Coffee merchandising

The ideal way to prepare the coffee drink would be to buy the coffee green, then roast and grind it just before making the beverage. This was the ancient custom, and obtained even in our grandmothers day. Today, especially for busy people in cities, it isn’t so practical to buy coffee in the green and roast it as needed.

Then, too, there are efficient roasting plants, usually just around the corner, where it is much better done than ever Grandmother did it, for all her loving care and infinite patience; and, for those who live some distance from the roaster, there are air-proof, dust-proof, and damp-proof containers,—aye, even vacuum tins,—in which the freshly roasted bean may be kept reasonably fresh until it is needed for table use.

Again, for those too busy to grind their own, there are efficient grinders in the factory or store which make it possible to supply any grind in package form or on demand. It is possible to get freshly roasted and freshly ground coffee of excellent quality in almost any given community.

At the same time, it is a coffee-making axiom that, the shorter the time between roasting and making, the better the beverage. For those who wish a superior cup of coffee, it is well to bear this thought in mind. Most everyone knows that green coffee improves with age; roasted coffee loses its flavor rapidly, especially after it is ground. This is because the aromatic flavoring elements developed by roasting begin to escape as soon as exposed to the air. The roasted berry also absorbs moisture, which causes destructive changes in the flavoring oils. Ground coffee, therefore, should be kept in a container that is moisture proof and as nearly air-tight as possible. If the original package does not give this protection after it is once opened, place the contents in a glass fruit jar or other vessel which can be kept sealed.

The following general directions for making coffee in the home have been worked out by Edward Aborn, the New York coffee-brewing expert, and published by the Joint Coffee Trade Publicity Committee in cooperation with the National Coffee Roasters Association:

Grinding

The roasted berry is constructed of fibrous tissues formed into tiny cells visible only under the microscope, which are the “packages” wherein are stored the whole value of coffee, the aromatic oils. Like cutting up an orange, the grinding of coffee is the opening of surrounding tissue and pulp.

If coffee is bought “in the bean” and ground at home, use a mill that can be adjusted to give a uniform granulation best suited to the particular brewing method adopted. There are several on the market.

Measure Carefully

There is no set rule for the proper proportions of coffee and water. This will vary with the kind of coffee used, the way it is ground, and the method of brewing, and, above all, with individual taste. But, once you have found the right proportion, that is the proportion best suited to your use: stick to it. Don’t guess; measure carefully, both water and coffee. Remember that, in brewing, the coffee grounds absorb a certain amount of the water in the pot; therefore, to make five cups of coffee, use, say, five and one-half cupfuls of water, and in the same proportion with larger or smaller quantities.

Extracting the Coffee Flavor

Chemists have analyzed the coffee bean and told us that its delicious taste is due to certain aromatic oils. This aromatic element is extracted most efficiently only by fresh-boiling water. The practice of soaking the grounds in cold water, therefore, is to be condemned. It is a mistake also to let the water and the grounds boil together after the real coffee flavor is once extracted. This extraction takes place very quickly, especially when the coffee is ground fine. The coarser the granulation, the longer it is necessary to let the grounds remain in contact with the boiling water. Remember that flavor, the only flavor worth having, is extracted by the short contact of boiling water and coffee grounds, and that, after this flavor is extracted, the coffee grounds become valueless dregs.

Use Grounds Only Once

Although the foregoing rules are absolutely fundamental to good coffee making, their importance is so little appreciated that in some households the lifeless grounds from the breakfast coffee are left in the pot and resteeped for the next meal, with the addition of a small quantity of fresh coffee. Used coffee grounds are of no more value in coffee making than ashes are in kindling a fire.

Serve at Once

After the coffee is brewed, the true coffee flavor, now extracted from the bean, should be guarded carefully. When the brewed liquid is left on the fire or overheated, this flavor is cooked away and the whole character of the beverage is changed. It is just as fatal to let the brew grow cold. If possible, coffee should be served as soon as it is made. If service is delayed, it should be kept hot but not overheated. For this purpose, careful cooks prefer a double-boiler over a slow fire. The cups should be warmed beforehand, and the same is true of a serving pot, if one is used. Brewed coffee, once injured by cooling, cannot be restored by reheating.

Scour the Coffee Pot

Unsatisfactory results in coffee-brewing frequently can be traced to lack of care in keeping utensils clean. The fact that the coffee pot is used only for coffee making is no excuse for setting it away with a hasty rinse. Coffee-making utensils should be cleansed with scrupulous care after each using. If a percolator is used, pay special attention to the small tube through which the hot water rises to spray over the grounds. This should be scrubbed with a wire-handled brush.

Don’t Dry Filter Bags

In cleansing drip or filter bags, use cool water. Hot water “cooks in” the coffee stains. After the bag is rinsed, keep it submerged in cool water until time to use it again. Never let it dry. This treatment protects the cloth from the germs in the air which cause souring. New filter bags should be washed before using to remove the starch or sizing.

Drip or Filter Coffee

The principle behind this method is the quick contact of water at full boiling point with coffee ground as fine as it is practicable to use it. The filtering medium may be of cloth or paper, or perforated chinaware or metal. The fineness of the grind should be regulated by the nature of the filtering medium, the grains being large enough not to slip through the perforations.

The amount of ground coffee to use may vary from a heaping teaspoonful to a rounded tablespoonful for each cup of coffee desired, depending upon the granulation, the kind of apparatus used, and individual taste. A general rule is, The finer the grind the smaller the amount of dry coffee required.

The most satisfactory grind for a cloth drip bag has the consistency of powdered sugar, and shows a slight grit when rubbed between thumb and finger. Unbleached muslin makes the best bag for this granulation. For dripping coffee reduced to a powder, as fine as flour or confectioner’s sugar, use a bag of canton flannel with the fuzzy side in. Powdered coffee, however, requires careful manipulation and cannot be recommended for everyday household use.

Put the ground coffee into the bag or sieve. Bring fresh water to a full boil, and pour it through the coffee at a steady, gradual rate of flow. If a cloth drip bag is used, with a very finely ground coffee, one pouring should be enough. No special pot or device is necessary. The liquid coffee may be dripped into any handy vessel or directly into the cups. Dripping into the coffee cups, however, is not to be recommended, unless the dripper is moved from cup to cup so that no one cup will get more than its share of the first flow, which is the strongest and best.

The brew is complete when it drips from the grounds, and further cooking or “heating up” injures the quality. Therefore, since it is not necessary to put the brew over the fire, it is possible to make use of the hygienic advantages of a glassware, porcelain, or earthenware serving pot.

Boiled or Steeped Coffee

For boiling or steeping, use a medium grind. The recipe is a rounded tablespoonful for each cup of coffee desired, or, as some cooks prefer to remember it, a tablespoonful for each cup and “one for the pot.” Put the dry coffee into the pot and pour over it fresh water briskly boiling. Steep for five minutes or longer, according to taste, over a low fire. Settle with a dash of cold water, or strain through muslin or cheese cloth and serve at once.

Percolated Coffee

Use a rounded tablespoonful of medium-fine-ground coffee to each cupful of water. The water may be poured into the percolator cold or at the boiling point. In the latter case, percolation begins at once. Let the water percolate over the grounds for five to 10 minutes, depending upon the intensity of the heat and the flavor desired.

“For Better Coffee”

In June, 1924, the Joint Coffee Trade Publicity Committee, in cooperation with the National Coffee Roasters Association, published for distribution among consumers a booklet entitled “For Better Coffee Making,” prepared from the 1923 coffee-research report of Professor Samuel C. Prescott of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Its purpose was “to explain as clearly and concisely as possible the best way to prepare beverage coffee as recommended by the institute.” This booklet heads as follows:

Making good coffee is an art easily acquired. The American housewife has it, but her methods are varied and her success not always assured.

American coffee roasters felt there must be a uniform way to make better coffee, so they consulted the highest scientific authority in the country upon the subject. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology was chosen because of its prestige. In the public mind its findings become at once authoritative.

For three years it sought a way to make better coffee. Thousands of experiments were made. Individual tastes were tested. Safeguards were laid against prejudice and bias. All the previous works upon the subject were consulted and their recipes given consideration. Every known way of making coffee was tried out until the best was ascertained.

This booklet, prepared from the report, purposes to explain as clearly and concisely as possible this best way recommended by Massachusetts Tech. to prepare beverage coffee.

No doubt millions of women are making coffee, by percolation and by boiling, that has been satisfactory to them. This booklet neither discourages nor condemns these methods, but merely shows a newer and a better way, a way in which the most in flavor and aroma will be secured.

The buying is as important as the making. Be sure you start out with a good quality of coffee. The handling, after the purchase has been made, has a direct bearing upon the quality of the beverage.

Two simple rules govern the purchase of coffee if this way is to be tried. These are very good reasons for these rules:

1. Coffee in the bean loses its carbondioxid and its freshness much less rapidly than ground coffee. Grinding the coffee, in fact, results in a marked and immediate loss of this necessary element.

Roasted coffee contains considerable carbondioxid. Carbondioxid is absolutely harmless. It is being used extensively with foodstuffs at present. In dairy products it prevents the growth of bacteria and retards the development of rancid acids. It enables many food materials to be preserved for a long period of time. In coffee its action is similar. Hence, it is desirable to retain as much of it as possible.

2. Be sure that any coffee you buy, whether bulk, package, or can, is fresh. Fresh coffee contains the greatest amount of carbondioxid, and the carbondioxid gives the assurance that the flavor and aroma will be longer retained and the quality of the coffee kept at its best.

The preservation of the aroma, flavor, and freshness of the coffee from the time of purchase until the time of consumption depends upon several precautions:

All of these rules have to do with the retention of the flavor and aroma. While coffee in the bean loses both slowly, there are a number of ways in which carelessness will permit a rapid loss. One is exposing a large amount of the surface of the bean to the air; another is allowing moisture to get into the container; and a third is permitting heat to drive away the gas.

The fifth rule, of course, relates to the purchase of the coffee in the bean. To secure and conserve the maximum flavor and aroma, the grinding should be done just as the brewing is to begin.

For this reason the coffee mill should be restored to its proper place in the kitchen. It should be a good mill, giving a uniform grind, and not the cheap types, which quickly get out of order.

The most delicious results are obtained by using fresh-roasted coffee, freshly ground, through which water of a temperature just below the boiling point is dripped for not more than two minutes.

The rules to be followed to attain this most desired result are not hard to remember:

1. See that the coffee is not ground too coarse. A fine grind yields a richer flavor than a coarse grind, because of the more rapid and complete solution of the flavor-giving substances.

2. Allow at least a tablespoonful of ground coffee to a cup of water. The exact proportion depends upon the kind of coffee used, and can be determined only by individual taste. In measuring the water always allow an extra cup for the evaporation.

3. Be sure the water boils; then pour it over the freshly ground coffee. Many types of coffee pots are provided with special perforated containers for the freshly ground coffee. By means of these perforations the hot water drips slowly through the coffee. By pouring at the boiling point, the water in contact with the coffee falls to just the temperature needed to extract the greatest amount of flavor and aroma. If a coffee drip bag is used, be sure it is kept clean and sweet.

4. The dripping process should not last longer than two minutes. Long dripping at a lower temperature increases the bitter taste and decreases the flavor and aroma.

5. Serve at once. Letting coffee cool ruins it. If there is a delay in serving, keep the coffee piping hot, but do not let it boil.

6. Do not use the ground coffee a second time. Coffee once used has given all its aroma and flavor to the beverage. There is nothing of any value left in the grounds.

7. Scour the coffee pot. It is necessary to have the utensil clean. Remnants of the old grounds will weaken the freshly ground coffee.

These are the simple rules for a better cup of coffee—proved by science and well worth a trial.

Coffee Making Devices

There are many coffee-making devices used in the United States, the best known being the Marion Harland pot, the Private Estate coffee maker, Galt vacuum-process coffee maker, Universal percolator and glass filter, English coffee biggin, Manning-Bowman percolator, Vienna coffee machine, Blanke’s Sanitary coffee pot, Phylax coffee maker, American French-drip pot, tricolator, Kin-Hee pot, Tru-Bru pot, and Silex glass filter.

The Perfect Cup of Coffee

Lovers of coffee in the United States are in better position to obtain an ideal cup of the beverage than those in any other country. While imports of green coffee are not so carefully guarded as tea imports, there is a large measure of government inspection designed to protect the consumer against impurities, and the Department of Agriculture is zealous in applying the Pure Food Law to insure against misbranding and substitution. The department has defined coffee as “a beverage resulting from a water infusion of roasted coffee and nothing else.”

Today, no reputable merchant would think of selling even loose coffee for other than what it is, and the consumer may feel that, in the case of package coffee, the label tells the truth about the contents.

With a hundred different kinds of coffee coming to this market from 19 countries, so many combinations are possible that there is sure to be a straight coffee or a blend to suit any taste, and those who may have been frightened into the belief that coffee was not for them should do a little experimenting before exposing themselves to the dangers of the coffee-substitute habit.

Once upon a time, it was thought that Java and Mocha were the only worth-while blend, but now we know that a Bogota coffee from Colombia and a Bourbon Santos from Brazil make a most satisfying drink; and, if the individual should happen to be a caffein-sensitive, there are coffees so low in caffein content, like some Porto Ricans, as to overcome this objection; while there are other coffees from which the caffein has been removed by special treatment. There is no reason why any person who is fond of coffee should forgo its use. Paraphrasing Makaroff, Be modest, be kind, eat less, and think more, live to serve, work and play and laugh and love—it is enough! Do this, and you may drink coffee without danger to your immortal soul.

If you are accustomed to buying loose coffee, have your dealer do a little experimental blending for you until you find a coffee to suit your palate. Some expert blends are to be found among the leading package brands. But you really cannot do better than to trust your case to a first-class grocer of known reputation. He will guide you right if he knows his business; and, if he doesn’t, then he doesn’t know his business—try elsewhere. Test him out somewhat along this line:

Let us reason together, Mr. Grocer. Let us consider these facts about coffee: Green coffee improves with age? Granted. As soon as it is roasted, it begins to lose in flavor and aroma? Certainly. Grinding hastens the deterioration? Of course. Therefore, it is better to buy a small quantity of freshly roasted coffee in the bean and grind it at the time of purchase or at home just before using? Absolutely!

If your grocer reacts in this fashion, he need only supply you with a quality coffee at fair price and you need only to make it properly to obtain the utmost of coffee satisfaction.

Some connoisseurs still cling to the good old two-thirds Java and one-third Mocha blend, but the author has for years found great pleasure in a blend composed of half Medellin Bogota, one-quarter Mandheling “Java,” and one-quarter Mocha. However, this blend might not appeal to another’s taste, and the component parts are not always easy to get. The retail cost (1924) is about 50 cents.

Another pleasing blend is composed of Bogota, washed Maracaibo, and Santos, equal parts. This should retail from 40 to 45 cents. Good-drinking coffees are to be had for prices ranging from 32 to 37 cents. In the stores of one of the large chain systems, an excellent blend composed of 50 percent Bourbon Santos and 50 percent Bogota is to be had (1924) for 35 cents. All these figures apply, of course, to normal times.

If you are epicurean, you will want to read up on, and to try, the fancy Mexicans, Cobans, Sumatra growths, Meridas, and some from the “Kona side” of Hawaii.

In preparing the perfect cup of coffee, then, the coffee must be of good grade, and freshly roasted. It should, if possible, be ground just before using. The author has found a fine grind, about the consistency of fine granulated sugar, the most satisfactory. For general home use, a device that employs filter paper or filter cloth is best; for the epicure an improved porcelain French percolator (drip pot) or an improved cloth filter will yield the utmost of coffee’s delights. Drink it black, sweetened or unsweetened, with or without cream or hot milk, as your fancy dictates.

It should be remembered that to make good coffee no special pot or device is necessary. Good coffee can be made with any china vessel and a piece of muslin. But to make it in perfection pains must be taken with every step in the process from roaster to cup.

Hollingworth points out that through taste alone it is impossible to distinguish between quinine and coffee, or between apple and onion. There is something more to coffee than its caffein stimulus, its action on the taste buds of the tongue and mouth. The sense of smell and the sense of sight play important roles. To get all the joy there is in a cup of coffee, it must look good and smell good, before one can pronounce its taste good. It must woo us through the nostrils with the wonderful aroma that constitutes much of the lure of coffee.

That is why, in the preparation of the beverage, the greatest possible care should be observed to preserve the aroma until the moment of its psychological release. This can be done only by having it appear at the same instant that the delicate flavor is extracted: roasting and grinding the bean much in advance of the actual making of the beverage will defeat this object. Boiling the extraction will perfume the house; but the lost fragrance will never return to the dead liquid called coffee, when served from the pot whence it was permitted to escape.

To recapitulate, with an added word on service, the correct way to make coffee is as follows:

Some Coffee Recipes

When Mrs. Ida C. Bailey Allen prepared a booklet of recipes for the Joint Coffee Trade Publicity Committee, she introduced them with the following remarks on the use of coffee as a flavoring agent:

On iced coffee and the use of coffee in summer beverages in general, Mrs. Allen writes as follows: