, nevertheless it has had to suffer from religious superstition and medical prejudice. During the thousand years of its development it has experienced fierce political opposition, stupid fiscal restrictions, unjust taxes, irksome duties; but, surviving all of these, it has triumphantly moved on to a foremost place in the catalog of popular beverages. But coffee is something more than a beverage. It is one of the world's greatest adjuvant foods. There are other auxiliary foods, but none that excels it for palatability and comforting effects, the psychology of which is to be found in its unique flavor and aroma. Men and women drink coffee because it adds to their sense of well-being. It not only smells good and tastes good to all mankind, heathen or civilized, but all respond to its wonderful stimulating properties. The chief factors in coffee goodness are the caffein content and the caffeol. Caffein supplies the principal stimulant. It increases the capacity for muscular and mental work without harmful reaction. The caffeol supplies the flavor and the aroma--that indescribable Oriental fragrance that wooes us through the nostrils, forming one of the principal elements that make up the lure of coffee. There are several other constituents, including certain innocuous so-called caffetannic acids, that, in combination with the caffeol, give the beverage its rare gustatory appeal. The year 1919 awarded coffee one of its brightest honors. An American general said that coffee shared with bread and bacon the distinction of being one of the three nutritive essentials that helped win the World War for the Allies. So this symbol of human brotherhood has played a not inconspicuous part in "making the world safe for democracy." The new age, ushered in by the Peace of Versailles and the Washington Conference, has for its hand-maidens temperance and self-control. It is to be a world democracy of right-living and clear thinking; and among its most precious adjuncts are coffee, tea, and cocoa--because these beverages must always be associated with rational living, with greater comfort, and with better cheer. Like all good things in life, the drinking of coffee may be abused. Indeed, those having an idiosyncratic susceptibility to alkaloids should be temperate in the use of tea, coffee, or cocoa. In every high-tensioned country there is likely to be a small number of people who, because of certain individual characteristics, can not drink coffee at all. These belong to the abnormal minority of the human family. Some people can not eat strawberries; but that would not be a valid reason for a general condemnation of strawberries. One may be poisoned, says Thomas A. Edison, from too much food. Horace Fletcher was certain that over-feeding causes all our ills. Over-indulgence in meat is likely to spell trouble for the strongest of us. Coffee is, perhaps, less often abused than wrongly accused. It all depends. A little more tolerance! Trading upon the credulity of the hypochondriac and the caffein-sensitive, in recent years there has appeared in America and abroad a curious collection of so-called coffee substitutes. They are "neither fish nor flesh, nor good red herring." Most of them have been shown by official government analyses to be sadly deficient in food value--their only alleged virtue. One of our contemporary attackers of the national beverage bewails the fact that no palatable hot drink has been found to take the place of coffee. The reason is not hard to find. There can be no substitute for coffee. Dr. Harvey W. Wiley has ably summed up the matter by saying, "A substitute should be able to perform the functions of its principal. A substitute to a war must be able to fight. A bounty-jumper is not a substitute." It has been the aim of the author to tell the whole coffee story for the general reader, yet with the technical accuracy that will make it valuable to the trade. The book is designed to be a work of useful reference covering all the salient points of coffee's origin, cultivation, preparation, and development, its place in the world's commerce and in a rational dietary. Good coffee, carefully roasted and properly brewed, produces a natural beverage that, for tonic effect, can not be surpassed, even by its rivals, tea and cocoa. Here is a drink that ninety-seven percent of individuals find harmless and wholesome, and without which life would be drab indeed--a pure, safe, and helpful stimulant compounded in nature's own laboratory, and one of the chief joys of life! CONTENTS A COFFEE THESAURUS Encomiums and descriptive phrases applied to the plant, the berry, and the beverage Page XXVII THE EVOLUTION OF A CUP OF COFFEE Showing the various steps through which the bean passes from plantation to cup Page XXIX