for about 10 minutes, the coffee-pot lid being kept well closed. This gives a coffee possessing a flavour which even the French cannot excel.
Coffee, Essence of. A highly concentrated infusion of coffee, prepared by percolation with boiling water, gently and quickly evaporated to about 1⁄3rd or 1⁄4th of its bulk, and mixed with a thick aqueous extract of chicory and syrup of burnt sugar, so as to give the whole the consistence of treacle. The proportions of the dry ingredients should be—coffee, 4 parts; chicory, 2 parts; burnt sugar (caramel) 1 part. It should be kept in well-corked bottles in a cool place. This preparation is very convenient for making extemporaneous coffee; but the beverage so made, though superior to much of that sold at coffee-houses, is inferior in flavour, aroma, and piquancy, to that we are accustomed to drink at home. Much of the so-called ‘Essence of Coffee’ is simply treacle and burnt sugar, flavoured with coffee.
Coffee, Searle’s Patent. This is prepared by mixing condensed milk with a very concentrated essence of coffee and evaporating at a low temperature (in vacuo, if possible), until the mixture acquires the consistence of a syrup (coffee syrup), paste (coffee paste), or candy (coffee candy). The last may be powdered (coffee powder, dry essence of coffee).
Coffee, Substitutes for. These are numerous, but are now seldom employed, owing to the cheapness of the genuine article, and the stringency of the revenue laws. Among the principal are the following:—
1. Coffee, Acorn. From acorns deprived of their shells, husked, dried, and roasted.
2. Coffee, Bean. Horse-beans roasted along with a little honey or sugar.
3. Coffee, Beet-root. From the yellow beet-root, sliced, dried in a kiln or oven, and ground with a little coffee.
4. Coffee, Dandelion. From dandelion roots, sliced, dried, roasted, and ground with a little caramel.
5. Coffee, German. Syn. Succory c., Chicory c. From chicory or succory. Used both for foreign coffee, and to adulterate it.
Obs. All the above are roasted, before grinding them, with a little fat or lard. Those which are larger than coffee-berries are cut into small slices before being roasted. They possess none of the exhilarating properties or medicinal virtues of foreign coffee.