Britain at Work
A Pictorial Description of Our National Industries

3i8 BRITAIN AT WORK. bean and spoil its flavour, so that the task of watching the roast for the slightest hint of excess of heat is an anxious one. The roaster, who is a well-paid operative, is able to follow the progress of the torrefaction by means of a sampling scoop which pene- trates into the interior of the cylinder, and may be withdrawn from moment to moment without hindering the revolution of the machine. The temperature developed is about 250° C., and the roast is completed in a quarter of an hour. Each roast deals with about cwt., so that a roaster is able to turn out 4 or 5 cwt. per hour. A quicker method adopts a gas flame, whose combustion is perfected by an air blast on the principle of the Bunsen burner. The beans rotate in the open cylinder, and as they reach the upper surface of it they fall through the flame, but it is claimed that the fall is so rapid that they are in no danger of scorching. The advantage of this quick roasting process is that it deals with double the quantity in the same space of time, and it is employed for the cheaper descriptions of coffee. By whatever means the roasting has been performed, the next operation is that of cooling. For this purpose the beans are overturned into a tray with a woven wire bottom, through which air is forced, either by means of a rotary fan or by a direct blast. 1 he cooling occupies a few minutes, and the beans are then ready to be packed without delay for distribution to the retail grocer. The operation of grinding needs no detailed comment. It is performed by boys or girls as the case may be, and it is at this stage that the blend is made, because each sort of coffee requires its own speed and temperature in the roasting, so that it cannot be properly treated when mixed with another kind. Some sorts of coffee are not self-drinking-, and require an admixture of other growths to bring out their qualities in an agreeable form. But it is very usual for a grocer to make his own mixture, according to the tastes of his constituency. The photo- graphs illustrating the treatment of coffee have been specially taken for this article, by his courteous permission, at Mr. William Field’s steam coffee mills in Southwark. The adulteration of coffee exercised the wit of the Legislature in the early years of George I., the substances most com- monly used being roasted peas and turnips. In 1820 chicory was first intro- duced into the country, and after many vicissitudes it is now recognised as a proper substance for admixture with coffee, provided the label upon the package clearly states that chicory is present. The bulk of the chicory used in England is imported from Belgium, although there is a large area under chicory cultivation in Yorkshire. With practically the same rate of duty, the amount realised by the revenue from the consumption of chicory in 1901 was ^56,052, or one-third of the coffee duty. Chicory is kiln-dried and passed through a machine which cuts it into dice ; it is afterwards roasted and ground in the same way as coffee. It is found that stone mills are better than steel ones for grinding mixtures of coffee and chicory, because the bruising of the coffee bean caused by the stone develops an aroma which is absorbed by the chicory grains, with the result that there is a greater uni- formity of taste and appearance when this process is employed. „ Tr 1 17 E. G. Harmer.