V. TEA, COFFEE, AND CHOCOLATE.
BY BYRON D. HALSTED, SC. D.
We have here to consider the sources of the three leading dietetic beverages. They are very unlike in general appearance, but all possess the same vegetable principle, called an alkaloid,[1] though known under different names. Thus modern chemistry has proved the identity of the theine of the tea, the caffeine[2] of the coffee and the theo-bromine[3] of the chocolate. This same vegetable alkaloid, remarkable for its large per cent. of nitrogen, is found in small quantities in a few other plants, most of which have been used to some extent for the making of an exhilarating drink. It answers our purpose best to treat each of our three subjects under its respective head.
Tea (Thea viridis[4]).—The tea of commerce is the prepared leaves of a shrub belonging to the order Camelliaceæ[5] represented in the United States by loblolly bay[6] and Stuartia.[7] Perhaps the most familiar near relative of the tea plant is the camellia of our green houses and window gardens. The wild tea shrub grows from twenty to thirty feet high, and is found native in China and Japan. When under cultivation the shrub is pruned so as to not exceed six feet in height. The flowers are large, white and fragrant; they are produced in clusters in the axils of the simple, oblong, evergreen, serrate leaves. China and Japan are among the leading tea-growing countries, its cultivation being chiefly confined between twenty-five and thirty-five north latitude. Tea was in general use in China in the ninth century, but it was not until the seventeenth century that it was introduced into Europe. About the middle of this century the East India Company imported tea into England, since which time it has become the regular beverage of many millions of people in all parts of the world. The importations of tea into the United States for the year ending June 30th, 1884, were 67,665,910 pounds. It will be seen that this gives somewhere near a pound and a quarter of tea for each man, woman and child in this country. Most of our China tea trade is carried on with Shanghai, Foo Chow and Amoy.
In China the tea shrub is grown chiefly on the southern slopes of hills in poor, well watered soil, to which manure is applied. The seeds are dropped in holes at regular intervals, and during the third year the first crop is obtained. In from seven to ten years the shrubs are cut down and shoots spring up from the stumps, which continue to yield crops of leaves. A single plant produces on an average between three hundred and three hundred and fifty pounds of dried leaves. The leaves are picked three times a year, in April, May, and June or July. The young, tender leaves of the first gathering make the best tea, and this is very largely consumed in its native country. The older leaves of the second and third pickings make a poorer quality of tea which abounds in tannin,[8] and contains but a small per cent. of the best elements of superior tea. It was long supposed that black and green sorts of tea were made from distinct varieties, or even species of plants; in fact, there has been a great deal of mystery surrounding the culture and preparation of tea until within the past score of years. Authorities now state that there is only one species of plant yielding tea leaves, and from this all sorts are made. The differences are natural, being some of them due to climate and conditions of soil, etc., while others are the result of the manipulation of the leaves after they are gathered. Black and green tea may come from the same shrub, or even the same branch of a plant. The leaves forming black tea undergo a fermentation before they are dried, while those designed for green tea are at once submitted to a high heat in iron pans, and not copper pans, as generally supposed. After the leaves for black tea have been gathered they are placed in heaps, when they become flaccid and turn dark from incipient fermentation. The leaves are then rolled between the thumb and fingers or upon bamboo tables until the desired twist is obtained. They next pass to a drying room and are heated in an iron pan; again twisted, and afterward dried over a slow fire. The principal difference between the preparation of black and green tea is that in the latter the freshly gathered leaves go at once into the heated pans. The repeated twisting and heating is nearly the same with both classes. The green teas are sometimes artificially colored by using turmeric[9] with gypsum or Prussian blue. A flavor is frequently given to the tea by adding aromatic flowers, as those of the pekoe and caper.[10] Among the leading varieties of black tea are: Bohea, a small leaf, crisp and strong odor, with brackish taste; two sorts of Congous—the large leaf with fine flavor, and the small leaf with a burnt smell. The Souchong is the much prized “English Breakfast,” made from leaves of three-year-old trees. Only a small part of the so-called Souchong is genuine. Pekoe is made from the tenderest leaves gathered from three-year-old plants while in bloom. Oolongs are common kinds of black teas, much used for mixing with other sorts. Of the green teas the Gunpowder is round, like shot, with green color and fragrant taste. The Imperial is more loosely rolled than the Gunpowder. Young Hyson is in loose rolls, which easily crumble to the touch; it gives a light green infusion. Old Hyson is the older leaves in the picking for Young Hyson. Twankay consists of mixed and broken leaves, and is of inferior quality. Japan teas are both colored and uncolored, and come from Japan; they are very largely consumed in this country.
The chemical composition of a fair sample of tea is; Theine, 1. to 3. per cent.; caseine,[11] 15.; gum, 18.; sugar, .3; tannin, 26.; aromatic oil, .75; fat, 4.; vegetable fiber, 20.; mineral substances, 5.; and water, 5. per cent.
The tannin is an astringent, while the theine acts as a gentle excitant upon the nervous system. This is probably enhanced by the warmth of the infusion. The best authorities agree that tea is a valuable article of diet for healthy, grown people. It however is not suitable for children until growth is completed. Adults with irritable constitutions may be injured by tea-drinking. Tea is the solace of old age. Cibber[12] wrote: “Tea! thou soft, thou sober, sage and venerable liquid … thou female tongue-running, smile-smoothing, heart-opening, wink-tippling cordial, to whose glorious insipidity I owe the happiest moments of my life, let me fall prostrate.” Waller[13] truthfully says:
“Tea doth our fancy aid,
Repress those vapors which the head invade
And keep the palace of the soul.”
Tea is extensively adulterated in many ways. In China exhausted tea leaves and foliage of other trees are employed by millions of pounds each year. Willow leaves are among the principal ones used for mixing with tea. A British consul once related that at Shanghai there were at one time 53,000 pounds of willow leaves in preparation to be sold as tea. Mineral matters are used to color or “face” the tea. “The common test,” states Mr. Felker, in his work “What the Grocers Sell Us,” “is by infusion; this is poured off the leaves and examined for color, taste, and odor, all of which are characteristic.… Impurities like sand, iron filings and dirt may be seen among the leaves or at the bottom of the cups. The leaves, too, betray by their coarseness and botanical character, the nature and quality of the tea, for although the leaves of the genuine tea differ much in form and size, yet their venation and general structure are very distinctive.… ‘Lie tea,’ used to adulterate Gunpowder tea, consists of tea dust mixed with mineral substances, starch and gum, and then formed into little masses resembling tea.” Large tea houses employ professional tea tasters who make steepings and judge upon the flavor, purity, etc.
Coffee.—The coffee of commerce is the seed of a shrub, Coffea Arabica,[14] belonging to the order Rubiaceæ,[15] which is represented in the United States by the charming little “bluets” of our pastures in spring. The cape jessamine and bouvardias[16] of the green house are near relatives of the coffee plant. The name coffee is probably derived from the Arabic word Kahwah, although some authorities contend that it is traced to Caffa, a province of Abyssinia, where the coffee plant flourishes in the wild state. The coffee shrub is an evergreen, growing to the height of twenty feet, with long, smooth, shining leaves. The pure white flowers are produced in clusters in the axils of the leaves and followed by fleshy berries which, when ripe, resemble small, dark red cherries. Each berry usually contains two seeds embedded in the yellowish pulp. These seeds, when separated from the pulp and papery covering, form the raw coffee of the stores. Each seed—improperly called a berry—is somewhat hemispherical, with a groove running through the middle of the flat side. Sometimes one seed is abortive in the berry, and the other becomes round, as in the Wynaad coffee from India, sometimes called “male berry” coffee.
Coffee is cultivated in many countries lying between fifteen north and fifteen south latitude. It may be successfully grown thirty degrees from the equator. Like the tea plant, the coffee shrub favors the well watered mountain slopes. The trees are set in long, straight rows, six feet apart, and six feet from each other in the row. The coffee tree is naturally a plant with long, straggling shoots, but under cultivation it is pruned to make a shrub not exceeding six feet in height, with long, lateral branches. A full crop should be obtained the third year. The berries are gathered when the pulp begins to shrivel, and are at once taken to the store-house, where they are pulped. The berries are passed between large, rough rollers, which remove the pulp, but not the parchment-like covering of the seeds. The berries with the pulp removed are heaped up, covered with old sacking, and allowed to ferment for two days. Water is turned on and all glutinous matter removed. The seeds are spread out to dry, after which they are passed between wooden cylinders that remove the thin, dry covering. The coffee seeds, after being winnowed, are assorted into various sizes and packed ready for shipment. A thrifty shrub yields two pounds of marketable coffee. The raw coffee seed has a horny texture, without the peculiar aroma characteristic of the roasted berry.
The early history of coffee is obscure. It has been in use for over a thousand years. The knowledge of its use was first brought into Arabia from Abyssinia in the fifteenth century. “Its peculiar property of dissipating drowsiness and preventing sleep was taken advantage of in connection with the prolonged religious services of the Mohametans, and its use as a devotional antisoporific stirred up a fierce opposition on the part of the priests. Coffee was by them held to be an intoxicant beverage, and therefore prohibited by the Koran;[17] and the dreadful penalties of an outraged sacred law were laid over the heads of all who became addicted to its use. Notwithstanding the threats of divine retribution, and though all manner of devices were adopted to check its growth, the coffee-drinking habit spread rapidly among the Arabians, Mohametans, and the growth of coffee as well as its use as a national beverage became as inseparably associated with Arabia as tea is with China.” Coffee reached Great Britain in the seventeenth century. Charles II. attempted to suppress coffee houses by proclamation, because they “devised and spread abroad divers false, malicious and scandalous reports to the defamation of his Majesty’s government and to the peace and quiet of the nation.” How different is this view from that held by those interested in good government, peace and prosperity at the present day! We now rejoice in the establishment of coffee houses, hoping that they may supplant the much dreaded rum shops.
It is worthy of note here that the three dietetic beverages treated in this article were all introduced into Europe at nearly the same time. Tea came through the Dutch; cocoa was brought from South America to Spain, and coffee came from Arabia by the way of Constantinople.
Coffee was for some time supplied only by Arabia, but near the beginning of the eighteenth century its culture was introduced into Java and the West India islands. At the present day its culture is general within the tropics, Brazil leading the list in amount annually produced. In the Eastern hemisphere the principal coffee regions are Java and Ceylon, where a superior article is produced. The amount of coffee imported into the United States during the year ending June 30th, 1884, was 534,785,542 pounds, and 18,907,627 pounds in excess of the previous year. It is seen that these figures give nearly ten pounds for each individual in this vast country. This amount per capita is exceeded by only a few countries. Holland leads all European states, with an average of twenty-one pounds per head, followed closely by Belgium, Denmark and Norway.
The dietetic value of coffee depends principally upon the alkaloid caffeine or theine which it contains in common with tea and cocoa or chocolate. Good coffee contains nearly one per cent. of this substance. When obtained in a pure state it crystallizes in slender needles. The peculiar aroma of coffee is due to the presence of caffeone,[18] which develops in the process of roasting. It may be isolated as a brown oil, heavier than water, by distilling roasted coffee with water. The roasting of coffee is an operation requiring much good judgment, for by carrying the process beyond a certain point the aroma is destroyed and a disagreeable flavor is produced.
Roasted coffee when ground quickly deteriorates unless kept in close vessels. Mocha coffee, which is brought from Arabia, is the best, and that from Java ranks next. Much of the so-called Mocha coffee is raised in Brazil, or elsewhere, and shipped to Arabia, after which it finds its way into the markets. The berries of the true Mocha coffee are small, dark and yellow; those of Java are a paler yellow, while the West India and Brazilian coffees have a greenish-gray tint. The last named coffee is usually sold under the name of Rio, an abbreviation of the leading coffee exporting port of Brazil, namely, Rio de Janeiro; Martinique and St. Domingo coffees are two other kinds but little known.
Coffee is principally valuable for its stimulating effects upon the system. It produces a buoyancy of feeling, lightens the sensation of fatigue, and sustains the muscles when under prolonged exertion. A cup of rich, hot coffee seems to infuse new life into an o’er-tired body. Equally with tea it is “the cup that cheers, but not inebriates.”
“Coffee which makes the politician wise
And see through all things with his half-shut eyes.”
Coffee is the subject of many adulterations, usually when sold in the ground state. Several kinds of seeds resembling coffee in size have been employed to adulterate the whole coffee, some of which need to be colored before they will pass for the genuine. Many kinds of roots are sliced, dried and roasted for the adulteration of coffee, among the leading ones of which are chicory, carrot and the beet. Spent tanbark and even dried beef’s liver have been thus employed. Many of these fraudulent additions can be detected with the microscope. Ground coffee floats on water, while most of the adulterations will sink or discolor the water. There is said to be a machine in England for making false berries out of vegetable substance.
Chocolate.—The chocolate of the shops is derived from a small evergreen tree, native of South America, Mexico, and West Indias. This tree, Theobroma cacao, has large, pointed leaves and rose-colored flowers, which are followed by fruit pods six to ten inches long. The first part of the botanical name is from the Greek meaning “food for the gods,” and the second or specific word cacao is the old Mexican name for the tree. The order Sterculiaceæ[19] to which the theobroma or chocolate tree belongs is not represented in our flora. It however is known to many by a species of Mahernia[20] from the cape of Good Hope, cultivated in conservatories. The order contains about 520 species, nearly all of which are tropical. The long pods, while green, resemble cucumbers, and when ripe contain from thirty to an hundred seeds, arranged in rows, and of the size of sweet almonds. During the season of ripening the pods are gathered daily, laid in heaps until they have fermented, when they are opened by hand and the seeds spread in the sun to dry, after which they are ready for market. Before the Spaniards visited Mexico the natives made a beverage from the seeds, which they called chocalat, and from this we derived our word chocolate. The Spaniards have the credit of introducing this beverage into Europe. In the manufacture of chocolate the cocoa (which is a corruption of the original Mexican cacao) beans are roasted similar to the roasting of coffee, and after the husk is removed they are reduced to a paste. This paste is afterward mixed with equal quantities of sugar and heated and turned into cakes of various shapes familiar to all housekeepers. Cacao nibs are the bruised and broken seeds, and cocoa shells are the thin coverings of the seeds or beans which are separated before the seeds are ground to powder. Broma is chocolate prepared for the market in a certain way, and is a trade name.
The importations of chocolate for the year ending June 30th were 12,235,304 pounds, being an increase of nearly thirty-five per cent. over the previous year.
Of the three leading beverages herein briefly described tea is the only one that has been grown as a crop in the United States. In a reply to an inquiry recently addressed to the Commissioner of Agriculture, it was stated that the tea plant is hardy at Washington, D. C., and that the tea plantations near Summerville, South Carolina, are doing well. “There is no trouble about growing the plant, but the question of profitable culture for the manufacture of tea is quite another thing.… The purpose of the Department of Agriculture … is to cheapen the present methods or possibly suggest the placing of the teas on the market in a wholly different shape from what is done at present.” We may be able to supply our own demands for tea, but it is not likely that the same will be true of coffee and chocolate.