Mrs. Roundell's Practical cookery book

The china percolators are much better than the old tin ones, for in those the lining rubbed off in time and spoilt the colour and flavour of the Coffee. They can be had in various sizes at 119 New Bond Street, or indeed wherever fire-proof china is sold, and the parts are sold separately in view of breakages by careless usage. I know no recipe for making Coffee so good or so clear as Wyvern’s. Get really good Coffee berries and be prepared to pay a good price for them. Roast them daily if you want well-flavoured Coffee. Half the Coffee we drink is spoilt by ignorant roasting ; a burnt berry will spoil the whole brew. The best way to roast the berries is to stir them about in a small saute-pan over a very low fire, doing them in relays and passing them straight to the hand-mill from the pan. A tablespoonful of berries will be found quite enough at a time. Melt a little butter, just sufficient to lubricate the berries, and stir them about till they turn a light Havana brown. If a berry takes a darker tint throw it away at once as you would a reptile. Grind the berries at once and make the Coffee as soon afterwards as possible. In any circumstance keep the powder carefully secured from the air in a dry canister. The butter prevents the escape of much of the fragrance of the N N TEA, COFFEE, COCOA, ETC. berries whilst roasting, and becomes quite dried up before the roasting is finished. The custom in many kitchens is to bake, often to over-bake, the Coffee berries in the oven. The result is a leaden tinted liquid, acrid in flavour, and repulsive to look upon. The Coffee when properly ground should be rich in aroma, and of a beautiful rich snuff colour. Be liberal with the Coffee ; allow a tablespoonful for each person. This will make a coffeecupful of cafe noir, and a breakfastcupful of cafe au lait. Heat the Coffee powder for a minute in the oven or in front of the fire. Scald out the percolator coffee-pot so as to heat it thoroughly. Fill the upper chamber of the percolator with as much hot Coffee powder as you require, and ram the powder down firmly. Having previously calculated the amount of Coffee liquid needed pour absolutely boiling water according to that measurement, by teaspoonfuls at a time, through the upper strainer upon the powder. The slower the water is added the more thoroughly the Coffee will become soaked, and the dripping being retarded the essence will be as strong as possible. As soon as the Coffee has run through pour it into the cups. Let the coffee-pot stand in a shallow vessel containing boiling water during the process, for in this way the liquid can be kept hot without deterioration for some little time. It does not do to heat up cold Coffee. [Wyvem.] If Coffee is sent up in a silver coffee-pot scald it out twice with boiling water so as to ensure its being thoroughly hot. Heat the cups also. If Coffee has to wait keep the percolator in a pan of boiling water. The flavour of cafe au lait is much better when the boiling milk is poured into the cups before the Coffee. Viennese Coffee. — Make strong Coffee, sweeten it, and just as it is served lay a tablespoonful of stiffly- whipped cream on the top of the Coffee in each cup.