209. Cinnamon and Cassia.—The bark of several species of plants growing in tropical countries furnishes these spices. True cinnamon is a native of Ceylon, while the cassias are from Bengal and China. In this country there is more cassia used than cinnamon—cinnamon being rarely found except in drug stores. Cassia bark is much thicker than cinnamon bark. The ground spice contains about 1.5 per cent volatile oil and the same amount of fixed oil, 4 per cent of ash, and some fiber, nitrogenous matter, and starch. Cereals, cedar sawdust, ground nutshells, oil meal, and cracker crumbs are the chief adulterants.
210. Cloves.—Cloves are the flower buds of an evergreen tree that grows in the tropics. These are picked by hand and dried in the sun. In the order of value, Penang, Sumatra, Amboyna, and Zanzibar furnish the chief varieties. Cloves rarely contain more than 8 per cent ash, or less than 10 per cent volatile oil and 4 per cent fixed oil, and 16 to 20 per cent of tannin-yielding bodies. No starch is present. The chief adulterants of ground cloves are spent cloves, allspice, and ground nutshells. Clove stems are also sometimes used and may be detected by a microscopical examination, since they contain many thick-walled cells and much fibrous tissue.
211. Allspice.—Allspice, or pimento, is the fruit of an evergreen tree common in the West Indies. It is a small, dry, globular berry, two-celled, each cell having a single seed. Allspice contains about 2.5 per cent volatile oil, 4 per cent fixed oil, and 4.5 per cent ash. Because of its cheapness, it is not generally adulterated, cereal starches being the most common adulterants.
212. Nutmeg.—Nutmeg is the interior kernel of the fruit of a tree growing in the East Indies. The fruit resembles a small pear. A fleshy mantle of crimson color, which is mace, envelopes the seed. Nutmeg contains about 2.2 per cent ash, 2.5 to 5 per cent volatile oil, and 25 to 35 per cent fixed oil. Mace has practically the same composition. Extensive adulteration is seldom practiced. The white coating on the surface of the nutmeg is lime, used to prevent sprouting of the germ.
CHAPTER XIV
TEA, COFFEE, CHOCOLATE, AND COCOA
Fig. 53.—Tea Leaf.
(After Winton.)
213. Tea is the prepared leaf of an evergreen shrub or small tree cultivated chiefly in China and Japan. There are two varieties of plants. The Assamese, which requires a very moist, hot climate, yields in India and Ceylon about 400 pounds per acre, and may produce as high as 1000 pounds. From this plant a number of flushes or pickings are secured in a year. The Chinese plant grows in cooler climates and has a smaller, tougher, and darker leaf, which is more delicate than that of the Assamese and is usually made into green tea. The Chinese tea plant yields only four or five flushes a year. About 40 per cent of the tea used in this country comes from Japan and 50 per cent from China. The tea industry of India and Ceylon has developed rapidly in late years, and is now second only to that of China. Tea has been raised upon a small scale in the United States. The quality or grade of the tea depends upon the leaves used and the method of curing.