COFFEE

the seeds of evergreen shrubby trees of the genus Coffea {order Rubiacez), particularly of the species C. arabica and C. tiberica. The beverage has been known in Aby in i a for probably more than a you sand years, and the plant was introduced into Arabia in the 15th cent. and later became more extensively cultivated in tropical Asia and America. Its white and fragrant flowers grow in clusters in the axils of the leaves. The fruit is a red, fleshy berry resembling a cherry, and containing seeds in a yellowish pulp. The seeds are enclosed in a membrane (endocarp) called the ‘parchment,’ and each seed in a finer covering known as ‘silver skin.’ The pulp is removed either after drying the ‘cherries’ in the sun or in the wet method by water and special machinery; the seeds are subsequently dried, the parchment and silver skin removed by rollers, rubbing, and winnowing, and the beans are ready for shipping. They are sorted out into various grades to ensure uniformity in roasting. Roasting and grinding should be carried out shortly before the decoction is made. The valuable physiological action of coffee as a stimulant of the nervous and vascular system is to a great extent due to the alkaloid caffeine. Coffee is frequently adulterated, chiefly with chicory. The latter is widely used on account of its rich brown infusion with hot water which gives ‘body’ to weak coffee. Arabian coffee is called mocha. The principal coffee-producing country is Brazil; it is also largely produced in Colombia, Java, Venezuela, Guatemala, Brit. India, Haiti. The pre-war consumption of coffee per head per annum was approximately: Holland, 15 lb.; U.S., 12 lb.; Germany, 7 lb.; France, 5 lb.; Austria-Hungary, 2 lb.;