Grocers' Goods / A Family Guide to the Purchase of Flour, Sugar, Tea, Coffee, Spices, Canned Goods, Cigars, Wines, and All Other Articles Usually Found in American Grocery Stores

by Frederick B. Goddard

Tests for Adulterations.

If ground coffee cakes in the paper, or when pinched by the fingers, or if, when a little is put into water, a part sinks while the rest swims, and the water becomes immediately discolored, the coffee is probably adulterated. The more caking and discoloration, the more chicory and the less value.

There are numerous brands of ground coffee on the market, and some of them are very popular and satisfactory. There are also various kinds of “Extracts” and “Essences” of coffee, and even humble chicory may sometimes be seen without disguise and nicely put up in yellow papers.