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Let us suppose that a working man, addicted to stimulants, wishing, perhaps, to turn over a new leaf, goes into one of these houses to take a meal, and calls for a cup of coffee in place of his accustomed beer. He is served with a weak and rather thick decoction, pleasant neither to taste nor smell. He drinks it and goes away, and he soon discovers that the stuff he has taken has no sustaining power, and probably it disagrees with him. He craves a stronger liquor, and believing he can only get it at the publichouse, he returns there. In the same way a poor working woman, exhausted by long hours of toil in a confined workroom or foetid dwelling, finds that the weak washy fluid too often sold under the name of tea will not allay the 'sinking' of which she complains, and she too returns to the dram shop. Yet coffee and tea of excellent quality, strong and fragrant, may be sold to a fair profit at 1d. per cup, holding half-a-pint, and a wholesome, though less nutritious, beverage at 1d. per cup, or 1d. for a larger cup, holding about a pint.
All the articles used should be purchased as far as possible at first hand.
Coffee at One Penny a cup.—The best Plantation Coffee should be used, such as will cost raw about 120s. per cwt. The usual charge for roasting is 2s. 6d. per cwt. The most economical arrangement would be to roast the coffee on the premises as required, a machine for roasting 61bs. at once costing about £2; but coffee roasting is a delicate process—that is, it requires great care and attention, and comparatively few managers would be able to attend to it. The following process of making coffee will be found to give good results where there is no special apparatus for the purpose:—
The coffee should be finely ground on the premises immediately before it is required for use. It is then to be placed in an ordinary mixing can, or covered pail, and the proportion recommended in this case is one pound of coffee to thirteen pints of water. The coffee should not be boiled, but the water must be in a boiling state when poured upon it, and the can or pail should have been previously warmed.
