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Coffee (This beverage which is so)

This beverage, which is so highly esteemed on the Continent, is often made so badly that it loses its delicious aroma and invigorating qualities, and produces only nausea and indigestion. There are numberless recipes for making it, and everyone considers his plan the best, but surely it is proved that some enlightenment on this subject is necessary, when a cup of really good coffee is a most difficult article to obtain, and the quality of that which is commonly drunk in this country is very inferior. The first thing to be attended to is to have the material good. The best plan is to buy a large quantity raw, and to keep it for some time before using it, roasting a little as it is required, as the quality of the berry improves with keeping. This, however, is not convenient in many houses, and therefore in ordinary circumstances it is quite as satisfactory and much less troublesome to buy the berries already roasted of some first-class dealer. Though not always roasted, however, the coffee should always be ground at home, immediately before it is wanted. When once the berry is ground, the aroma quickly escapes. The berries should be put into the oven for a short time to warm before they are ground. Besides being particular about the quality of their coffee, Englishmen have to learn not to be sparing of the quantity. The Continental allowance is a cupful of freshly-ground coffee for three cupfuls of liquid. This may, of course, be considered extravagant and unnecessary, but one thing is certain, if the coffee is not strong the aroma is lost. The finest sugar should always be served with coffee, and boiling milk or cream as well as cold. When, for purposes of economy, a cheap coffee is purchased, the flavour may be improved by the addition of a small quantity of chicory, but it should be bought separately, and mixed at home, and not more than two ounces of chicory powder put with one pound of coffee. The effect of chicory is to impart a slight bitterness to the coffee, and to darken its colour, and it is considered by many persons an improvement when added in the right proportion.