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Coffee and Chicory

THE Coffee Berry, which we roast, and grind, for infusing as a stimulating, fragrant, refreshing drink, is got from the Coffea Arabica tree, which produces a fruit resembling a cherry, while the Coffee bean corresponds to the stone. This bean consists of two halves enclosed in a husk. Mocha Coffee, from Yemen, in Arabia, is reputed to be the best, being chiefly produced in Guatemala as both the "long berry" and the "short berry." Most "Mysore" Coffee comes from Java, and Ceylon. Brazil Coffee is used for mixing with other varieties. By roasting, the aromatic, highly fragrant oil "caffeol" is developed, to which the grateful odour of freshly-ground Coffee is due, and which is so powerful that a single drop of it will suffice to give fragrance to a whole room. One cause of the superiority of French Coffee, is its admixture with caramel specially prepared for the purpose; another cause being the use of less water in making the beverage. When Coffee berries are roasted, some portion of the caffein is volatilized, there being a partial change of the sugar (from the berries) into caramel, with a general breaking-up of the aromatic volatile oil, and the albumin cells, causing extrication of gas, and steam, and the development of a very potential and volatile aromatic substance, methylamine. "J'aime le café Chaud comme l'enfer, Noir comme le diable, Et doux comme un ange."

With some persons strong Coffee will provoke an itching state of the skin.

Caffein, the active nervine stimulant, and revivifier in Coffee, being practically synonymous with thein (that of tea), exercises its arousing effect more on the central nervous system, than on the heart, as tea does. It removes the sense of fatigue, but is apt to induce sleeplessness. Per contra, for the insomnia of an agitated mind, or body, with a perpetual forcing of ideas on the former, as likewise for alcoholic sleeplessness, a strong infusion of the Coffee berry whilst raw, and unroasted, will prove very helpful; it must be freshly made with Mocha berries, and taken in doses of one tablespoonful at a time every half-hour, until sleep is induced. By Caffein the respiratory movements are made deeper, and more frequent, whilst the heart is indirectly stimulated to beat more forcibly. All experiments go to prove that Coffee-drinking leads to waste of tissue; this berry (the same as tea) is not a muscle-making substance. Whilst the volatile oils of tea tend to dilate the superficial vessels of the skin, and to render it moist (cooling it by rapid evaporation in hot weather), Coffee has an opposite action. Tea-tasters are apt to become jumpy, starting on the slightest sudden noise, tremulous, liable to palpitation, sleeplessness, giddiness, and depression of spirits. Nevertheless, "Tea," said De Quincey, "will always be the beverage of the intellectual." It was the wakeful, exciting effect of Coffee berries, as observed by the Prior of a convent on goats, which first suggested their use as likely to keep the monks from falling asleep at their devotions. This influence of strong Coffee in producing excessive nervous stimulation, is a point well deserving the consideration of total abstainers nowadays. After a while it tends to check the appetite, and to prevent sleep, thereby doing harm to persons liable to neuralgic affections, who need much sleep. "They should shun Coffee as they would poison," says a leading medical authority. But the infusion does much less harm in very cold climates, also in very hot climates, than it works in England, or in the temperate parts of America. Persons exposed to severe cold, even in this country, are the better for taking Coffee in moderation, and it does not then over-stimulate them. "Cures have been wrought (Republic of Columbia) in the most severe cases of malarious fever, by using the husk of the Coffee bean, which will at times succeed where quinine fails. At first an infusion was made of the Coffee berry within the husk crushed together, and this was used with good results. Afterwards the infusion was made from the Coffee husk alone, with which some hundreds of cases were treated, a cure resulting in every case" (Lancet, October, 1902).

Coffee can also be taken in other ways, and in none better than in the form of jelly. "A clear Coffee jelly after dinner is every whit as good as the hot infusion, whilst free from the drawbacks of the latter; moreover, the astringent principles of the Coffee are thus neutralized by the gelatin, which is at the same time an admirable proteid sparer." Dr. Thudicum advises that it is preferable in making an infusion of Coffee to unite the processes of boiling, and infusing: "Place the amount of Coffee which it is intended to use (less about one-tenth of its bulk, which quantity is to be reserved) into the vessel in which the boiling is to be done, and pour over this the measured quantity of cold water; now heat it to boiling, and keep it thus for some minutes; then take the vessel off the fire, and add to the liquid the reserved tenth part of the Coffee, and stir well in, but without boiling the mixture again; let it stand for a few minutes, and then pour the Coffee on the filter (over a spirit lamp, if wishing it to be quite hot)- the liquid first, and the grounds last."

Cold Coffee infusion made overnight, though a comfortless drink at breakfast, will serve, if needed, as an energizing douche to sluggish intestines, and will stimulate an evacuation of the lower bowel promptly after the meal. Persons in Germany who drink strong, hot Coffee to excess suffer from migraine on waking in the morning, with loathing of food, intense headache, and continual sickness at the stomach. The desire is for darkness, whilst the hands and feet are cold; the pain seldom ceases until evening. For an attack of similar migraine arising from other causes, it will be found very useful to take hot, strong Coffee by the small teacupful every hour from the time of access until relief is obtained. A claim is advanced that the green, unroasted berries are helpful against disorders of the liver, and kidneys, two parts of Mocha, and one part of Martinique, and Isle de Bourbon; put three drachms of these into a tumblerful of cold water overnight, and, after straining the infusion next morning, take it whilst fasting. For obtaining a cordial drink from roasted Coffee, it must be made hot, and strong; two ounces of the freshly-roasted and freshly-ground berry to a pint of boiling water is the smallest proportion which will give a good result. Three parts of hot milk to one of black Coffee is about the proper proportion for Café au lait.

French Coffee has hitherto been made with more or less Chicory in combination, and sometimes with burnt sugar also. This Chicory is the root of the Wild Endive (Cichorium intybus), kiln-dried, and broken into fragments; the process of drying converts its sugar into caramel. As a rule French Coffee contains about one-third of its weight of Chicory, which gives a bitterish taste, and a dark colour to the brew. The chemical constituents of this Chicory, or Succory, are specially inulin, and a particular bitter principle not named. The root is fleshy and tapering like a parsnip; it is cut in pieces, and dried in a slack oven, after which it is again cut in smaller pieces and roasted like Coffee. Chicory when taken habitually, or too freely, causes passive congestion of the veins appertaining to the digestive organs within the abdomen, and a fulness of blood in the head; indeed, if used in excess it may bring about blindness, because of paralysing the retina of the eyes. The only benefit of quality which Chicory gives to Coffee is an increase of colour and body, but not by possessing any aroma of its own, or any fragrant oil, or stimulating virtue. French writers say it acts in an opposite direction, and is "contrestimulante," serving to correct the excitation caused by the active principles of Coffee; and that therefore it suits persons who are by nationality sanguineo-bilious, and who would otherwise be liable to habitual tonic constipation caused by their plain Coffee. On the contrary, Chicory is ill-adapted for those persons whose vital energy overpowers itself, and speedily flags; whilst for lymphatic and bloodless subjects its use should be forbidden. Johnson (Chemistry of Common Life) teaches that "when taken in moderate quantities the ingredients of Chicory are probably not injurious to health, but by prolonged and frequent use they produce heartburn, cramp in the stomach, loss of appetite, acidity, constipation, with intermittent diarrhea, weakness of the limbs, tremblings, sleeplessness, and a drunken cloudiness of the senses"; "a most formidable list of accusations! At the best, therefore, Chicory as an addition to, or substitute for, Coffee should only be used on infrequent occasions when the price is an object. The late Prince Bismarck stopped one day at an Inn on the borders of the Black Forest, and called for a cup of Chicory. The astonished landlord brought him presently about a gill. "This is all I have in the house," said he. "Are you sure?" asked Bismarck. "Yes, mein herr." "Very well," said the Prince, throwing the stuff away; now make me some Coffee." After the Essex Rebellion (in English History) Queen Elizabeth was much troubled in mind; every new message from the city disturbed her; she frowned on her ladies, and kept a sword always beside her; she touched nothing for two days but a cake, and then disregarded every delicacy of food for a manchet (a roll), and plain Succory, or Chicory, pottage. 66 A well-made infusion of freshly-roasted and ground Coffee is often better as a restorative in fever than alcohol. Again, strong Coffee will frequently prove successful for allaying paroxysms of asthma. Some doctors forbid Coffee in gout, but without any special reason except as regards the cream and sugar served therewith; though Dr. Haig (who evidently has a personal prejudice against each theobromic beverage) declares that Coffee berries contain 70 per cent of uric acid, or xanthins. In Johnson's Chemistry of Common Life (1856) the case is told of a gentleman who was attacked by gout at twenty-five years of age, and had it severely at times till he was upwards of fifty, with chalk-stones in the joints of his hands and feet; then the use of Coffee was advised him, and completely prevented any further attacks. The French attribute to free Coffee-drinking their freedom from the gout due to uric acid deposits, with gravel, and derangement of the kidneys. It has not been determined to which of the Coffee constituents this preventive, or curative action is due, but the belief in its efficacy is confirmed by the fact that in a great Coffee-consuming country like Turkey, such gouty disorders of digestion and excretion are practically unknown.

Coffee (and Cocoa) favour regular action of the bowels more than tea, because not containing so much astringent tannin. Coffee Houses formerly held in Great Britain a position somewhat similar to that of the Club Houses of the present day. Macaulay wrote: "The Coffee House must not be dismissed with a cursory mention." It might, indeed, in his time have been not improperly called a very important political institution. The Coffee Houses were the chief organs through which public opinion in the metropolis vented itself. Every man of the upper and middle classes went daily to his Coffee House, to learn the news, and to discuss it. Every Coffee House had one or more orators, to whose eloquence the crowd listened with admiration, and who soon became (what the journalists of our own time have been often called) a "fourth Estate of the Realm"; this was in the early years of the eighteenth century. In Pickwick we read amusingly about Coffee-snuff, as taken at that period in substitution for the stronger weed. "Do you do anything in this way, Sir?" enquired the tall footman (at Bath, of Sam Weller), producing a small snuff-box with a fox's head on the top of it. "Not without sneezing," said Sam. "Why, it is difficult I confess, Sir," said the tall footman. "It may be done by degrees, Sir; Coffee is the best practice; I carried Coffee, Sir, for a long time it looks very like rappee." Again, in another chapter we read concerning Mr. Jackson, the astute clerk of Messrs. Dodson and Fogg, as showing his vulgar sagacity when questioned by Mr. Pickwick about a subpœna which had just been served on that gentleman: "Here Mr. Jackson smiled upon the company, and, applying his left thumb to the tip of his nose, worked a visionary Coffee-mill with his right hand, thereby performing a very graceful piece of pantomime which was familiarly denominated 'taking a grinder.' دو Trelawney has described the making of Turkish Coffee correctly, thus (July, 1900): "A bright charcoal fire was burning in a small stove. Kamalia first took for four persons four handfuls of the small, pale Mocha berries, little bigger than barley; these had been carefully picked, and cleaned; she put them into an iron vessel, where, with admirable quickness and dexterity, they were roasted until their colour was somewhat darkened, but the moisture not exhaled; the over-roasted ones were picked out, and the remainder, while very hot, put into a large wooden mortar, where they were instantly pounded by another woman. This done, Kamalia passed the powder through a camel-hair cloth, and then re-passed it through a finer cloth. Meantime a Coffee-pot containing exactly four cupfuls of water was boiling; this was taken off, and one cupful poured out; and three cupfuls of the powder (after she had ascertained its impalpability between her finger and thumb) were stirred in with a stick of cinnamon. When replaced on the fire, the pot, if on the point of over-boiling, was taken off, and struck by its heel against the hob, and again put on the fire; this was repeated five or six times. I forgot to mention, she added a very minute piece of mace, not enough to make its flavour distinguishable, and that the Coffee-pot must be of tin, and uncovered, or the decoction cannot form a thick cream on its surface, which it ought to do. After it was taken for the last time from the fire, the cupful of water which had been at first poured out was returned. The Coffee was then carried into the drinking room without being disturbed, and was instantly poured into the cups, where it retained its rich cream on the top. Thus made its exquisite fragrance filled the room, and nothing could be more delicious to the palate."

For sea-sickness a cup of pure Coffee, hot, without milk, or sugar, is often successful. (Dr. Mackern, who has made five or six voyages round the world, speaks in high terms likewise of charcoal, by taking two teaspoonfuls daily for a couple of days before starting on any long voyage; then drinking plenty of hot water on the first day of the voyage, and afterwards resuming the charcoal-one teaspoonful twice a day as before.) For "Coffee jelly," soak half an ounce of gelatine in half a pint of water for an hour until it is dissolved; then add a breakfast-cupful of strong, clear Coffee freshly made; sweeten to taste, and put the mixture into a mould (adding a little brandy, if desired); serve when firm. For "Coffee syrup," choose good Mocha Coffee, and roast it until it acquires a dark cinnamon colour; grind it in a marble mortar, and pass it through a sieve; put the powder into a jug, and pour boiling water over it, stirring it with a spoon; then put two layers of parchment over the jug, and place it in a cool oven until the next day; pour the infusion through a white piece of linen rag over an earthenware dish, squeeze the linen well so that all the strength of the Coffee may be secured, and pass the liquor through a filter. Then take double the bulk of sugar (clarified, and boiled till smooth), boil this to crack, and add the infusion; allow the mixture to simmer, then take it off the fire, and put it when lukewarm into bottles. This Coffee syrup is a convenient beverage for travellers. If two teaspoonfuls are put into a cup, and boiling water is poured on, good Coffee can be thus quickly made. Sugar mixed with Coffee draws forth all its aroma; and if mixed with Café au lait it gives a light, agreeable, easily-made food which admirably suits those persons who must work at the desk immediately after breakfast. The Turks, who are superior to all others in Coffee-making, do not use a mill for grinding the berries: they break the Coffee up in wooden mortars with wooden pestles, and when these have been for a long time in family use they become saturated with fine aromas, being therefore valuable, and commanding high prices. The undoubted opinion of experts is that Coffee made with the pounded berry is better than that made with ground berries. With respect whereto a singular example may be given of the influence which this or that manner of manipulating can make to a food-substance: "Sir!" said Napoleon one day to Senator Laplace, "how is it that a glass of water in which I melt a piece of loaf sugar appears to me to taste better than that in which I put the same quantity of ground sugar?" "Sire," said the savant, "there are three substances of which the elementary constituents are exactly the samethat is to say, sugar, gum, and starch; they differ only by certain conditions, the nature of which has not been revealed to us; and I believe that it is possible the force exercised by the pestle causes certain portions of the sugar to pass into the states of gum, or starch, and occasions the difference of flavours to which you refer." This fact is fairly well established, later observations having confirmed the opinion of Laplace. 66 66 Brillat Savarin says that having tried all the customary methods for making infusion of Coffee, he came to the conclusion that the process known as “ à la Dubelloy" is the best. This consists in pouring boiling water on the ground Coffee, put into a porcelain, or silver vase pierced with very small holes. The first decoction is taken, heated again to boiling, and passed through the Coffee anew, when a beverage as clear, and as good as possible is obtained.

Persons who can take Coffee in the evening, or at night, without being prevented thereby from sleeping, seem to need it also during the day for keeping them awake, and are pretty sure to doze during the evening if they fail to take Coffee after dinner. A still larger number of persons are sleepy all the day when they have not had their Coffee in the morning. Coffee is a much more energetic beverage than is usually believed. A man with a good constitution can live a long time, and drink two bottles of wine every day; but the same man could not take an equal allowance of Coffee for the same length of time: he would become imbecile, or would die of consumption. It is a duty for all the papas and mammas of the world to severely interdict Coffee to their children, if they do not wish them to be old at twenty years; this advice is specially offered to the Parisians" (Brillat Savarin). For persons liable to sluggishness of the liver, and of the biliary functions, Dandelion Coffee is prepared, and kept in stock by all the leading grocers. It is made from the dried root of the Dandelion plant (Taraxacum) of our fields and hedgerows, being used as a capital substitute for ordinary Coffee. This root is at its best in November. Its active constituents are taraxacin, and taraxacerin, with inulin (a sort of sugar), gluten, gum, potash, and an odorous resin which is commonly supposed to stimulate the liver. Dandelion leaves, when young and tender in springtime, are eaten on the Continent in salads, or, when blanched, with bread and butter. Again, a Dandelion wine is made for the use of persons with an indolent liver, because of the principle taraxacin, and the resinoid bodies contained in the herb. Potassium and calcium salts are also present, which were formerly thought to make the Dandelion diuretic, and hence was derived its old English title-coarse, but significant-Piss-a-bed "When Willie was a little boy Not more than five or six, Right constantly did he annoy His mother with his tricks.

Yet not a pin, or groat cared I For what he did, or said, Unless, as happened frequently, The rascal wet the bed. 'Tis many times that Willie has Soaked all the bedclothes through, Whereat I'd rise, and light the gas, And wonder what to do. • Yet there he lay, so peaceful-like :

God bless his curly head!

I quite forgave the little tyke For wetting of the bed.

Ah me! those happy days have flown !

My boy's a father too; And little Willies of his own Do what he used to do:

And I-ah! all that's left for me Are dreams of pleasure fled :

My life's not what it used to be When Willie wet the bed."

Lord Macaulay, when he retired from Parliament (1856), lived at Campden Hill, and took to gardening. He disliked dandelions singularly, and relates how he "exterminated all the dandelions which had sprung up since yesterday." Again, when writing to his niece, "Dear little Alice," he tells her: "I have had no friends near me but my books and my flowers; and no enemies but those execrable dandelions! I thought I was rid of the villains! but the day before yesterday when I got up and looked out of my window, I could see five or six of their great, impudent, yellow, flaring faces turned up at me. 'Only you wait till I come down,' I said. How I pulled them up! How I enjoyed their destruction! Is it Christian-like to hate a dandelion so savagely?" Bergins says he has seen intractable cases of chronic liver congestion cured, after many other remedies had failed, by the patients taking daily for some months a broth made from dandelion roots sliced, and stewed in boiling water, with some leaves of sorrel, and the yolk of an egg. These roots are in their best condition for yielding juice about November. During winter the sap is thick, sweet, and albuminous, but in summer time it is bitter and acrid. Frost causes the bitterness to diminish, and sweetness to take its place; but after the frost this bitterness recurs, and is intensified. The whitened growth of a dandelion root when it has been blanched, and drawn out in length by having to become developed through a mole-hill, is much more sweet, and tender, and free from bitterness than if ordinarily grown. Parkinson writes (1640): "Whoso is drawing towards a consumption, or ready to fall into a cachexy, shall find a wonderful help from the use of young, tender dandelion leaves, blanched, and eaten with bread and butter in the spring for some time together."