All About Coffee, William H. Ukers [short story to read .txt] 📗
- Author: William H. Ukers
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Other West Indian Islands. Among the other West Indian islands producing small quantities of coffee are Cuba, Trinidad, Dominica, Barbados, and Curaçao. The growths are generally good quality, bearing a close resemblance to one another. In the past, Cuba produced a fine grade; but the industry is now practically extinct.
Asia
Arabia. For many generations Mocha coffee has been recognized throughout the world as the best coffee obtainable; and until the pure food law went into effect in the United States, other high-grade coffees were frequently sold by American firms under the name of Mocha. Now, only coffees grown in Arabia are entitled to that valuable trade name. They grow in a small area in the mountainous regions of the southwestern portion of the Arabian peninsula, in the province of Yemen, and are known locally by the names of the districts in which they are produced. Commercially they are graded as follows: Mocha Extra, for all extra qualities; Mocha No. 1, consisting of only perfect berries; No. 1-A, containing some dust, but otherwise free of imperfections; No. 2, showing a few broken beans and quakers; No. 3, having a heavier percentage of brokens and quakers and also some dust.
Mocha beans are very small, hard, roundish, and irregular in form and size. In color, they shade from olive green to pale yellow, the bulk being olive green. The roast is poor and uneven; but the coffee's virtues are shown in the cup. It has a distinctive winy flavor, and is heavy with acidity—two qualities which make a straight Mocha brew especially valuable as an after-dinner coffee, and also esteemed for blending with fancy, mild, washed types, particularly East Indian growths.
As in other countries, the coffees grown on the highlands in Yemen are better than the lowland growths. As a rule, the low altitude bean is larger and more oblong than that grown in the highlands, due to its quicker development in the regions where the rainfall, though not great, is more abundant.
While Mocha coffees are known commercially by grade numbers, the planters and Arabian traders also designate them by the name of the district or province in which each is grown. Among the better grades thus labeled are, the Yaffey, the Anezi, the Mattari, the Sanani, the Sharki, and the Haimi-Harazi. For the poorer grades, these names are used: Remi, Bourai, Shami, Yemeni, and Maidi. Of these varieties, the Mattari, a hard and regular bean, pale yellow in color, commands the highest price, with the Yaffey a close second. Harazi coffee heads the market for quantity coupled with general average of quality.
Indian and Ceylon. Coffees from India and Ceylon are marketed almost exclusively in London, little reaching the American trade. Of the Indian growths, Malabars, grown on the western slope of the Ghaut mountains, are classed commercially as the best. The bean is rather small and blue-green in color. In the cup it has a distinctive strong flavor and deep color. Mysore coffee ranks next in favor on the English market. It is mountain grown, and the bean is large and blue-green in color. Tellicherry is another good grade coffee, closely resembling Malabar. Coorg (Kurg) coffee is an inferior growth. It is lowland type, and in the cup is thin and flat. The bean is large and flat, and tends toward dark green in color. Travancore is another lowland growth, ranking about with Coorg, and has the same general characteristics. See the Complete Reference Table for details.
Ceylon, although it once was one of the world's most important producers, has been losing ground as a coffee-producing country since 1890. Ceylon coffees are classified commercially as "native", "plantation", and "mountain". The native is a poor-grade, lowland growth, with large flat bean and low cup quality. The plantation, so named because more carefully cultivated on highland plantations, is a stylish roaster, and gives a rich flavor and strong fragrance in the cup. The mountain, grown at high altitudes, is a small, steel-blue bean, and is considered by British traders as equal to the best varieties grown anywhere. It was formerly shipped to Aden to be mixed with Mocha.
Showing the Principal Coffee-Producing Countries on the Continent and Adjacent Islands.
Copyright 1922 by The Tea and Coffee Trade Journal Co.
French Indo-china. The coffee of French Indo-China is highly prized in France, where the bulk of the exports goes. The coffee tree grows well in the provinces of Tonkin, Annam, Cambodia, and Cochin-China. Tonkin is the largest producer, and grows the best varieties. In the cup, Tonkin coffee is thought by French traders to compare favorably with Mocha. Of the several varieties of Coffea arabica grown in Indo-China, the Grand Bourbon, Bourbon rond, and the Bourbon Le Roy, are the best known. The first-named is a large bean of good quality; the second is a small, round bean of superior grade; and the third is a still smaller bean of fair cup quality.
(Washed)
(Mandheling)
(Mocha)
(Bogota)
(Washed)
(Washed)
(Washed)
(Peaberry)
(Maracaibo)
(Flat Bean)
(Bourbon)
(Natural)
PRINCIPAL VARIETIES OF GREEN COFFEE BEANS,
NATURAL SIZE AND COLOR
Africa
Abyssinia. The coffee grown in Abyssinia is classified commercially into two varieties: Harari, which is grown principally in the district around Harar; and Abyssinian, produced mainly in the provinces of Kaffa, Sidamo, and Guma. Harari coffee is the fruit of cultivated trees; while Abyssinian comes from wild trees. The first-named produces a long and well-shaped berry, and is often referred to as Longberry Harari. The bean is larger than the Mocha, but similar in general appearance. Its color shades from blue-green to yellow. Good grades of Harari have cup characteristics resembling Mocha, and by some are preferred to Mocha, because of their winier cup flavor. The Abyssinian coffee is considered much inferior to Harari; and chops generally contain many imperfections. The bean is dark gray in color. Little Abyssinian coffee comes to the United States.
Many other African countries produce coffee; but little of it ever reaches the North American market. Uganda, in British East Africa, grows a good grade of robusta coffee which is valued on the London market. Liberian coffee, grown on the west coast, used to be mixed with Bourbon Santos to some extent; but it is generally considered low grade, although it makes a handsome, elephantine roast. The product of Guinea is a very small bean, half-way between a peaberry and a flat bean, and has a dingy brown color. It is considered worthless as a drink. A medium-sized, strong-flavored bean that is rich in the cup, is grown in the African Congo district. In Angola a fair quantity of coffee is produced. In the cup it has a strong and pungent flavor, but lacks smoothness and aroma. Zanzibar produces a pleasing coffee in very limited quantities. The bean is medium size, and regular in shape. Mozambique's coffee is greenish in color, of medium size, and mellow. The production is small. Madagascar produces an insignificant quantity for export, although the coffee is considered fair average, with rich flavor, and considerable fragrance. Bourbon coffee, grown on the island of Réunion, commands a high price in the French market, where practically all exports go. It is a small, flinty bean, and gives a rich cup and fragrance.
East Indian Islands
Some of the coffees from the East Indian islands rank among the best in the world, particularly those from Sumatra. East India coffees are distinguished by their smooth, heavy body in the cup, the fancy grades giving an almost syrupy richness.
Java. Java coffees are generally of a smaller bean than those from Sumatra, and are not considered as high grade. The bulk of the new-crop growths have a grassy flavor which most people find unpleasant when drunk straight. Under the old culture system, coffee was bought by the government, and held in godowns from two to three years, until it had become mellow with age. In late years, this system has been abandoned; and the planters now sell their product as they please, and in most cases without mellowing, excepting as they age during the long sea voyage from Batavia to destination. Before the advent of large fleets of steamers in the East Indian trade, the coffee was brought to America in sailing vessels that required from three to four months for the trip. During the voyage, the coffee went through a sweating process which turned the beans from a light green to a dark brown, and considerably enhanced their cup values. The sweating was due to the coffee being loaded while moist, and then practically sealed in the vessel's hold during all its trip through the tropical seas. As a consequence, the cargo steamed and foamed; and as a rule, part of the coffee became moldy, the damage seldom extending more than an inch or two into the mats. Sweated coffees commanded from three to five cents more than those that came in "pale".
Showing the Mild Coffee-Producing Countries of Asia, Netherlands India, and Australasia
Copyright, 1922 by The Tea and Coffee Trade Journal Co.
Before the Java coffee trade began to decline in the latter part of the nineteenth century, Coffea arabica was grown abundantly throughout the island. Each residency had numerous estates, and their names were given to the coffees produced. The best coffees came from Preanger, Cheribon, Buitenzorg, and Batavia, ranking in merit in the order named. All Java coffees are known commercially either as private growth, or as blue bean washed, the former being cured by either the washing or the dry hulling method, while the latter are washed. Private growths are usually a pale yellow, the bean being short and round and slightly convex. It makes a handsome even roast, showing a full white stripe. The washed variety is a pale blue-green, the bean closely resembling the private growth in form and roast. These coffees have a distinctive character in the cup that is much different from any other coffee grown. Their liquor is thin.
All the better known coffees of Java, which are designated by the districts in which they are grown, are listed in the Complete Reference Table. Coffee from few of the many districts comes to the North American market. Among those that are sold in the United States are the Kadoe and Semarang, both of which are small, yellowish green; and the Malang, a green, hard bean which makes a better roast than Kadoe and Semarang, but is inferior to them in the cup.
Sumatra. Sumatra has the reputation of producing some of the finest and highest-priced coffees in the world, such as Mandheling, Ankola, Ayer Bangies, Padang Interior, and Palembang. Mandheling coffee is a large, brownish bean which roasts dull, but is generally free from quakers. It is very heavy in body, and has a unique flavor that easily distinguishes it from any other growth. The Ankola bean is shorter and better-appearing than Mandheling, but otherwise bears a close resemblance. Its flavor is only slightly under Mandheling; and, like that coffee, is recommended for blending with the best grades of Mocha. While the Ayer Bangies bean is somewhat larger than the other two just mentioned, it is not so dark brown in
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