The coffee having been roasted, it has to be reduced to a coarse powder before the infusion is made. The grinding and powdering of coffee should be done just before it is wanted, for if the whole coffee seeds quickly lose their aroma, how much more quickly will the aroma be dissipated from coffee which has been reduced to a fine powder? Nothing need be said in the matter of coffee mills. They are common enough, varied enough, and cheap enough to suit all tastes.
To insure a really good cup of coffee attention must be given to the following points:
1. Be sure that the coffee is good in quality, freshly roasted, and fresh ground.
2. Use sufficient coffee. I have made some experiments on this point, and I have come to the conclusions that one ounce of coffee to a pint of water makes poor coffee, 11⁄2 ounces of coffee to a pint of water makes fairly good coffee, two ounces of coffee to a pint of water makes excellent coffee.
3. As to the form of coffee pot I have nothing to say. The varieties of coffee machines are very numerous and many of them are useless incumbrances. At the best, they can not be regarded as absolutely necessary. The Brazilians insist that coffee pots should on no account be made of metal, but that porcelain or earthenware is alone permissible. I have been in the habit of late of having my coffee made in a common jug provided with a strainer, and I believe there is nothing better.
COFFEE-MAKING MACHINES POPULAR IN ENGLISH HOTELS AND RESTAURANTS