SECTION VI.. Coffee-Leaf Tea, &c.

COFFEE-LEAF TEA, &c.

Attention was some time ago drawn to the subject of coffee-leaf tea, which is used in Sumatra and other parts of the East, and a good deal of discussion ensued upon the matter, after the leaves were shown for the purpose at the International Exhibition of 1851. An infusion of roasted coffee-leaves is pronounced by those who have had an opportunity of tasting it, as superior to Bohea, and by some enthusiastic admirers is said to rival the flavour of the most delicate Pekoe. That an infusion of roasted coffee-leaves should imitate the flavour of tea is not to be wondered at, as the leaves of both shrubs contain in the main the same leading principles, more particularly theine or caffeine. There is no doubt that coffee-leaf tea would command a sale in England, but the question is how much could be collected to make it profitable, and it involves the necessity of apparatus and skilled labour for parching the leaves.

Coffee-leaves are not quite so thick as those of Vallambrosa, and a Malabar coolie would not in one day collect enough to pay the expense of picking, drying, packing, cartage, warehouse rent, freight, and other charges.

Moreover, no planter of any experience would think of stripping his trees of their breathing organs, and the quantity that might be collected from the suckers and prunings, &c., would never give more than a few bales, even on large plantations. Even were the fallen leaves supposed to be available, their removal would be as detrimental as the practice of raking away withered leaves in plantations, or the application of the sugar-cane trash to the purposes of fuel.

The husks, pulp, and parchment in South America, the West Indies, Ceylon, and the other Indian islands, are regarded as mere waste, and thrown away. In Arabia and some parts of the East, however, this refuse is utilised, as the “miserables,” or husks of the cocoa-seed (Theobroma cacao), are in Ireland and the Continent. With it is prepared the famous kisher, or “Café à la Sultane,” a light-coloured, bright infusion, which has all the agreeable flavour of coffee, with little of its strength and none of its bitterness; this is partaken of by the humbler classes in incredible quantities.

When quite dry and ripe these husks are bruised, and roasted in an earthen vessel over a charcoal fire, not as coffee usually is, but only until it assumes a light-brown colour. While hot it is thrown into a pot of boiling water, with a small proportion of the pellicle or parchment skin; all is boiled together for a few minutes, and then served hot and strong, but without sugar. Sometimes a drop of essence of amber is put into each cup; or cloves, aniseed, or cardamoms are boiled with it.

In Brazil, from the sweet pulp which envelopes the berry an excellent spirit has been made.