COFFEE, PREPARATION OF. The essentials of coffee making are : freshly roasted coffee (high roast is undesirable) ; coffee ground to the size of granulated sugar; scrupulous clean liness and care of the coffee itself and every container and coffee pot used in connection with it ; freshly boiled water; accuracy in measurement of water, coffee and the time of cooking. Coffee is sensitive to contamination. Strong odours affect it and unless it is cared for, coffee instead of being coffee, will taste of cheese, kerosene or even the mixture of odours we breathe on entering a grocery or drug store. In some parts of Europe coffee is subjected to what is called a high roast ; that is to say it is roasted until the berry is almost black and consequently its real flavour is lost and an acrid, pungent taste results. In America according to locality and the demand of the public, these roasts are variously described and used; cinnamon, city, medium and dark roasts, with the result that a full, blended flavour of the coffee itself is obtained. The next and almost greatest essential is the way the coffee is ground. No matter how well roasted or how fresh your coffee, unless it is ground correctly you cannot have a cup of good coffee. To obtain the best and most economical results, grind your coffee to the size of fine granulated sugar. If it is coarser than this, the cooking process whatever it be, will fail to secure the best results. If it is powdered, it will cake, the water cannot flow freely and a weak and unattractive drink will result.
There are two popular methods of making coffee. The old fashioned so-called "boiling process" is still used and approved of. Coffee should never really be boiled. The so-called "boiling process" is as follows : Allow one dessert-spoon of finely ground coffee to each coffee cup full of boiling water. Mix the coffee with the white and shell of an egg in the coffee pot. Pour in the boiling water. Let it stand on the back of the stove for five minutes where it will steep, not boil. Pour a scant half cupful of cold water down the spout. Let it stand again for a few minutes, two or three, till the cold water has had time to heat. Pour through a sieve into the serving coffee pot and you have a delicious drink. But this process is capable of an infinite variety of dangers. You may forget and leave it on that part of the stove where the fire is hottest and the mixture will boil and become bitter. The egg may not be fresh. The pot may not be clean, and being busy with other things you may leave it on the stove 20 instead of io minutes. Any of these accidents will ruin the morning cup and perhaps the day's enjoyment into the bargain.
Because uniformity of time and quantity of coffee and water are essential, the percolating process is best. It is almost fool proof and a uniform drink may be obtained.
To percolate coffee, fill the pot with cold water, enough to cover the spout on the inside of the pot. Fill the cup full to the inside rim with finely-ground coffee, covering the tube with your finger while doing so. Put on the spreader plate. Perco late for at least 15 minutes. The longer the pumping continues the stronger the coffee. For breakfast coffee, use a dessert-spoon of finely ground coffee to a cup. For after-dinner coffee decrease the quantity of water. All the above rules should be adjusted to personal taste. Never use boiling water. Remember that cleanliness is next to godliness and invest everything that you use in connection with coffee with a god-like cleanliness.
The third process is the filtering process where a cup of aluminium fits into a glass receptacle. A piece of filter paper is placed on the bottom of the cup. The proportion of coffee to water is the same and the finely pulverized coffee is placed in the cup, then boiling water poured through. This obviates any danger of bitterness and acidity but is not quite so satis factory except when used in hotels and restaurants where urns made specially for the purpose ensure the coffee's always being hot. If a filtrator is used in a home, an attempt should be made to let the water pass twice through the pulverized coffee.
There is still another method called the filtrating process. This is very good, being simple, and gives a delicious beverage, but it is a little troublesome because as the machine is made entirely of glass, care must be used lest the bowl or funnel break.
Purchase a glass filtrola. Place the pulverized coffee in the funnel. Fill the bowl with boiling water. Light the alcohol lamp and place it under the bowl on its own stand. Almost instantly the water rises through the coffee into the funnel. Always leave some water in the bowl, about a couple of table spoons. Remove the lamp. The water immediately returns to the bowl and hence delicious, exhilarating coffee is ready.
(A. F. MACD.)