St. John’s Bread.—Cut up 50 lb. St. John’s bread (carob beans, or locust pods) into small pieces; infuse for 15 days with 12 gal. proof spirit, stirring every day; filter.
Sassafras.—Granulate ½ lb. sassafras bark, and infuse in ½ gal. 95 per cent. alcohol for 20 days; filter.
Soup-herbs.—Put 1 oz. thyme, 1 oz. sweet marjoram, 1 oz. sweet basil, 1 oz. summer savory, 1 dr. celery seed, into a percolator; pour on sufficient alcohol to make 1 pint extract.
Strawberry.—2 oz. glycerine, 1 oz. nitric ether, 5 oz. ethyl acetate, 1 oz. ethyl formiate, 5 oz. ethyl butyrate, 1 oz. methyl salicylate, 3 oz. amyl acetate, 2 oz. amyl butyrate.
Vanilla.—(1) 1 dr. vanilla in slices, infused for 20 days in 1 pint 95 per cent. alcohol; filter.
(2) 1 oz. vanilla in fine pieces, triturated with 2 oz. sugar to coarse powder, placed in a percolator; pour on dilute alcohol till 1 pint has run through; mix with 1 pint syrup.
Coffee
Coffee.—Before roasting, it is a good plan to wash the berries. They must be thrown into lukewarm water, washed rapidly between the hands, the water changed once, the berries rinsed again, then strained, rubbed between a clean cloth, and put to dry in the sun or beside the fire. This washing does no harm, and certainly cleanses the coffee from dust or colouring, and also serves to prove the quality. The berries that float on the top of the water are not good. Raw berries, when thrown into cold water, should sink at once. But, if preferred, the coffee may be cleansed by rubbing between 2 towels. The roasting of coffee requires great care and attention; its goodness greatly depends on this. If suffered to burn, its aroma is destroyed, and it is made bitter and unwholesome. If not sufficiently browned, neither the strength nor the aroma will be developed, and its taste will be most unpleasant. Examine the berries, pick out any black or discoloured ones, and see that there is no stone among them. Have a clear fire, but not too fierce. Fill the drum half full. This must be constantly turned, but not too quickly, that the berries may be roasted equally. After about 5 minutes good heat, take the drum from the fire and shake it well. Open the slide to let the steam out, return the drum to the heat, continue the turning, and after a short time again withdraw and shake it, then open it to see if the coffee is colouring properly. Should a strong smell of roasting and an apparent smoke escape, and should a slight crackling noise begin, take the drum from the fire, shake it for a minute, open the slide, and if the coffee is too pale, return it to the fire. When it has a fine cinnamon-brown colour, turn it out on a large flat dish, spread it quite apart, and as soon as it is cold, put it in a close-shutting canister or cork it well in dry bottles. A spoonful of moist sugar thrown in with the berries is said to improve the quality in roasting. Those who have not a drum can use an iron stewpan, in which case a little piece of butter half the size of a walnut is melted in the pan, then the coffee berries put in and the lid put on. Every minute it must be shaken and tossed without removing the lid. Have ready a wooden spoon, which should be kept for the purpose, and when the coffee begins to smoke and crack, draw it quickly from the strong heat, and stir it thoroughly till it is nicely browned. It will burn in half a minute by too strong a fire. Finish as stated above. An excellent coffee-roaster is made by Sugg, Charing Cross.
If possible, use freshly roasted and freshly ground coffee; let it be of good quality, with no admixture of chicory. If the beans have not been ground just before they are required for use, put the ground coffee into a plate or dish before the fire, and heat it thoroughly. Pour boiling water through the coffee-pot, put in the coffee—about ½ teacupful for each person—pour on to it perfectly boiling water, and let the pot stand by the fire for a few minutes. These directions will answer equally well, with some slight variations, for Loysell’s coffee-pot, Gen. Hutchinson’s cafetière, or, with the addition of hot water in the outer receptacle, for Ashe’s kaffee-kanne. A capital, though somewhat costly, coffee-pot is sold by E. Boyes, 14 High Street, Borough. Let it be clearly understood that the pot in which coffee is made is of comparatively little consequence, provided that it is scrupulously clean, the water boiling, and not in excess, and that the coffee is pure and plenty of it. If café au lait is required, the milk should be quite hot, but not boiling, and when the coffee is really good and strong, equal quantities of coffee and milk will be found to be the right proportions.