Part 3

Either may be prepared at will from the same leaves; the difference lies in the mode of treatment. The earliest leaves are the tenderest and best flavored; later gatherings grow more woody and bitter. Black teas are spread in the air for some time after gathering, then roasted and rolled by hand, again exposed to the air, whereby they undergo a slight degree of fermentation, and finally are dried slowly over charcoal fires. The leaves for green tea are, as soon as gathered, roasted a few minutes in pans over a brisk fire, after which they are carefully rolled and thoroughly dried.

Analysis of Tea by Dr. Hassall.

Black. Green.

Water 11.56 9.37

Tannin 15.24 18.69

Gum 5.70 5.89

Albuminous matter 15.55 24.39

Theine 2.53 2.79

Ash 5.82 5.38

Chlorophyle, etc. 5.24 1.83

Cellulose and other 38.36 31.66 matter insoluble in water

―――――― ――――――

100.00 100.00

The aroma and commercial value of tea are due to a small quantity, (from 1/4 to 1 per cent.) of a volatile oil which it contains. This oil, as in coffee, is developed by roasting, the fresh picked leaves having neither an astringent, aromatic, nor bitter taste. But the effects of tea are due to its theine and tannin. Theine is present in all kinds of tea, as well as in coffee and cocoa, but it has no flavor. Tannin forms from a fifth to a seventh of the weight of the dried tea leaf, and is the more completely extracted the longer the tea is infused, or “draws.” Its precise effect upon the system is not fully known. Black tea contains less theine, essential oil, and tannin, than green tea.

The Chinese pour hot water upon their tea, and drink it clear, and in Russia a squeeze of lemon takes the place of our cream. The Chinese sometimes flavor their fine teas with the cowslip colored blossoms of the sweet-scented olive and other odoriferous plants; and they also adulterate them with foreign or exhausted tea leaves, or with tea dust, called “Lie tea.” But good authorities declare that fair grades of tea are not now much or necessarily adulterated, and that the old idea that green teas are colored or faced with copper is erroneous; at least experts have not been able to detect even traces of it.

Tea Made to Order.

There are tea coloring and facing establishments in this country which use for the purpose substances very similar to those used by the Chinese, and they have become so expert of late years that they can turn a black tea into a green (or _vice versa_) at short notice.

Tea buyers judge quality by the aroma, flavor, and the color and strength of the infusion. They detect vegetable adulterations by the shape and size of the leaf when unrolled, and sometimes burn the leaves and weigh the residue of ash.

Gunpowder, Hyson, and Imperial.

Some of the most experienced tea dealers in New York declare that there is really no essential difference in the quality of the “Firsts” or choicest grades of any “Chop” of either Gunpowder, Hyson, or Imperial, the only difference being in the form or fineness of granulation. But the popular preference in green tea is for Gunpowder, which is believed to consist of the first leaves or leaf buds of the plant. It is graded from “common” or “fair” up to “choicest.”

Varieties of Tea.

Hyson is a widely used green tea. The name is derived from He-chun, a noted Chinese tea grower. Young Hyson is said to be made from the earlier leaves; Imperials and Hysons from later gatherings. Hyson skin is the light inferior leaves winnowed out. Twankay is the poorest of the green, as Bohea is of the black teas. Pekoe is the best of black teas, but is little used, except to give fragrance to mixtures. “Capers” is used similarly to flavor green teas. Congou (made with care) and Souchong are good black teas, and are the so-called “English Breakfast Teas.” Moyune teas are considered as among the best and healthiest of green teas, while Pingsuys are inferior. Cheap teas are most adulterated. Fine teas are not only better in flavor, but are stronger and go further.

Oolong teas have “the call” in popularity with the Americans just now and they are recommended in sickness by the best physicians. There are three kinds, the Formosa, Foo Chow, and Amoy. The first two are the best. An article in the _London Daily News_, of February 18, 1888, avers that the Chinese are growing neglectful in cultivating, firing, and fermenting their teas, and that Japan is stealing away the green tea trade of China, as India and Ceylon are taking that in black tea.

Japan Teas.

A. & A. Low, of New York, imported the first cargo of Japan tea about twenty years ago, and since then its consumption has constantly increased. The natural leaf is yellowish brown, and the first Japan teas brought here were of that color. But the tint has changed. The “uncolored” Japan tea is in fact now all colored with some substance like the Chinese green teas, but not injuriously. The “Basket fired” is the nearest to the uncolored leaf. The “Sun-dried” is very popular here, and is but slightly colored. Expert tea tasters declare that Japan teas are more exciting to the nerves than those from China.

Blended Teas.

New crop teas are the best. Japan teas come in June, and Chinese later, say in July and August. Many prefer a mixture of green and black tea for family use, and retail dealers often have the knack of so blending the two that the excellence of each is enhanced. Such a combination has less effect upon the nerves, and is less expensive than good green tea, while it may be more delightful in flavor than either black or green tea alone.

COFFEE.

Coffee has been aptly called the “Beverage of Intelligence.” It quickens the functions of the brain, arouses all the intellectual faculties, stimulates and gives clearness to thought and increases the powers of judgment. It exhilarates the nervous system, counteracts the stupor caused by fatigue, by disease, or by opium, allays hunger, retards the waste of the tissues, fortifies the powers of endurance, and to a certain extent gives to the weary and exhausted increased strength and vigor, and a feeling of comfort and repose.

Both tea and coffee are more and more used in proportion to the intellectual development of modern times. But coffee does not excite the nervous system as greatly as tea and there is less reaction after it.

Coffee Better than Alcohol.

Coffee tends to lessen the desire for alcoholic drinks, and possesses some of their properties without their bad effects. Alcohol is a false and dangerous friend. Its free use enfeebles the vital organs, reduces the power of resistance, degrades the mind and body and leads on to poverty, disease, and death. Coffee produces the beneficial effects of moderate doses of alcohol, without its injurious effects. It does not, like alcohol, destroy the nerves, or invite immoderation, and even when used to excess is incapable of doing serious injury.

The most temperate countries are those which consume most coffee, and in the light of all these facts it would appear that efforts to extend and increase the use of coffee tend to check or diminish alcoholism.

Coffee Growth and Production.

Coffee plants are raised from the seed, are set out in 12 months, 450 plants to the acre, begin to bear in 4 years, mature in 7 years, and continue for 40 years. The flowers are white and fragrant; the fruit, which grows in clusters, resembles a red cherry and contains two seeds, which are the coffee of commerce.

The world’s total annual production of coffee is about 666,000 tons, of which Brazil furnishes 360,000 tons. The entire population of the United States averages to consume, per capita 7-42/100 lbs. of coffee yearly, more than three-quarters of which comes from Brazil.

RAW COFFEE, unlike tea, improves in quality with age, while it shrinks in weight, and inferior coffees may in time equal the choicest varieties. The aroma is in the direct ratio of its drying by keeping. Inferior coffees are uneven, often unclean. The large, uniform, dense, heavy grains are preferred, as showing complete maturity and careful selection. The color varies from all shades of yellow to tints of brown, green, and bluish green. There are large establishments in one or more eastern cities, which assort, color, and polish raw coffees. Much Brazilian coffee is assorted and sold for Mocha, Java, etc. Real Mocha is small, round, and dark yellow; Java and East Indian is larger and of a paler yellow. Ceylon, Brazilian and West Indian have naturally a bluish green or greenish grey tint.

ROASTING is necessary to develop the aroma and goodness of coffee. This delicate operation changes its chemical composition and develops the caffeine and volatile oil. If roasted too little the coffee retains a raw taste; if too much, a part is changed to charcoal and much aroma lost. The outside may be burned and the inside left raw, or some grains may be half raw and others burned. Coffee loses in weight from 15 to 20 and even 25 per cent., and gains in bulk from 30 to 60 per cent., according as it is roasted to a reddish, chestnut, or dark brown. The best roasting is that which reduces the weight about sixteen per cent., or to a light chestnut brown.

Coffee and Tea Compared.

Tea yields, weight for weight, twice as much caffeine (or theine) as coffee; but as we use more in weight of the latter, a cup of coffee contains about as much caffeine as a cup of tea. The composition of roasted coffee and the tea leaf are given as follows, although the proportions are variable:

Tea. Coffee.

Water 8 5

Theine or caffeine 2-1/2 3/4

Tannin 14 4

Essential oil 1/2 Trace.

Minor extractives 15 36

Insoluble organic 54-1/2 50 matter

Ash 5-1/2 4-1/4

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100 100

Modes of Making Coffee.

One pound of the properly roasted bean or berry should make 55 or 60 cups of good coffee. Coffee may be made too bitter, but it is impossible to make it too fragrant. Coffee is much the best when freshly ground. The French and many Americans merely steep or infuse their coffee at a temperature just below the boiling point, claiming that boiling dissipates the aroma; others bring it only to a boil; while others still, hold that boiling it a little is more economical, as giving an increased quantity of the soluble, exhilarating and bitter principles. Soft water is best for coffee, and coffee is better cold than warmed over, as it then loses its fragrance.

Coffee Substitutes and Adulterations.

Rye, beans, peas, acorns, carrots, turnips, dandelion root, burned bread, and many similar substances have at times been used as substitutes or adulterants for coffee. But as none of them contain caffeine or the volatile aromatic oil, they cannot serve the same physiological principle. Ground coffee is extensively adulterated, and mainly with the much cheaper

Chicory or Wild Endive.

Roasting develops in this root an empyreumatic, volatile oil which exercises upon the system some of the nerve-soothing, hunger-staying effects of tea and coffee. A little chicory gives as dark a color and as bitter a taste as a great deal of coffee. It is not unwholesome unless taken in excess, when its effects are bad. It is a poor substitute for coffee, but some people seem actually to prefer coffee which contains chicory.

Tests for Adulterations.

If ground coffee cakes in the paper, or when pinched by the fingers, or if, when a little is put into water, a part sinks while the rest swims, and the water becomes immediately discolored, the coffee is probably adulterated. The more caking and discoloration, the more chicory and the less value.

There are numerous brands of ground coffee on the market, and some of them are very popular and satisfactory. There are also various kinds of “Extracts” and “Essences” of coffee, and even humble chicory may sometimes be seen without disguise and nicely put up in yellow papers.

Cocoa and Chocolate.

The theobroma tree grows in Central and South America. The seeds of its fruit, which are about the size of almonds, are gently roasted, deprived of their husks and ground to a paste. This is COCOA. If this paste be mixed with sugar and flavored with vanilla, bitter almonds, etc., it forms the well known, delicious, and nourishing CHOCOLATE, which may either be eaten as a confection or drank as a beverage. The husk, which forms about 10 per cent. of the weight of the bean, is called “SHELLS,” and used by invalids and others for making a light and delicate infusion or tea.

The aroma of cocoa is due to an essential oil which is developed, as with tea and coffee, by roasting. Its exhilarating principle, theobromine, resembles theine. It contains a large percentage of fat, is very rich and nutritious, and may be said to unite in itself the inspiring properties of tea with the strength-giving qualities of milk.

Starch, as well as sugar, is sometimes added to cocoa and chocolate by the manufacturers, and the practice is believed to be justified, owing to their richness in oil and as better fitting them for digestion. Cocoa is, however, also prepared free from starch and deprived of a portion of its oil. There are many preparations of chocolate and cocoa in market, and they embrace all grades of purity, sweetness and price.

DAIRY PRODUCTS.

Milk, Etc.

Milk is sophisticated by robbing it of its cream, or by adding to it “The milk of the cow with the iron tail,” and by coloring it. CREAM contains about 40 per cent. of fat and 55 per cent. of water; SKIMMED MILK is water, with sugar and caseine. WHEY is merely a solution of milk sugar with a little albumen. Milk is best and most plentiful in spring, and richer but less abundant in dry seasons. The last milk drawn from the cow contains most cream. KOUMISS, the use of which is rapidly increasing, is well skimmed milk, treated with a lactic ferment for 30 or 40 hours. It is very easy of digestion. CONDENSED MILK is ordinary milk evaporated so that three pints are reduced to one. It soon spoils unless the air is excluded. PRESERVED MILK in cans contains about one-third its weight of sugar.

Butter.

Good, fresh butter, contains 84 to 88 parts of milk fat, 10 or 12 parts of moisture, and a little milk sugar, caseine and salt. inferior butter may contain as much as 33 per cent. of water, or buttermilk, and salt. The more buttermilk left in, the sooner the butter grows rancid, while over-working tends to make it soft and oily. The melting of butter changes its physical properties, and long exposure to the air injures the best butter.

Good butter is solid and of a grained texture, has a fine orange yellow color and a pleasant aroma. It may comfort the curious to know that its odor is due to a very little butyric acid, combined with oxide of lipyle. To test the quantity of moisture, put a little of the butter in a bottle, heat gently, and leave near the fire for half an hour, when the butter will rise, leaving the water and salt at the bottom. Two-thirds of all the butter made is colored.

Classification of Butter.

The New York Mercantile Exchange classification, which is standard, is as follows: EASTERN CREAMERY, SWEET CREAM CREAMERY, DAIRY BUTTER, WESTERN CREAMERY, IMITATION CREAMERY, and DAIRY, also “LADLE” and “GREASE BUTTER.”

CREAMERY BUTTER is the best. It is such as is made from the cream obtained by setting the milk at the creamery, or by the system known as “Cream gathering,” by which the farmer delivers his cream to the creamery to be churned or made into butter. Butter made under the former system, or from the milk, is better than that made from the gathered cream. SWEET CREAM CREAMERY is made from unfermented cream.

DAIRY BUTTER is that which is made, salted, and packed by the dairyman or farmer. Though often really excellent, it is less uniform in quality, and therefore less reliable.

LADLE BUTTER.—This is butter of all seasons, ages, and qualities, collected by the dealer, in rolls, lumps, or packages, from the farm houses, salted, or unsalted, as the case may be, and by him reworked, resalted, colored, and packed.

GRADES OF BUTTER.—The varieties are all graded again into “Extras,” “Extra Firsts,” “Firsts,” “Seconds,” “Thirds,” etc. “EXTRAS” are the choicest grades under each classification, and must come up to the following standard. Flavor must be perfect if fresh made, and fine if held; body perfect and uniform, color good for the season when made, perfect and uniform; must be properly salted, and in good and uniform packages. “EXTRA FIRSTS” must be a grade just below “Extras,” and fine butter; good color, etc., etc. “FIRSTS” must be clean and sweet, sound and good. “SECONDS” must be fair throughout, may be strong if held, on tops and sides of package. “Thirds” may be off-flavored, etc. “Poor Butter” may be strong, and of all grades below “Thirds” down to “Grease Butter.”

Artificial Butter.

About 20 years ago a French chemist tried to imitate the process which takes place when cows are underfed, and when, therefore, the butter they yield is supplied from their own fat. His aim was to make a substitute for butter for the poor, etc., which should be healthful, agreeable and cheap, and which should keep a long time without becoming rancid. The man’s name was Mege-Mouries, and he discovered OLEOMARGARINE. This product has been, and is still extensively manufactured in the United States, and is pronounced by some of the most eminent and scientific men to be wholesome, nutritious and palatable.

OLEOMARGARINE is made from the fat of slaughtered cattle. This is melted at a temperature of 150 deg. F., and the stearine extracted. The “Oleo oil” which is left is now churned with cream or milk, colored and salted.

BUTTERINE is made from oleo oil, neutral lard, and some butter. These ingredients are churned with milk or cream, colored, salted and packed in tubs. Refined cotton seed oil is also frequently used in the manufacture of both products.

Oleomargarine Laws.

In 1886 Congress passed the “Oleomargarine Bill,” defining butter to be an article made solely from milk and cream. It imposes a tax of two cents per pound upon oleomargarine and similar butter substitutes, compels their sale in certain sized packages, plainly marked or branded with the name of their contents, and requires manufacturers and dealers to take out special licenses, all under heavy penalties. Some of the State laws, restricting the sale of oleomargarine, are still more stringent, and its consumption has diminished, although it is still used in some sections and extensively exported.

Cheese.

No article of food appears to be more affected than cheese by slight variations of the materials from which it is made, or by such apparently trifling differences in the methods of manufacture. Both full and skimmed milk are used; the former yielding, of course, the best product. The latter cheese is little used in this country. An English writer says that if milk is skimmed for several days, “it yields a cheese so hard that pigs grunt at it, dogs bark at it, but neither dare bite it.” People’s tastes vary greatly in the flavor of cheese, and while some prefer the natural tint, others buy that which is colored. Color adds neither richness nor flavor, and is gradually falling into disuse.

Cheese as a Staple Food.

Some nations (as Great Britain, etc.,) consume cheese largely as a staple food, while others use it more sparingly, and mainly as a condiment or relish. Bread and cheese consort better with ale than with whiskey and this country is not greatly given to cheese as a staple food, although its consumption is increasing here, owing to recent improvements in the modes of manufacture and in its quality. Two-thirds of our total product now goes to Europe.

Analysis of Full and Skim Milk Cheese.

The composition of cheese is given as follows:

Rich Skim cheese. milk cheese.

Water 36 44

Casein 29 45

Milk fat 30-1/2 6

Salt and phosphates 4-1/2 5

Good and Poor Cheese.

Cheese dries fast and shrinks in weight; hence the grocer who sells it in small quantities is compelled to charge a fair margin or advance upon its cost to save himself from loss. The ordinary weight of American cheeses is about 60 lbs., but smaller ones are growing in favor, and many are now made weighing from 35 to 40 lbs. A grocer who has a good class of custom soon realizes that our poor cheese takes the place of several good ones, and it is his aim to secure a good and popular quality and stick to it.

Facts About Cheese.

The best cheese is made from the rich June grasses, the poorest in the heats of summer. June cheese is safest to keep, as the curds are then scalded higher, to ensure that they will sustain the coming warm weather. Cheese may be made for immediate use—and such will grow sharp if long kept—or it may be so made as to keep a year or more with constant improvement or ripening. It requires about ten pounds of milk to make one pound of cheese.

“FILLED” CHEESE is made by substituting lard in place of the cream of the milk. Ten pounds of such cheese contains about 1 pound of lard. This product is largely made in some sections, and is chiefly sold in the South or exported.

Classification of Cheese.

Cheese made in New York, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin has the first “Call” in the New York Mercantile Exchange. “FANCY” must be full cream, perfect in flavor, close made, well cured, of uniform color and perfect surface. “FINE” is the next grade below—must be also full cream, clean flavor, etc. “KNOWN MARKS” or FACTORY CHEESE may not be full cream. “WESTERN CHEESE” “Shall include those of all States not mentioned above and shall be classified as fancy, fine, and known marks, but they may not be full cream.”

Imported Cheese.

SWISS CHEESE comes from Switzerland, and more of this is imported than of all others combined. Next stands EDAM from Holland. The delicious ROQUEFORT CHEESE, made in France, from ewes milk and kept in mountain caves to ripen, stands third in the list of imported cheeses, and PARMESAN stands fourth; it is made from skimmed milk, the curd hardened by a gentle heat. This and SBRINZ cheese are used for soups—grated. GORGONZOLA is a fine, rich, Italian cheese, each weighing about ten pounds. Other good Italian cheeses are made from the milk of the buffalo which feed on the Roman Campagna. STILTON is the finest of English cheeses. It is made from full milk with added cream. It improves with age, and is best when at least two years old. The CHEDDAR, CHESHIRE and QUEEN’S ARMS are other varieties of good English cheese.

Eggs.

Eggs are cheap and substantial food. The white is mostly albumen, while the yolk is two-thirds oil. Turkeys eggs are pronounced the best in flavor. Guinea hens eggs are excellent, and keep well on account of their thick shells. Goose eggs are larger, whiter, and less esteemed. Duck eggs are bluish, and less desirable than hens eggs. Eight hens eggs weigh a pound.

A fresh egg feels heavy in the hand and is semi-transparent before the light. Its large end feels warm to the tongue. The older it is, the less pleasant and nutritious it becomes. If it stands upright in water it is bad; if obliquely it is not quite fresh. If it lies at the bottom it is quite fresh. An egg begins to lose flavor a few hours after it has been laid.

Lard.